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PENNSYLVANIA   AT   GETTYSBURG 


CEREMONIES 


Dedication  of  the  Monuments 


ERECTKI)    KV    THK 


Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania 


TO  MARK  THE  POSITIONS  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  COMMANDS 
ENGAGED  IN  THE  BATTLE 


There  is  a  heritage  of  heroic  example  and  uoble  obligation,  not  reckoned  iu; 
the  wealth  of  nations,  but  essential  to  a  nation's  life." 


VOLUME 


189J 


.4^5 


58«^ 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress 

by  the  Editor  and  Compiler  Bvt.  Lt.  Col.  John  P.  Nicholson 

Secretarj"  Board  of  Coiuinissioners 


IIAKttI9Ul-K(i,    I-KNNA. 
MKVRttli,  STATU  I'RINTrk. 


ADDRESS  DELIVKR1<:D  AT  THE   DEDICATION  OF    I  HE 
CEMET1':RV  AT  GETTYSBURG 


^)VKAri!i:K   1  0,   i<S6_^. 


FOUR  score  aud  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  ou 
this  coutinent,  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  jjroijosition  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 
Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war ;  testing  whether  that 
nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long 
endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war.  We 
have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field,  as  a  final  resting 
place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might 
live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 
But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  can  not  dedicate — we  can  not  conse- 
crate— we  can  not  hallow — this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living 
aud  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it,  far  above  our 
poor  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note,  nor 
long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what 
they  did  here.  It  is  for  us  the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated 
here  to  the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedi- 
cated to  the  great  task  remaining-  before  us, — that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which 
tliey  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion — that  we  here  highly 
resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  this 
nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom — and  that 
government  of  the  ]3eople,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall 

not  perish  from  the  earth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


(iii) 


HOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS 

Under  the  Act  approved  June  15,  18S7 

t.      ttie  erection  of   Monuments   to   mark    the  positions  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Commands  engaged  in  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg 


Brevet  Brig.-General  John  P.  Taylor  President 
Brevet  Brig.-General  J.  P.  S.  GoBiN 

Brevet  Lieut.-Colonel  John  P.  Nicholson  Secretary 
Brevet  Colonel  R.  Bruce  Ricketts 

Brevet  Brig.-General  Wm.   Ross  Hartshorne 
May,  1S91 

Major  Samuel  Harper  Secretary 

(Died  May  16,  1889) 


(iv) 


P  RJ-:  1' ACK. 


THE  General  Assembly  of  the  Conuiioiiwealth  of  Penn- 
sylvania at  the  session  of  1887,  passed  the  follow- 
ing : 
1.  "  J3e  it  enacted,  <£•''.,  That  tlie  sum  of  one  hundrcfl  aiul  Iwciity- 
oiie  thousand  five  hundred  doUars,  or  so  luuoli  thereof  as  may  be 
necessary,  be  and  is  hereby  specifically  appropriated  out  of  any 
funds  of  the  state  treasury  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  the  par- 
ticipation in,  and  markinix,  by  suitable  memorial  tal)lets  of  bv  •  -^ 
or  granite,  the  position  of  each  of  the  commands  of  Pennsylvaiua 
volunteers  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
******  ****** 

3.  "  That  immediately  after  tlie  passage  of  this  act  the  Governor 
shall  appoint  five  Commissioners,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  select 
and  decide  upon  the  design  and  material  for  monuments  of  granite 
or  bronze  to  mark  the  position  of  each  Pennsylvania  connnand 
upon  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg,  and  the  said  Commissioners 
shall  serve  without  compensation,  and  tliey  shall  co-operate  with 
five  persons  representing  the  survivors  of  the  several  regimental 
organizations  or  commands  of  this  state  engaged  in  the  said  battle, 
in  the  location  of  the  said  monuments  and  the  selection  thereof, 
and  when  such  monuments  shall  be  completed  and  properly  erected 
the  Auditor-General  shall,  upon  proper  voucher  to  be  presented  bv 
the  said  Commissioners,  draw  his  Avarrant  upon  the  State  Treasurer 
for  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  which  sum  is  hereby  appro- 
priated for  the  payment  of  the  monument  of  each  Pennsylvania 
command  or  organization  participating  in  said  battle  ;  and  should 
the  survivors  of  any  of  the  said  commands  fail,  for  a  jieriod  of 
twelve  months  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  to  agree  upon  the  lo- 
cation or  to  co-operate  with  the  said  Commissioners  as  j)rovided 
herein,  then  the  said  Commissioners  shall  have  a  suitable  monu- 
ment erected,  of  the  iliaterial  aforesaid,  to  mark  the  jtosition  of 
such  Pennsylvania  command  on  the  said  battle-field,  and  a  warrant 
for  the  cost  tliereof  shall  be  drawn  by  the  Auditor-(Teneral  in  the 
manner  hereinbefore  iirovided.'' 

On  the  15th  day  of  Jnne,  1887,  the  (xovernor  of  the  Coni- 

(V) 


vi  Prnnsi/lvauia  at  (Jetiijuhurij. 

monwoaltli,  lion.  .lames  A.  Beaver,  approved  the  act,  and  on 
the  27tli  of  June,  1S87,  issued  commissions  to  Brevet  Briga- 
dier-General John  P.  Taylor,  Brevet  Brigadier-Cxenei-al  J.  P. 
S.  Cfobin,  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  P.  Xicliolson,  Bre- 
vet Colonel  R.  Bruce  Ricketts  and  Major  Samuel  Harper  as 
the  Commissioners. 

The  Board  was  organized  by  the  selection  of  Brevet  Brig- 
adier-General John  P.  Taylor,  president,  and  Major  Samuel 
Harper,  secretary. 

Monuments  were  dedicated  under  the  appropriation  dur- 
ing 1887-1888. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  in  November,  1888,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Nicholson  submitted  a  resolution  providing  for  a 
committee  to  confer  with  Governor  Beaver,  having  in  view 
the  setting  aptirt  a  day,  for  the  dedication  of  the  monuments, 
in  1880.  under  the  auspices  of  the  state  and  with  appropriate 
ceremonies,  to  be  styled  ''Pennsylvania  Day."  The  Gover- 
nor entered  heartily  into  the  suggestion  and,  at  a  conference 
with  the  Commissioners,  May  11-12,  1889,  was  agreed  upon. 

The  Legislature  at  the  session  of  1889,  in  furtherance  of 
the  celebration,  generously  and  patriotically  passed  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Whkreas,  Tliat  the  act  of  tlie  Legislature  of  one  thousand  eight 
liundred  and  eighty-seven,  provided  for  the  erection  of  suitable 
monuments  on  the  battle-tield  of  Gettysburg,  to  mark  the  positions 
held  by  Pennsylvania  organizations  in  said  battle,  Avhich  monu- 
ments are  to  be  dedicated  at  such  time  during  the  present  year  as 
may  1>e  designated  by  the  Governor  of  this  Commonwealth,  at 
which  dedication  the  ])resence  of  all  Pennsylvania  soldiers  Avho 
participated  in  tin-  Inittle  of  Gettysburg  is  greatly  desired  ; 

And  Whrrcus,  The  people  of  this  commonwealth  have  always 
venerated  the  patriotic  and  heroic  deeds  of  her  soldiers  and  now 
desire  not  only  to  commemorate  the  sacrifices  of  the  fallen  heroes 
of  the  l?('])Mblic,  but  also  to  honor  the  surviviiio^  veterans  and  make 
their  rt'iiiaiiiiiiLT  <lays  comfortable  an<l  hapjiy  ;  therefore, 

Skction  1.  lii  It  )'n<tct<)J,  <C"t'.,  Tliat  at  tlic  tiiiie  of  tlic  dcdica- 
ti<»nof  the  monuments  of  the  Pennsylvania  ornani/.ations  on  the 
battle-Held  of  (Gettysburg,  there  shall  b(>  ))rovided  and  furnished, 
at  the  expense  of  the  commonwealtli.  t  ranspoi'tation  to  all  the  sur- 
viving honorably  disclnugecl  soldiers  now  residin<r  in  Peinisylvania 
whose  names  were  borne  up<ni  the  rolls  of  such  organizations  pre. 


P(  nnsi/Ivanid  (if  Gettijshurg.  vii 

viousl}'  to,  aiul  at  tlie  date,  of  the  battlo  of  (Tcttyshurof,  on  Julv 
first,  secoiui  and  tliird,  one  tliousand  eii^lit  liundrcd  and  sixty-throe, 
such  transportation  to  cover  distance  from  tlie  stations  at  which  such 
soldiers  live  or  from  the  railroad  stations  nearest  to  their  places  of 
residence,  by  the  shortest  or  most  convenient  route,  to  Gottyshurg- 
and  return,  and  shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  terms  of  passage  that  the 
said  veterans  shall  have  tlie  privilege  of  remaining  at  Gettysburg 
not  less  than  one  week  and  siiall  have  tlie  privilege  of  stopping  off 
at  any  station  en  route. 

Section"  4.  That  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  necessar\',  is  hereby  appro})riated  out  of  any 
money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  defray  the 
expense  of  trans[»ortatiou  provided  for  in  this  act  aiul  ex})enses  of 
the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Commission  incurred  in  making  ar- 
rangements for  dedication  of  said  monuments  ;  the  money  to  be 
paid  on  requisition  of  the  Adjutant-General  and  warrant  of  Auditor- 
General,  drawn  in  the  usual  manner,  providing  that  duly  verified 
vouchers,  showing  the  detailed  disbursements  under  this  act,  shall 
be  made  and  filed  in  the  Auditor-General's  oftice. 

The  act  was  approved  by  the  Governor  May  8th.  1889. 

The  Commissioners  at  once  proceeded  with  the  details  of 
the  programme,  bnt  theserions  illness  of  the  secretary  of  the 
Commission  and  the  impracticability  of  the  distribution  of 
the  transportion  by  the  Adjutant-General  in  the  short  period 
of  time  elapsing  between  the  passage  of  the  law  and  the  date 
of  the  ceremonies  agreed  upon,  induced  the  Commissioners 
in  conference  with  the  Governor,  to  postpone  the  dedication 
to  September  11-12,  1889. 

Major  Harper  died  May  16th,  1889,  and  Lietitenant-Colonel 
Nicholson  was  elected  secretary. 

The  details  of  the  ceremonies  were  at  once  arranged  and 
the  programme  for  September  was  announced. 

The  orders  for  transportation  under  the  law  were  distrib- 
uted by  Brigadier-General  D.  H.  Hastings,  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral. The  Board  desires  to  express  its  hearty  thanks  for  the 
faithftil  i3erforiuance  of  this  duty,  which,  to  a  great  extent, 
made  the  occasion  a  success. 

On  the  5th  of  June.  1890,  a  conference  with  the  repi-e- 
sentatives  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  was  held  at  Har- 
risburg,  having  in  view  a  "Pennsylvania  Reserve  Day"  at 
Gettysburg,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  monu- 


/ 


viii  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

nitMif'^  of  thp  Tlpsprve  regiments.  At  this  meeting,  Tues- 
tl:i y.  Seprcmber  2d,  1890,  was  agreed  upon  and  a  committee 
a})p()inred  To  act  in  conjunction  willi  tlie  Commissioners. 
On  ilir  day  designated  a  large  representation  of  this  gallant 
corps  asseinl>led  at  Cxettysburg  and  participated  in  the  cere- 
monies in  the  National  Cemetery.  The  success  of  the  re- 
union was  largely  due  to  the  active  co-operation  of  Colonel 
John  H.  Taggart,  Eleventh  Reserves,  Captain  John  Taylor, 
Second  Reserves,  the  Honorable  President  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Reserve  Association,  Ex-Gfovernor  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Association,  Sergt.  James  McCormick. 
Governor  James  A.  Beaver,  in  his  annual  message,  January 
6th,  1891,  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  said  : 

The  dedication  of  those  memorials  upon  Pennsylvania  Day  and 
Pennsylvania  Reserve  Day  has  resulted  in  a  large  amount  of  regi- 
mental history,  covering  principally  the  part  taken  l)y  the  several 
organizations  in  the  battle  of  Gettysl)urg.  This  mass  of  materia! 
shonhl  be  systematized,  edited  and  carefully  preserved.  If  pub- 
lislu'd  in  a  single  volume,  with  lithogra})h  cuts  of  the  several  monu- 
ments erected  by  Pennsylvania  to  her  military  organizations  which 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  it  would  of  itself  constitute 
the  most  striking  monument  illustrative  of  and  perpetuating  the 
memory  of  the  part  taken  by  the  representatives  of  our  common- 
wealth upon  lier  own  soil  in  the  greatest  struggle  of  the  War  of 
Secession.  I  recommend  a  liberal  appropriation  for  this  purpose, 
to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Commission  heretofore 
organized  for  the  erection  of  monuments,  the  members  of  whicli, 
in  their  study  of  the  subject,  have  (pialified  themselves  f(n-  the  in- 
telligent and  efficient  discharge  of  such  a  duty. 

Upon  January  26th,  1891,  Hon.  J.  P.  S.  Gobin,  Senator 
fi-oiu  Lebanon,  introduced  the  following  in  the  State  Senate  : 
An  act  to  provide  for  the  publishing  of  the  report  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  dedication  of  the  Pennsylvania  monuments  upon  the 
battle-field  of  (Tettysbiirg,  ])roviding  for  the  distribution  thereof 
and  making  an  appropriation  for  the  same. 

Skc'tion  1.  lie  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen- 
taliiyji  of  the  (Joininonioealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assem- 
bly met^  anxt  it  Is  In  rit>y  enocted  hy  the  authority  if  the  same, 
That,  tlu-re  sliall  lie  piihlislied  undei'  tlie  direction  of  the  Gettysburg 
IJattle-lieid  ('onimission  lu-retofoi'e  organized  for  the  erection  of 
monuments,  nineteen  thousand  eopies  of  its  report  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  dedication  (•ei"enioiiies  of  tlie    I'eiinsylvania    monuments 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty shur(j.  ix 

upon  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg.  To  hv  i)ul)lislie(l  in  one  vol- 
ume not  to  exceed  one  thousand  pages,  to  be  bound  in  half  morocco, 
and  to  contain  lithographs  or  other  cuts  of  the  several  monuments, 
and  such  regimental  history  as  may  be  necessary  to  ])roperly  j^er- 
petuate  the  memory  of  the  jiart  taken  by  the  several  Pennsvlvania 
organizations. 

Section  2.  The  distribution  of  the  aforesaid  edition  shall  be  as 
follows  :  Five  hundred  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Governor,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Commonwealth,  three  hundred  copies  for  the  use  of  the  State  Li- 
brarian, fifty  copies  each  for  use  of  Attorney-General,  Auditor- 
General,  State  Treasurer,  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs,  Superinten- 
dent of  Public  Instruction,  Adjutant-General,  Commissioner  of  In- 
surance, and  Superintendent  of  Public  Printing  and  Binding  ;  one 
thousand  copies  for  the  use  of  the  School  Department  for  distribu- 
tion to  school  superintendents,  normal  schools  and  school  libraries 
in  the  commonwealth,  six  hundred  copies  for  use  of  the  Military 
Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  six  hundred 
and  fifty  copies  for  use  of  the  Grand  Army  ot  the  Republic  for 
distribution  among  the  Posts  of  the  Department  of  Pennsylvania, 
fifty  copies  for  the  use  of  the  encampments  of  the  L'nion  Veteran 
Legion  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  two  hundred  copies  for  the 
use  of  the  members  of  the  Battle-field  Monumental  Commission, 
five  thousand  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  ten  thousand 
copies  for  use  of  the  House  to  be  delivered  to  the  members  of  the 
present  Legislature. 

Governor  Robert  E.  Pattison  appreciatively  approved  the 
bill  for  publication.  May  Ttli,  1891. 

In  this  abstract  of  the  Commission's  work  they  express 
their  thanks  to  Brevet  Major-General  David  McM.  Gregg, 
chief  marshal,  and  his  chief -of -staff,  Brevet  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Sylvester  Bonnaffon,  Jr..  for  the  important  part  they 
took  in  making  "  Pennsylvania  Day''  memorable. 

To  Brevet  Brigadier-General  James  A.  Beaver,  as  Governor 
of  the  Commonwealth,  Pennsylvania  oAves  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude, for  to  him  it  is  due  in  a  great  measure  that  the  battle- 
field of  Gettysburg  is  marked  with  memorials  and  the  ser- 
vice of  her  sons  recited  in  this  volume. 

John  P.  Nicholsox, 

Brevet  Lieut.-Colonel  U.  S.  T'., 

Secretary. 


PENNSYLVANIA  COMMANDS  ENGAGED  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF 
GETTYSBURG  OR  PRESENT  ON  THE  FIELD. 


Eleventh  Regiment  Infantry. 
Twenty-third  Regiment  Infantry. 
Twenty-sixth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Twenty-seventh  Regiment  Infantry. 
Twenty-eighth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Twenty-ninth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Thirtieth  Regiment  Infantry  (First  Reserve). 
Thirty-first  Regiment  Infantry  (Second  Reserve). 
Thirty-fourth  Regiment  Infantry  (Fifth  Reserve). 
Thirty-flfth  Regiment  Infantry  (Sixth  Reserve). 
Thirty-eighth  Regiment  Infantry  (Ninth  Reserve). 
Thirty-ninth  Regiment  Infantry  (Tenth  Reserve). 
Fortieth  Regiment  Infantry  (Eleventii  Reserve). 
Forty-first  Regiment  Infantry  (Twelfth  Reserve). 
Forty-second  Regiment  Infantry  (Thirteen tli  Reserve,  First  Rifles.) 
Forty-sixth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Forty-ninth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Fifty-third  Regiment  Infantry. 
Fifty-sixth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Fifty-seventh  Regiment  Infantry. 
Sixty-first  Regiment  Infantry, 
Sixty-second  Regiment  Infantry. 
Sixty-third  Regiment  Infantry. 
Sixty-eighth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Sixty-ninth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Seventy-first  Regiment  Infantry. 
Seventy-second  Regiment  Infantry. 
Seventy-third  Regiment  Infantry. 
Seventy-fourth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Seventy-fifth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Eighty-first  Regiment  Infantry. 
Eighty-second  Regiment  Infantry. 
Eighty-tliird  Regiment  Infantry. 
Eighty-fourth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Eiglity-eighth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Ninetieth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Ninety-first  Regiment  Infantry. 
Ninety-third  Regiment  Infantry. 
Ninetj'-fifth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Ninety-sixth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Ninety-eighth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Xinety-nintli  Regiment  Infantry. 
<';ie  Hundred  and  Second  Regiment  Infantry' 
'  >;ie  Hundred  and  Fifth  Regiment  Infantry. 
ne  Hundred  and  Sixth  Regiment  Infantry. 

(1) 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Rej^inient  Infantry. 
One  llundrt-d  anil  Ninth  Kcfiiinent  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Heyinient  Infantry. 
One  llunclred  and  Eleventh  Keginient  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  Keariinent  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Kifteenlh  Keginient  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Si.xteenth  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hurulred  and  Eighteenth  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Nineteenth  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-first  Regiment  Infantry, 
One  Hundred  and  Tiiirt^^-nintli  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Fortieth  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Huntired  and  Forty-first  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-fiftii  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundretl  and  Forty-seventh  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-eighth  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-ninth  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Fiftj'-tiiird  Regiment  Infantry. 
One  Hundred  and  Fifiy-fifth  Regiment  Infantry. 
Twenty-Sixth  Emergency  Regiment  Infantry. 
First  Regiment  Cavalry. 
Second  Regiment  Cavalry. 
Third  Regiment  Cavalry. 
Fourth  Regiment  Cavalry. 
Sixth  Regiment  Cavalry. 

Eifihth  Regiment  Cavalry. 
Si.xteenlli  Regiment  Cavalry. 

Seventeenth  Regiment  Cavalry. 

Eighteenth  Regiment  Cavalry. 

'I'wenty- First  Regiment  Cavalry. 

Battery  H,  First  .\rtillery. 

Battery  F,  First  .\rtillery. 

Battery  C,  First  .\rtillery. 

Battery  C,  Independent  Artillery. 

liattery  E,  Independent  Artillery. 

]5attery  F,  Independent  Artillery. 

Battery  Jl,  Third  Heavy  Artillery. 


GETTYSBURG 


PENNSYLVANIA 


DAY 


September  11-12 


1889. 


(8) 


PENNSYLVANIA    DAY 

CiK  I  I  \  SHURG,   September   11-12,    1889 


WkDxVesday,   September   iith 

Dedication  of  the  Monuments 

of  the  Pennsylvania  Commands  engaged  in  the  Battle 

By  the  Survivors'  Associations 


Ceremonies    in    National    C e m e  r e r \' 
Thursday,  September   i2Th,    i  30  p.  m. 

PRESIDING 

Brevet  Lieut.  Colonel  George  Meade 
Staff  of  Major-General  George  G.  Meade,  commanding  Army  of  the  Potomac 


MUSIC 

The  Star-spangled  Banner 

The  "Arion  Singing  Society  " 

Prof.  J.  C.  Frank,  Leader 

PRAYER 

Reverend  John  R.  Paxton,  D.  D. 

Second  Lieutenant  140th  Penna.  Infantry 

ANTHEM 

"  Praise  the  Lord  " 

The  "Arion  Singing  Society  " 

TRANSFER  OF  THE  MONUMENTS  TO  THE  GOVERNOR 

Honorable  J.  P.  S.  Gobin 

Brevet  Brigadier-General ;  Colonel  47th  Penna.  Infantry 

ACCEPTANCE  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH 

Governor  James  A.  Beaver 

Brevet  Brigadier-General ;  Colonel  148th  Penna.  Infantry 

POEM,  "Gettysburg" 
Isaac  R.  Pennypacker,  Esij. 

THE  FIRST  DAY,  July  1,  1863 

Brevet  Captain  Joseph  G.  Rosengarten 

First  Lieutenant  131st  Penna.  Infantrj' ; 

Aide-de-Canip  Staff  of  Major-General  John  P.  Reynolds 

THE  SECOND  AND  THIRD  DAWS,  July  2-3,  1863 

Brevet  Brigailier-Genoral  Henrj-  H.  Bingham 

Major  and  Judge-Advocate  Staff  of  Major-General  Wintleld  S.  Hancock 

MUSIC 
Dedication  Quartette 

TRANSFER  TO  BATTLE-FIELD  MEMORIAL  ASSOCIATION 
Governor  James  A.  Beaver 

ACCEPTANCE  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION 
Edward  McPherson,  Esq 

MUSIC 
Dedication  C,>uarlette  and  I'erficveraiice  Band 

BENEDICTION 

Reverend  David  Craft,  D.  D. 

Chaplain  Ulst  Penna.  Infantry 

(4) 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


PRAYER. 


Rev.  John  R.  Paxton,  D.  1). 


ALMIGHTY  God,  Great  Ordainer  of  all  things,  Mighty  Sus- 
tainer  of  all  Thy  creatures,  we  are  Thy  people,  preserved 
by  Thy  power,  cared  for  by  Thy  love  and  redeemed  by 
Thy  gi'ace.  Aiid  whatsoever  we  do,  whether  we  eat  or  di'ink, 
whether  we  cultivate  the  art  of  peace,  or  hasten  unto  battle, 
whether  we  celebrate  a  birth  or  commemorate  the  dead,  what- 
soever we  do,  we  sincerely  desire  to  do  all  in  Thy  fear  and  to  Thy 
g"lory,  thou  Omnipotent  God  without  whose  blessing-  we  can  do 
nothing-  ivell  and  against  whom  we  can  do  nothing-  long-. 

We  bless  Thee  as  the  God  of  Rig-hteousness  and  Truth,  whose 
presence  can  be  discerned  on  battle-fields,  enforcing-  just  judg- 
ment by  the  sword  and  bayonet  as  well  as  in  the  houses  of 
mourning  inspiring  hope,  and  soothing  sorrow,  or  by  the  beds  of 
dying  men  offering  pardon  and  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord. 

We  bless  Thee  as  the  God  of  Nations  as  well  as  of  personal 
destiny.  We  see  Thy  hand  moving  amongst  the  affairs  of  the 
world,  overturning  dogmas  of  false  worship,  inflicting  defeat  upon 
wrong  and  wicked  causes,  and  visiting  with  retributive  punish- 
ment all  unholy  enterprises  that  offend  Thy  justice  and  truth. 

In  times  past  we  see  Thy  hand  moving  amongst  our  affairs  as 
a  nation.  Friends  and  allies  of  Thine  assisted  at  our  birth  as  a 
nation,  and  by  Thy  care  and  favor  we  have  prospered  as  a  people 
and  grown  great  and  powerful  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  Avorld,  because 
we  have,  in  the  main,  loved  righteousness  and  truth  and  hated  in- 
justice, oppressions  and  lies. 

Almighty  God,  continue  to  us,  we  pray  Thee,  as  a  nation, 
through  all  future  generations,  Thy  favor  and  Thy  care,  then  with 
God  on  our  side  we  shall  not  fear  the  wrath  of  men  nor  the 
gates  of  hell,  and  the  Great  Republic,  the  land  we  love,  shall 
abide  forever. 

And  now,  O  God,  our  father's  God,  our  country's  Gotl,  for  the 
occasion  before  us,  and  upon  these  memorial  services,  we  confi- 
dently invoke  Thy  presence  and  Thy  blessing,  firmly  believing 


G  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

that  this  clay,  aud  the  dead  around  us,  deserve  Thy  appi'obatiou, 
and  are  worthy  of  Thy  couseiitiug:  presence  and  Thy  loving-  smile. 
Almighty  aud  most  Holy  God,  the  Eternal  Father,  the  Sovereign 
Ruler  in  Heaven,  and  on  Earth,  Lord  of  Lords,  Great  and  Su- 
preme God  against  whom  no  star  ever  rebelled,  nor  any  sea  ever 
mutinied,  daring  to  overleap  its  prescribed  boundaries,  to  Thee 
we  boldly  and  confidenth^  appeal;  and  on  this  memorial,  this 
historic,  this  sacred  field  where  our  dead  comrades  sleep  we  fear 
not  to  claim  Thy  presence  and  Thy  blessing. 

Hide  not,  O  God,  Thy  face  from  us,  nor  keep  back  Thy  smile 
and  benediction,  while  we,  survivors  of  this  tremendous  and  ter- 
rific battle-field,  on  which  treason  and  rebellion  were  fatally 
wounded,  and  the  Union  and  the  right  assured  of  their  final 
triumph,  in  grateful  memory  of  our  comrades  who  fell  here,  on  the 
soil  of  our  own  state,  and  from  our  own  homes,  dedicate  these 
monuments  to  their  everlasting-  remembrance.  O  be  with  us  in 
all  these  solemn  and  tender  services,  for  in  Thy  power  we  beg-in 
them,  and  under  Thy  smile  have  to  conclude  them.  The  battle 
was  fought  and  won  by  our  comrades  who  sleej)  sweet  beneath 
Thy  smile,  under  the  sod,  aud  by  us  who  survived  to  mourn  their 
death,  and  pay  them  loving  tribute  to  their  memory.  May  these 
marble  and  bronze  monuments,  erected  in  loving  memory  of  our 
fallen  comrades,  stand  while  the  Republic  endures,  and  preach 
patriotism  to  unborn  generations  on  this  eventful  and  sacred  field. 

We  thank  thee,  O  God,  for  the  faithfulness  unto  death  of  the 
heroic  dead  whose  bones  repose  in  this  hallowed  ground.  May 
their  memory  be  g-reen  in  our  hearts  while  life  lasts.  May  the 
country  for  which  they  voluntarily  and  gladly  shed  their  blood 
prosper,  and  sm-vive  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  and  the  calamities 
of  fortune,  great,  united,  enduring-.  May  we  be  as  loyal  and  patri- 
otic in  peace  as  we  were  in  war,  by  the  side  of  our  comrades  at 
rest  under  our  feet.  May  the  children  cherish  and  perpetuate 
the  institution,  the  constitution,  the  liberty  and  love,  and  equality 
our  comrades  died  to  maintain. 

And  now  Thy  holy,  helpful  blessing  we  claim  and  crave  on 
the  day,  on  our  dead,  on  our  country,  north  and  south,  on  oui* 
President,  our  Governor  aud  the  dear  old  State,  which  we  and 
our  common  brothers  who  sleep  in  well-earned  g-raves  on  this 
sacred  battle-field,  are  proud  to  call  our  oion,  Ave  ask  in  Christ's 
name.     Amen. 


ANTHEM:  "Praise  the  Lord." 
The  Arion  Singing  Society. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


THE  TRANSFER  OF  THE  MONUMENTS  TO  THE  GOVERNOR 
OF    THE  COMMONWEALTH. 


By  Hon.  J.  P.  S.  Gobin. 


GOVEKNOR  BE  AVER:  The  Commission  appointed  by 
yourself  under  the  provision  of  the  act  of  assembly  ap- 
proved June  15,  1887,  desire  to  present  to  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  through  you,  as  its  executive,  the  result  of  then* 
labor.  They  were  directed  to  "select  and  decide  upon  the  desig-n 
and  the  material  for  monuments  of  g-ranite  and  bronze  to  mark 
the  position  of  each  Pennsylvania  command  upon  the  battle-field 
of  Gettysburg,"  and  the  object  of  the  erection  of  these  monu- 
ments was  declared  to  be  "for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  the 
participation  in  and  marking  by  suitable  memorial  tablets  of 
granite  or  bronze  the  position  of  each  of  the  commands  of  Penn- 
sylvania  volunteers  engaged  "  in  that  battle. 

From  the  earliest  era  of  which  we  have  historical  data,  nations 
and  individuals  have  delighted  to  honor  heroic  deeds,  and  endur- 
ingly  mark  the  spot  upon  which  the  fate  of  governments  was  in- 
volved in  the  shock  of  battle.  Even  though  the  result,  in  many 
.  instances,  impeded  the  onward  march  of  progressive  thought  and 
shackled  the  limbs  of  advancing  freedom,  the  natural  pride  with 
which  was  beheld  the  prowess  of  her  soldiery  upon  that  field, 
demanded  of  the  nation  suitable  commemoration  of  the  event,  and 
a  definite  location  of  the  scene.  In  the  memories  and  traditions 
of  past  centuries,  the  legends  of  the  middle  ages,  the  histories  of 
the  ancient  rulers,  or  the  struggles  of  nations  for  a  better  civili- 
zation, the  one  place  made  sacred  is  that  upon  which  their 
armies  fought  and  conquered.  Every  nationality  has  insisted 
upon  tributes  of  this  character,  and  many  have  learned  impor- 
tant lessons  from  them.  We  remember  the  story  of  one  of  the 
old  conquerors  of  Greece,  who,  when  he  had  traveled  in  his  boy- 
hood over  the  battle-fields  where  Miltiades  had  won  victories  and 
set  up  trophies,  upon  his  return,  said,  "These  trophies  of  Mil- 
tiades will  never  let  me  sleep.'"  Each  feature  of  the  chiseled 
granite  was  an  inspiration  to  him  as  a  soldier,  and,  doubtless,  had 
an  inspiring  effect  upon  his  subsequent  cai*eer. 

The  E-omans  who  placed  the  busts  of  their  successful  leaders 


8  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

upon  their  coin,  the  Swiss  who  employed  the  genius  of  Thor- 
waklseu  to  boldly  hew  from  the  granite  face  of  the  Alps  a  lion  to 
perpetuate  the  courage  of  their  countrymen  in  a  foreign  land, 
the  nations  embodying  their  patriotism  or  skill  at  arms  by  tri- 
umphal arch  or  memorial  column,  were  all  actuated  by  the  same 
motive.  Even  beyond  these,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  as  re 
mote  as  the  days  when  the  Pharaohs  ruled,  and  amid  the  sands 
of  old  Assyria,  can  Ave  find  the  remains  of  magnificent  specimens 
of  memorial  architecture. 

•  In  how  many  instances,  however,  were  these  but  the  work  of 
hands  which  had  been  held  aloft  with  glee  as  the  conqueror 
passed  in  triumphal  procession  through  the  capital,  with  his  en- 
slaved prisoners  bound  to  his  chariot  wheels ;  or,  at  best,  were 
but  the  tribute  to  the  ambition  of  kings,  or,  still  more  to  be  re- 
gretted, the  result  of  the  superior  prowess  of  disciplined  forces 
over  hastily-gathered  levies  defending  their  homes  from  ruth- 
less invaders  1  Happily,  upon  this  field  every  tablet  represents 
loyalty  to  country  and  fiag — a  sublime  devotion  to  duty  never 
excelled  in  the  world's  history.  They  have  been  erected  in  re- 
sponse to  the  sentiment  of  the  nation,  demanding  that  which 
should  be  a  patriotic  remembrance  for  all  time.  Where  the  men 
of  their  state  fought  and  died  with  the  nation's  life  in  deadly 
peril — where  rebellion  against  it  reached  the  noon-tide  of  its 
progress,  and  from  thence  went  reeling  out  to  meet  its  ineAatable 
sunset  at  Appomattox — should  the  granite  and  bronze  arise. 
They  represent  a  united  country  cemented  by  the  ordeal  of  battle 
— refined,  clarified  and  strengthened  in  the  furnace  of  war,  and  the 
circle  of  fire  in  which  armies  fought  and  navies  sailed.  Each 
block  stands  for  a  unity  of  interest  in  every  part  of  the  land, 
and  a  national  future  one  and  indivisible.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  opinion  of  the  individual  as  to  the  primal  cause  of  the 
rebellion,  they  rest  in  the  graves  of  the  fallen,  with  the  memo- 
rial tablets  of  the  various  states  keeping  watch  over  the  places  in 
which  they  lie  buried  forever.  Thus  the  lives  of  those  we  repre- 
sent on  this  occasion  were  not  lost  to  their  country  or  their 
kindred — they  are  eloquent  even  in  their  nameless  graves.  They 
crowd  al  )Out  as  with  all  the  incentives  of  honor  and  patriotism. 
They  survive  in  our  admiration  of  their  deeds,  in  our  respect  for 
their  sacrifices,  in  love  for  their  patriotism  and  devotion  to 
country.  As  the  representatives  of  principles  which  are  eternal, 
HO  will  their  memories  remain.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  dead 
and  living  l)ut  one  tiag  fioats,  or  dare  fioat,  in  this,  our  common 
<-ountry.     To  do  justice  to  them,  it  should  be  so  planted  as  to 


Peunsylvamu  at  Gettysburg.  y 

wave  above  all  error,  sectionalism,  injustice  or  division  of  senti- 
ment as  to  the  rig-ht(^ousness  of  the  cause  for  which  those  we 
represent  yielded  up  their  lives. 

In  this,  however,  we  by  no  means  desire  to  confine  our  allusions 
to  this  immediate  vicinity.  It  is  but  part  of  such  a  lin«^,  or  series 
of  lines  of  battle  as  the  world  never  beheld.  The  right  resting- 
at  Donelson,  it  encircles  a  vast  extent  of  country,  until  the  left  is 
reached  here  in  this  quiet  valley  of  the  Kej^stone  State,  in  the 
vast  circle  that  sweeps  down  the  Mississippi  to  the  gulf,  diverges 
to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  eastward  through  to  the  Atlantic,  coursing 
along  its  coast,  and,  by  the  familiar  Potomac,  leaping  the  wide 
rivers  and  high  mountains — lines  of  natural  defense — to  where 
we  at  present  stand.  Its  entire  length  is  marked  by  honored 
graves — veteran  sentinels  of  liberty — whose  challenges  will  be 
heard  forever  and  aye  by  all  disturbers  of  the  nation's  unity,  or 
conspirators  against  its  honor.  They  will  speak  with  the  au- 
thority of  the  embattled  hosts  who  fell  in  that  line  resisting  the 
advance  of  error,  and  with  the  result  that  all  now  sit  in  peace 
and  comfort. 

But  with  reverent  respect  for  all,  we  are,  to-day,  desirous  of  doing 
honor  to  the  soldier  of  our  own  state.  These  are  their  monuments. 
Those  graves  contain  the  dead  of  the  state  who  fell  upon  this 
field.  Men  of  Pennsylvania,  they  were  of  your  tiesh  and  blood, 
they  went  out  from  yom*  homes,  they  battled  for  the  preservation 
of  your  firesides,  and  the  vacant  chairs  remain  within  your  house- 
holds. Their  comrades  claim  them  in  memory  and  friendship, 
and  it  is  a  claim  as  far-reaching  as  the  warm-throbbing  heart  of 
the  old  soldier  can  make  it.  With  tear-dimmed  eyes  they  range 
over  this  field  as  over  no  other  spot  in  all  the  land,  and  would  say 
to  the  trespasser,  "put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place 
whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground." 

This  being  Pennsylvania's  battle-field,  what  more  fitting  than 
to  properly  commemorate  the  deeds  of  Pennsylvania's  soldier 
sons  upon  her  soil  ?  Here,  as  everywhere,  at  the  call  of  duty,  during 
the  entire  period  of  the  rebellion  were  the  men  of  Pennsylvania 
conspicuous.  It  has  been  contended  that  the  battle  of  Gettysburg 
is  of  much  greater  scope  than  that  which  the  hills  around  us  en- 
compass, vast  as  that  is.  Some  would  even  include  the  entire 
extent  of  territory  lying  between  the  battle  grounds  and  the  fords 
of  the  Ilai)paliannock  in  Virginia.  Full  of  interest  and  impor- 
tance as  the  days  preceding  were,  it  culminated  in  tlie  struggle 
which  began  on  the  1st  and  ended  on  the  3d  of  July,  18G3,  and 
to  this  history  will  confine  it. 


10  Pennsylvania  at  Gettijshurg. 

Take  a  view  of  whatever  portion  of  the  field  within  the  rang-e 
of  your  vision,  and  you  behold  Pennsylvania's  memorial  tablets. 
Upon  the  cavalry  skirmish-line  with  Buford,  in  the  column  which 
Reynolds  led  to  its  position,  and  in  the  line  which  formed  as  his 
prostrate  form  was  carried  to  the  rear — upon  the  extreme  right 
and  left  flank  of  the  First  Corps  were  regiments  from  the  Keystone 
State,  and  the  first  infantry  fire  poured  into  the  advancing-  enemy 
was  from  another  of  them.  In  that  corps  death  reaped  a  rich 
harvest  of  g-allant  Pennsy  1  vanians.  When  the  Eleventh  Corps  was 
hastily  thrown  into  action  they  were  in  the  advanced  line,  and 
the  losses  recorded  attest  the  manner  in  which  they  fong-ht.  One 
of  her  batteries  took  possession  of  east  Cemetery  Hill,  and  the 
first  day's  fighting-  sullenly  ended  amid  the  shotted  salutes  with 
which  the  enemy  were  g-reeted  from  these  g-uns. 

Upon  the  second  day,  amid  all  the  fig-hting-  on  every  part  of 
the  field,  their  record  was  well  maintained.  In  the  volume  of 
battle  which  beg-an  on  the  left  of  our  line  and  surg-ed  along-  the 
Third  Corps,  involving-  it  and  parts  of  others,  no  more  heroic  deeds 
were  witnessed  than  those  which  Pennsylvania  soldiers  performed. 
Clinging-  to  the  lines  at  the  peach  orchard,  surging-  back  and  forth 
through  the  wheat  field,  changing  front  under  terrific  fire,  amid 
the  rocky  sides  of  the  Round  Tops,  were  heard  the  crack  of  their 
rifles  and  their  shouts  of  defiance.  And  at  this  point  the  sun  of 
battle  went  down  as  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  charged  down 
the  slope  and  over  the  valley  of  death,  driving  before  them  the 
last  line  of  the  enemy  attacking  this  position.  As  they  planted 
the  Maltese  cross  of  the  Fifth  Corps,the  men  of  the  Sixth  displayed 
their  Greek  cross  in  support,  and  the  left  was  safe.  Away  on 
the  right  was  the  Twelfth  Corps,  and  its  star  waved  over  Gulp's  and 
Wolf's  Hill.  Here  the  battle  raged  fiercely,  and  there,  too,  were 
Pennsylvanians,  and  not  an  inch  of  ground  was  yielded,  until, 
under  orders,  they  vacated  it  to  aid  another  part  of  the  line.  As 
if  to  fittingly  close  the  second  day,  it  remained  for  her  sons  to  meet 
the  charge  of  the  enemy  upon  east  Cemetery  Hill,  and  over  the 
guns  of  her  batteries  men  fought  with  a  courage  and  desperation 
never  exceeded,  and  using  weapons  unheard  of  in  such  warfare. 
Here,  also,  nightfall  beheld  the  enemy  defeated  and  discomfited, 
and  th((  position  of  n^giments  and  batteries  Avhich  had  fought 
upon  every  pait  of  the  field  could  have  been  marked  at  that  time 
by  the  dead,  who  lay  as  they  had  fallen,  with  their  faces  to  the  foe. 

The  morning  of  the  third  day  was  ushered  in  by  the  deter- 
mined eflort  of  th(!  Twelfth  Corps  to  re-occupy  their  vacated 
lin(is.     Aided  by  detachmtuits  of  the  Sixth  they  ob.scured  the  sun 


Pen7isylvania  at  Gettysburg.  w 

with  their  smoke  of  battle,  and  after  live  hours  of  incessant  fig-ht- 
ing-  they  Avere  back  in  the  euti-euchments,  and  tJie  rig])t  of  tlie 
line  was  secure. 

You  cannot  fail  to  recog-nize  the  Penusylvanians,  who,  at  this 
part  of  the  field,  represented  tlieir  state  and  nation.  And  now, 
in  the  quiet  Avhich  prevailed  until  after  the  mid-day  hour,  bat- 
teries, cavalry  and  infantry  gird  their  loins  for  the  final  con- 
test all  knew  to  be  impending.  When,  from  Seminary  Ridge,  the 
cannonading  of  over  one  hundred  guns  shook  the  earth,  quickly 
and  effectively  was  it  responded  to.  When  the  enemy  soug-ht  to 
move  troops  from  their  right  to  strengthen  and  reinforce  their 
center  they  found  cavalry  there  to  prevent  it,  and  the^^  did  pre- 
vent it.  Away  ofl'  to  the  right  the  mounted  legions  seek  to  turn 
that  flank  and  reach  the  rear  of  our  line.  There,  also,  were  our 
cavalry,  and  the  Hummel  Farm  became  the  scene  of  one  of  the 
most  determined  and  sang-uinary  conflicts  of  man  and  horse;  and 
the  several  lines  of  infantry,  with  which  this  attack  co-operated, 
as  they  emerg-ed  from  the  woods  and  swung  across  the  plain, 
headed  directly  for  the  troops  of  the  same  old  state  over  whose 
head  floated  the  well-known  trefoil  of  the  Second  Corps.  In 
brigade  line  they  awaited  the  attack.  It  came,  and  with  their 
comrades  of  the  east  and  west  they  rent  the  clouds  with  theu* 
shouts  of  victory  as  the  decimated  lines  disappeared  in  the  smoke 
of  the  conflict,  and  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  over. 

At  the  headquarters  of  the  army — of  corps,  division  and  bri- 
g-ade — were  the  men  born  on  the  soil  of  our  state.  In  every 
g-rade,  as  well  as  at  every  point,  Pennsylvania  soldiers  were  in 
the  forefront,  and  when  we  have  completed  the  work  in  hand,  and 
the  memory  of  men  in  the  ranks  have  been  rendered  immortal  to 
the  full  extent  of  our  ability,  can  we  not,  will  we  not,  all  unite  in 
efforts  to  place 

"Under  the  dome  of  the  Union  sky 

The  American  sokliers'  temple  of  fame 

in  a  most  prominent  place  upon  this  field  a  just  tribute  to  the 
valor,  ability  and  devotion  to  duty  of  that  glorious  son  of  Penn- 
sylvania whose  name  is  so  indelibly  associated  Avith  Gettysburg 
and  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  wherever  it  fought  ?  Until 
George  Gordon  Meade  has  a  fitting  monument  upon  this  battle 
g-round  Pennsylvania  will  not  have  entirely  performed  her  duty. 
Pardon  this  digression.  I  have  not  attempted  to  picture  or  do- 
scribe  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  I  disclaim  any  such  intention. 
My  object  has  been  to  present  with  the  monuments  which  rise  at 
every  point  of  the  field  brief  reasons  for  their  being,  and  to  as- 


12  Fennsylvania  at  Getty nhurg. 

sure  you  tliat  each  one  occupies  tli<'  position  it  is  entitled  to 
througli  the  valor  of  the  men  who  followed  the  flag'.  Wherever 
may  be  seen  the  bronze  coat-of-arms  of  the  state,  there  stood  and 
foug-ht  at  one  period  or  another  in  the  desperate  strug-g-le  the 
command  represented  by  the  memorial,  and  the  soil  has  been 
rendered  sacred  by  the  patriotic  blood  there  expended.  In  honor 
of  the  service  rendered  have  these  enduring-  tablets  been  erected. 
It  is  a  fit  and  just  tribute.  The  armies  have  long  since  struck 
their  tents  and  silently  merged  with  the  masses  in  every  part  of 
the  nation.  The  fields  upon  which  they  struggled  gleam  to  day 
with  the  glory  of  peace,  and  death  no  longer  gathers  the  rich  har- 
vest which  springs  from  their  fruitful  soil.  Many  have  ended 
life's  battle  since  then,  and  the  lines  are  fading  away  swiftly  be- 
fore the  ravages  of  time  and  disease.  They  stand  but  in  antici- 
pation of  a  speedy  reunion  with  those  file-leaders  who  have 
crossed  the  dark  river,  and  with  whom  we  hope  to  again  fall  into 
ranks  in  the  great  hereafter.  Let  the  gratitude  of  the  nation  con- 
tinue to  go  out  toward  these  men.  It  should  be  proportioned  to 
the  benefit  received,  as  well  as  the  purity  of  intention  which  im- 
parted the  benefits. 

Predicted  as  an  inevitable  conflict,  the  war  came,  and  was  fought 
to  the  bitter  end.  The  logic  of  events  clearly  proves  it  to  have 
been  an  epoch  in  the  nation's  life,  which,  under  Divine  Providence, 
was  to  result  in  either  liberty  to  all  or  death  to  the  nation.  The 
result  could  not  have  been  otherwise.  It  was  a  tribute  to  tlie 
splendid  civilization  of  the  American  people,  which,  by  the  efforts 
of  a  century,  had  developed  the  country,  educated  the  masses, 
created  a  vast  internal  commerce,  all  culminating  in  placing  the 
nation  upon  a  plane  of  greatness  never  before  reached  by  any 
government.  Through  the  future  gleam  the  possibilities,  which, 
may  we  not  claim,  will  mantle  the  earth  with  such  achievements 
as  will  make  this  the  undisputed,  the  eternal  hope  of  liberty. 

We  have  learned  the  true  value  of  nationality.  Like  our  own 
mountain  ranges,  we  will  recognize  the  different  peaks  as  they 
rise  in  various  altitudes  and  claim  specific  names,  the  whole 
forming  an  indivisible  body  conspicuous  in  its  greatness  as  a 
whole.  These  monuments  represent  this  great  nationality,  and 
will  stand  forever  as  testimonials  of  a  state  and  nation's  gratitude 
to  the  valor  of  its  citizen  soldiers. 

Let  the  morning  and  evening  sun,  whicli  shall  greet,  gild  and 
ling(!r  on  their  sides,  and  play  upon  them  from  base  to  capstone, 
Kymboli/e  the  showering  benedictions  of  their  countrymen,  which 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  13 

will  stream  from  ag-e  to  ag-e  iu  honor  of  the  fame  and  memory  of 
the  dead  and  living  they  represent. 

The  duties  of  your  Commission  have  almost  ended.  I  dan; 
claim  for  it  a  single  purpose  to  perform  them  fairly,  honestly  and 
impartially.  One  of  its  members,  Major  Samuel  Harper,  passed 
away  ere  the  work  was  completed.  He  was  a  true  soldier,  a  firm 
patriot,  earnest  in  his  devotion  to  his  work,  which,  upon  this 
field,  must  ever  be  recognized. 

To  the  people  of  this  great  state  W(^  now  present  the  result  of 
our  labors  in  these  memorial  tablets.  Each  one  tells  its  own 
truthful  story,  and  will  to  future  g-enerations.  It  is  a  record  as  com- 
plete as  it  is  accurate.  As  they  stand  here  overlooking  these 
scenes,  telling  of  the  silent  battalions  represented,  with  yonder 
green  mounds,  the  perpetual  reminder  of  heroic  immolation,  may 
we  not  hope  that  in  all  the  land,  everywhere,  loyal  devotion  to 
country  and  flag-  shall  prevail  with  a  new-born  intensity,  capable 
of  any  sacrifice,  and  all  may  realize  fully  as  was  said  of  old,  "It 
is  the  high  reward  of  those  who  have  risked  their  lives  in  a  just 
and  necessary  war,  that  their  names  are  sweet  in  the  mouths  of 
men,  and  every  age  shall  know  their  actions." 


ACCEPTANCE  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH. 


Governor  James  A.  Beaver. 


C^OMKADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS:  No  official  duty 
which  has  devolved  upon  the  present  executive  of  Penn- 
^  sylvania  is  more  significant,  and  at  the  same  time  more 
pleasant,  than  the  one  which  he  now  performs  on  behalf  of  our 
goodly  Commonwealth.  Granite  and  bronze  are  not  necessary, 
nor  can  they,  in  a  large  sense,  perpetuate  the  memor}^  of  the  men 
dead  and  the  heroism  of  those  living,  who  stood  for  the  consti- 
tution and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws,  upon  this  field.  They 
have  a  significance  and  value,  however,  as  showing  the  apprecia- 
tion of  a  grateful  Commonwealth  for  the  service  of  her  sons  in  de- 
fending her  soil  and  in  aiding  to  perpetuate  the  unity  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  which  she  is  a  constituent  part.  On  every  portion  of 
this  historic  battle-field  Pennsylvania  acted  a  prominent  part. 
Her  sons,  as  was  meet,  were  the  heroes  of  the  field.  Meade  com- 
manded the  army,  Reynolds  fell  in  the  fore-front  of  battle  in  the 


14  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

first  day's  fiirlit,  aud  Hancock  directed  the  details  of  preparation 
for  the  heroic  aud  stubborn  resistance  which  was  made  to  the  de- 
termined assaults  of  the  enemy,  upon  the  second  and  third  days. 
Penusylvanians  were  prominent  in  the  First  Corps  at  the  opening- 
of  the  battle  on  the  first  day;  Pennsylvania  reg-iments  played  a 
prominent  part  in  Sickles'  g-allant  forward  movement;  Pennsyl- 
vauians  predominated  in  the  First  Division  of  the  Second  Corps 
and  constituted  the  Third  Division  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  which  made 
the  impetuous  assault  throug'h  the  "wheat  field"  and  the  "devil's 
den"  upon  Hood's  Division,  in  its  determined  and  well-directed 
efforts  to  turn  Sickles'  left  fiank,  on  the  second  day,  aud  Penn- 
sylvania received  the  shock  of  Pickett's  heroic,  but  ill-fated  and 
foolish,  charge  on  the  third  day.  Pennsylvania  batteries  occupied 
vital  points  in  our  defensive  line,  and  Pennsylvania  cavalry  was 
conspicuous  under  a  gfallaut  Pennsylvanian  in  their  brilliant  opera- 
tions upon  our  right  flank  and  rear.  In  every  offensive  move- 
ment made  by  the  Army  of  tlie  Potomac  during  the  Gettysburg 
campaign;  in  every  defensive  position  taken  by  it;  in  brilliant 
skirmish,  in  gallant  assault,  in  heroic  fighting  or  in  stubborn  re- 
sistance, Pennsylvania  was  found  everywhere  doing  her  duty  aud 
bearing  her  full  share  of  the  heat  and  burdens  of  the  day.  We 
do  not  claim  that  she  did  more  than  her  duty  or  that  she  per- 
formed more  than  her  share  of  the  work  to  be  done.  Without  the 
assistance  and  co-operation  of  her  sister  states  she  would  have 
been  utterly  powerless  to  repel  the  invasion  of  her  soil.  We 
make  no  invidious  distinctions  in  emi^hasizing  Pennsylvania's 
share  in  the  campaign  which  found  its  climax  within  her  borders. 
This  is  Pennsylvania  Day,  and  we  simply  emphasize  her  part  in 
the  work  here  done  without  in  any  way  detracting  from  or  min- 
imizing the  part  taken  by  others  or  the  credit  due  to  them  there- 
for. The  description  of  the  details  of  Pennsylvania's  share  in 
the  glory  of  this  field  belongs  to  the  historians  of  the  occasion  and 
I  shall  not  trespass  upon  their  theme  or  sphere  in  this  direction. 
The  Commonwealth  does  well  in  recognizing  the  devotion  of  her 
sons.  Shejias  been  none  too  liberal  in  her  gifts  for  such  a  purpose, 
lu  accepting  the  results  of  the  work  of  the  Commission  ap- 
pointed to  supervise  the  erection  of  the  memorials  of  the  j^atri- 
otism  of  Pennsylvania's  sons,  it  may  be  well  to  say  a  Avord  as  to 
tlui  manner  in  which  the  work  has  been  done  and  of  its  charac- 
teristic features.  Charged  with  a  delicate,  a  difficult  and  respon- 
sible duty,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Pennsylvania  Gettys- 
burg Memorial  Commissioners,  so  far  as  the  results  of  their  work 
are  apparent   upon  this  field,  have  discharged  their  duty  in  a 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  15 

niauner  alike  creditable  to  them  and  acceptable  to  the  people  of 
the  Commonwealth.  Few  who  have  not  given  thoug-ht  to  the 
subject  can  realize  the  difHcnilties  under  which  thuy  labored,  or 
appreciate  the  value  of  the  work  which  they  have  doDc.  This 
work  was  characterized,  first,  by  a  broad  iutellig'ence.  The  posi- 
tion occupied  by  each  of  the  eig-hty-six  Pennsylvania  org-auizations 
participating-  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg-  was  to  be  carefully 
studied  and  definitely  ascertained  in  order  to  determine  the  loca- 
tion of  their  several  monuments.  The  part  taken  by  each  organ- 
ization must  be  thoroughl}^  understood  in  order  that  the  truth  of 
history,  and  nothing-  but  the  truth,  should  be  displayed  u[)ou  these 
memorials.  Tlie  materials  to  be  used;  thedesig-n  to  be  adopted; 
the  details  of  construction  and  the  jDerpetuity  of  results,  were  all 
to  be  considered  and  rig-lit  conclusions  in  regard  thereto  reached. 
Those  who  have  car-efully  and  critically  followed  the  work  of  the 
Commission  will,  I  am  sure,  join  with  me  in  commending  the  rare 
intelligence  which  has  marked  its  labors  in  all  these  respects. 

The  work  of  the  Commission  has  been  characterized,  moreover, 
by  unquestioned  fidelity.  Charged  Avith  the  execution  of  a  law, 
with  the  framing  and  passage  of  which  its  members  had  little  to 
do;  with  the  expenditure  of  a  sum  exceeding  an  eighth  of  a 
million  of  dollars,  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  full  and  satisfactory 
returns  to  each  regimental  organization,  and  to  the  Common- 
wealth which  placed  her  funds  in  their  hands;  with  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  truth  of  history,  and,  at  the  same  time,  with  the  vin- 
dication of  the  honor  and  reputation  of  Pennsylvania  organiza- 
tions, where  history  had  failed  to  do  them  justice;  with  deter- 
mining" the  truth  as  to  conflicting  claims  for  position,  and  antag- " 
onistic  interests  on  the  part  of  conti-actors  and  committees  repre- 
senting the  various  organizations  who  contracted  with  them,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  work  of  the  Commission  required  rare  dis- 
cretion and  ability.  In  all  these  respects,  and  others  which  can- 
not be  mentioned  for  want  of  time,  the  Commission  has,  in  all  its 
work,  fully  met  the  demands  made  upon  it,  and  can  confidently 
point  to  the  results  which  confront  us  on  every  hand  for  the  evi- 
dence of  the  fidelity  with  which  these  demands  have  been  met. 

The  Commonwealth  has  in  every  instance  had  a  full  return  for 
the  money  which  was  aj^propriated  for  these  memorials,  and  in 
most  of  them  has  received  a  large  percentage  of  increase  from  the 
voluntary  contributions  of  the  organizations  themselves.  Si>  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  no  state,  Avhen  the  work  of  the  Commission  shall 
be  finished,  will  present  more  substantial,  more  enduring  and 
more  tasteful  memorials  of  the  devotion  of  her  sous,  than  Penn- 
sylvania. 


K;  PunnsyJvania  at  Gettysburg. 

The  zeal  manifested  bj^  each  and  every  member  of  the  Commis- 
sion is  also  a  characteristic  of  its  work.  Voluntarily  accepting-  a 
position  to  wliich  no  pecuniary  compensation  of  any  kind  was  at- 
tached, the  gentlemen  Avho  composed  the  Commission  gfave  them- 
selves unreservedly  to  the  work  before  them.  They  have  spared 
no  effort ;  have  stopped  at  no  sacrifice  of  time  or  convenience ; 
have  assisted  in  the  organization  of  regimental  committees ;  have 
fm*nislied  desig'ns  for  the  adoption  of  such  representatives,  and 
have  stimulated  their  efforts  to  secure  better  and  more  enduring' 
results  than  could  have  been  obtained  through  the  expenditure  of 
the  appropriation  made  by  legislative  authority  alone.  Such 
energy  and  zeal  are  worthy  of  commendation,  and  should  be  here 
and  now  recorded  and  acknowledged.  There  has  been  much 
patient  forbearance  with,  and  sometimes  a  judicious  yielding  to, 
the  demands  of  zealous  and  enthusiastic  reg-imental  org-anizations. 
Such  demands  were  the  e\adence  of  a  proper  interest  in  the  truth 
of  history  and  in  the  faithful  acknowledgment  of  the  contributions 
which  have  been  made  by  those  who  Avere  thus  represented  and 
the  results  which  history  records.  They  were  found,  on  careful 
examination,  in  many  instances,  to  be  correct,  and  official  records 
have  been  thereby  corrected  through  the  careful  and  persistent 
efforts  of  the  Commissioners. 

Without  dwelling  upon  other  characteristics  of  the  work  of  the 
Commission,  which  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  thoughtful  ob- 
server, it  is  safe  to  say,  finally,  that  success  has  crowned  its  work 
in  an  eminent  degree.  The  organizations  for  whose  benefit  pro- 
vision was  made  by  the  legislature  have  not,  in  all  instances, 
'availed  themselves  of  it.  Some  memorials  have  not  yet  been 
erected.  Designs  for  others  have  not  yet  been  adopted,  and  to 
this  extent  the  work  of  the  Commission  is  not  finished;  but  so  far 
as  the  memorials  which  surround  us  are  the  evidence  of  the 
work  of  the  Commission,  we  join  to-day,  as  the  survivors  of 
those  whose  memory  is  thereby  enshrined,  in  pronouncing  their 
work  an  unqualified  success.  As  already  intimated,  the  work  is 
not  finished.  The  distinctively  Pennsylvania  organization  in 
which  all  Pennsylvania,  whether  connected  with  it  or  not,  takes 
pride,  and  which  played  such  a  distinguished  part  upon  this  field 
— the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps — has  not  yet  erected  its  me- 
morial. It  is  the  desire  of  the  various  regimental  organizations 
composing  that  corps  to  erect  a  common  memorial.  In  this  de- 
sire I  personally  cordially  sympathize,  and  will  be  glad  to  co-op- 
erate. The  original  provisions  made  for  the  erection  of  our 
iiK'morials  did  not  sin-m  to  authorize  such   a  use  of  the  funds 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  17 

appropriated,  and  an  unfortunate  misunderstanding  as  to  the  bill 
passed  by  the  last  legislatur<?  in  relation  thereto,  which  gave  rise 
to  certain  constitutional  and  other  difficulties,  made  necessary  its 
disapproval.  I  wish,  however,  here  and  now,  as  a  Pennsylvanian, 
proud  of  the  forethoug-ht  whi(tli  organized  the  Pennsylvania  Re- 
serve Corps,  and  of  the  record  which  it  made  for  Pennsylvania,  to 
say  that,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  do  so,  officially  or  personally,  I 
wish  to  co-operate  with  the  survivors  of  that  distinguished  body 
of  Pennsylvania  soldiers  in  carrying  out  their  wishes.  The  Ver- 
mont Brigade  has  its  magnificent  Corinthian  column,  to  be  sur- 
mounted finally  by  a  statue  of  Stannard ;  New  York's  Excelsior 
Brigade  has  its  distinctive  monument;  the  New  Jersey  Brigade, 
distinguished  alike  for  its  brave  deeds  and  the  bravery  of  its 
great  commander,  perpetuates  its  memory  and  that  of  Kearny  at 
the  same  time  by  a  monument  which  combines  the  memorials  of 
its  several  regiments ;  so  I  would  say,  speaking  for  myself,  let  the 
Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  part 
which  it  took  upon  this  field  and  elsewhere  throughout  our  great 
struggle  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  in  a  memorial  build- 
ing which  shall  be  distinctive  and  appropriate.  Consultation  and 
cordial  co-operation  can  bring  this  about  without  difficulty,  and  in 
harmony  with  the  requirements  of  om*  state  constitution  and  the 
work  of  the  Commission  appointed  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  act  of  assembly  relating  thereto. 

It  only  remains  for  me,  gentlemen  of  the  Commission,  to  accept 
at  your  hands,  as  the  representative  of  the  Commonwealth,  the 
work  which  you  have  here  and  now  transferred  to  me.  Pennsyl- 
vania is  satisfied  with  what  you  have  done;  Pennsylvania  con- 
gratulates herself  upon  the  success  of  your  efforts.  I  accept  on 
her  behalf  these  memorials  erected  under  your  supervision  and 
control,  and  in  doing  so  I  beg  to  thank  you  in  her  name  for  the 
intelligence,  the  fidelity,  the  zeal  and  the  patience  which  have 
crowned  vour  work. 


18  Pennsijlcania  at  Gctiyshurg. 


POEM. 
GETTYSBUR(;. 


Isaac    R.  Pennypacker. 


'Twas  on  the  time  when  Lee, 
Below  Potomac's  swollen  ford, 
Had  beaten  down  the  broken  sword 

Of  his  baffled  enemy. 

His  hmg  line  lengthened  faster 

Than  the  days  of  June, 
O'er  valleys  varied,  mountains  vaster, 

By  forced  marches  night  and  noon  ; 
Any  morn  might  bring  him  down 
Captor  of  the  proudest  town  ; 
Any  one  of  cities  three 
At  noon  or  night  might  ]>rostrate  be. 

Then  to  Meade  was  the  sword  of  the  north 

Held  hiltward  for  proof  of  its  worth  ; 

O'er  the  vastness  of  masses  of  men 
All  the  glorious  banners  (jf  war, 

All  the  battle-flags  floated  again  ; 

All  the  bugles  blew  blithely  once  more, 

Sounding  the  stately  advance; 

Village  doorways  framed  fiices  of  awe 

At  the  trains  of  artillery  pressed 

On  earth's  reverberent  breast. 

And  the  sun  sought  the  zenith,  and  saw 

All  the  splendors  of  war  at  a  glance. 

How  soon  the  lirst  tierce  rain  of  death 

In  big  drojjs  dancing  on  the  trees 
Withers  the  Ibliage  !     At  a  breath, 

Hot  as  the  blasts  that  dried  old  seas 
The  clover  falls  like  drops  of  blood 
From  mortal  hurts,  and  stains  tlu;  .sod  ; 
The  wheat  is  clipped,  but  the  ripe  grain 
Here  long  nngarnered  shall  remain. 
And  many  who  at  the  drum's  long  roll 

Sprang  to  the  charge  and  swelled  the  elieei 
And  .set  their  flags  high  on  the  knoll. 

Ne'er  knew  how  went  the  light  fought  \u\< 
For  them  a  knell  tmuiilluous  shells 


Pennsylvania  at  Gdtyshvrij.  19 

Shook  tVoin  the  consecrated  bells, 
As  here  they  formed  that  silent  rank. 
Whose  glorious  star  at  twiliplit  sank. 

And  night,  which  lulls  all  discords — night. 

Which  stills  the  folds  and  vocal  wood. 
And.  with  the  touch  of  linger  light, 

Quiets  the  pink-lipped  brook's  wild  mood. 
Which  sends  the  wind  to  seek  the  latch, 
And  seals  young  eyes  while  mothers  watch — 
Night  stays  the  battle,  but  with  day 
Their  lives,  themselves,  foes  hurl  away. 
Where  the  thousands  fell,  but  did  not  yield, 
Shall  be  to-morrow's  battle-field. 
E'er  dying  died  or  dead  were  cold 
New  hosts  pre.ssed  on  the  lines  to  hold. 
And  held  them— hold  them  now  in  sleep 

While  stars  and  sentinels  go  round, 
And  war-worn  chargers  shrink  like  sheep 

Beside  their  riders  on  the  ground. 
All  through  the  night — all  through  the  north 
Speed  doubtful  tidings  back  and  forth, 
Through  north  and  south,  from  dusk  till  day, 
A  sundered  people  diver.se  pray. 

So  gradual  sink  the  deliberate  stars. 

The  sun  doth  run  the  laggards  down. 
As  .sleep's  still  meadows  bursts  the  bars, 

And  floods  with  light  the  steepled  town. 
Blow  !  bugles  of  the  cavalry,  blow  ! 
Forward  the  infantry,  row  on  row  ! 
While  every  battery  leaps  with  life. 
And  swells  with  tongueless  throats  the  strife  ! 

Wliere  grappled  foes,  one  flushed  with  joy 
From  triumphs  fresh,  and  come  to  destroy. 
And  one  by  blows  but  tempered  tit 
To  keep  the  torch  of  freedom  lit. 
The  battle-dust  from  heroes'  feet, 
Brief  hiding  rally  and  last  retreat. 
By  the  free  sunlight  touched  became 
A  golden  pillar  of  lambent  flame. 

Glorifled  was  this  field,  its  white 
Faces  of  victors  and  of  .slain, 

And  these  and  Round  Top's  luminous  height 
That  glory  flashed  afar  again. 

Around  the  world  for  all  to  see 

One  nation  and  one  wholly  free. 

And  branded  deep  with  flaming  sword 

Its  primal  compact's  l)indiug  word. 

"Neath  Freedom's  dome  that  light  divine. 


20  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysbiirg. 

Boruc  here  iVuin  dark  defiles  of  Time, 
Froiu  here  upblazed  a  beacon  sign 
To  all  the  oppressed  of  every  clime  ; 
And  dulled  e3'es  glistened  ;  hope  upsprung 
Where'er  ills  old  when  man  was  young 

Against  awaking  thought  were  set, 

Where  jjower  its  tribute  wrongly  wrung, 

Or  moved  on  pathways  rank  even  yet 
With  martyr's  blood,  where'er  a  tongue 

Hath  words  to  show,  as  serf,  slave,  thrall, 

How  great  man's  power  !  how  deep  man's  fall. 

Long  will  be  felt,  though  hurled  in  vain, 

The  shock  that  shook  the  northern  gate, 
Long  heard  the  shots  that  dashed  amain, 

r>ut  flattened  on  the  rock  of  fate, 
Wliere  Lee  still  strove,  but  failed  to  break 
The  barrier  down,  or  fissure  make. 
And  never  grasped  by  force  the  prize 
Deferred  by  years  of  compromise. 
Long  will  men  keep  the  memory  bright 
Of  deeds  done  here  ;  how  tlaslied  the  blade 
Of  Hancock  from  South  Mountain's  shade 
To  the  sheer  heights  of  unfading  light ! 
That  martial  morn  o'er  yonder  ridge 
Reynolds  last  rode  face  towards  liie  foe, 
And  onward  rides  through  history  so  ; 

For  Meade,  even  as  for  Joshua,  suns 
The  unmindful  gulf  of  Time  abridge, 
While  still  its  depths  fling  back  liis  guns' 

Victorious  echoes.     The  same  wise  power 
Which  starts  the  currents  from  ocean's  heart, 

And  hurls  the  tides  at  their  due  hour. 
Or  holds  them  with  a  force  unspent. 

Made  him  like  master,  in  each  part, 
O'er  all  his  mighty  instrument. 

Chief  leaders  of  the  battle  great  ! 

Three  sons  of  one  proud  mothei'  state  ! 
These  epoch  stones  she  sets  stand  fast. 

As  on  her  field  her  regiments  stood  ; 
Their  volleys  rang  the  first  and  last ; 

They  kept  with  Webb  the  target-wood, 
And  there  for  all  turned  on  its  track 
The  wild  gulf  stream  of  treason  back  ; 
Or  on  tlie  stubborn  hill-sides  trod 
Out  harvests  sown  not  on  the  clod  ; 
Hearts  shall  beat  high  in  days  grown  tame, 
At  thoughts  of  tliem  and  their  i)roud  fame. 

And  watching  Pickett's  gallant  band 
Melt  like  lost  snow-flakes  in  the  deep. 


Pennsylvania  at  Geffysfmry.  21 

Pit.v  shall  grow  tliroiighout  tlic  land, 
And  near  ajtace  with  joy  sliall  keep. 

baffled,  beaten,  back  to  the  ford, 

His  own  at  last  the  broken  sword. 

Kode  the  invader.     On  his  breast 

Mis  head  with  sorrow  low  was  pressed  ; 

On  his  hor.se\s  tangled  mane 

Loosely  hung  the  bridle  rein. 

At  Gettysburg  his  valiant  host 

The  last  hope  of  their  cause  had  lost : 

In  vain  their  daring  and  endeavor. 

It  was  buried  tliere  forever  ; 

Right  well  he  knew  the  way  he  Hed 

Straight  to  the  last  surrender  led. 

So  ended  Lee's  anabasis, 
.\nd  all  he  hoped  had  come  to  this  ; — 
As  well  for  master  as  the  driven 
That  not  bj^  him  was  victory  given. 
So  Right  emboldened  and  made  known 
Hurled  the  whole  troop  of  Error  down, 
-Vnd  here  held  fast  an  heritage  ; 

So  on  that  course  may  all  hold  fast 
'Till  no  man  takes  an  hundred  wage. 

And  each  one  has  his  own  at  last, 
'Till  the  last  caravan  of  the  bound, 

Driven  towards  some  Bornuese  market  place, 
Happily  shall  feel  their  l)onds  unwound, 

And  steps  of  woe  in  joy  retrace. 

In  the  cities  of  the  north 

The  brazen  cannon  belched  forth 

For  the  defeat  of  Lee  : 
When  the  smoke  from  this  field 
Unfolded,  Lo  !  fixed  on  the  shield 
Each  w^andering  star  was  revealed. 
And  the  .steeple  bells  pealed 

Inland  to  the  further  sea  ; 
In  the  villages  flags  waved 

For  Meade's  victory, — 
A  thousand,  thousand  flags  waved 

For  the  souls  to  be  frvc. 
For  the  Union  saved. 

For  the  Union  still  to  be. 


22  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


THE  FIRST  DAY— JULY  i,  1863. 


Bkkvei-  Captain  Joseph  G.  Rosengarten. 


PENNSYLVANIA  DAY  marks  the  completion  of  the  official 
relations  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  battle-field 
of  Gettysburg.  Everj^  position  occupied  by  Pennsylvania 
soldiers  through  the  scenes  and  events  of  that  great  battle  is  now 
marked  by  a  memorial  of  the  regiment  or  battery  that  took  part 
in  it.  Thanks  to  the  generosity  of  the  State,  the  wise  choice  of 
its  Governor,  the  industry  and  care  of  the  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  him,  the  task  is  done,  and  well  done.  Now,  in  final 
conclusion  of  all  this  labor,  of  the  years  spent  in  securing  the 
ground,  in  preserving  its  natural  features,  in  making  a  lasting 
record  on  the  spot  of  the  force  that  occupied  each  part  of  the  long 
line  of  battle,  we  are  gathered  here  to  renew  the  memories  that 
made  Gettysburg  dear  to  every  soldier  who  fought  here.  The 
field  of  Gettysburg  is  within  sight ;  the  vantage  ground  gained  by 
the  first  day's  battle  was  the  position  on  which  the  battles  of  the 
succeeding  days  were  fought,  and  the  victory  finally  won.  The 
campaign  of  Gettysburg  covered  the  whole  territory  over  which 
her  great  contending  armies  moved.  From  the  fords  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock and  the  passes  of  the  Blue  mountains,  through  Vir- 
ginia, across  the  Potomac,  through  Maryland,  into  Pennsylvania, 
up  the  Cumberland  valley,  and  as  far  east  almost  as  the  Susque- 
haima  river,  the  strategic  operations  of  the  Ai'my  of  Northern 
Virginia,  under  General  Lee,  and  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
under  General  Hooker  and  General  Meade,  will  deserve  careful 
study.  The  Union  cavalry  won  especial  distinction  as  it  masked 
the  movements  of  the  Union  army,  and  forced  the  Confederate 
leader  to  disclose  his  well-conctdved  and  well-matured  plans. 
When  Meade  took  command  he  unfolded  his  army  like  a  fan, 
keeping  it  always  between  the  invading  enemy  and  the  great 
cities  thr(;atened  by  Lee.  * 

Fii'st  then  let  us  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  General  Meade, 
the  commander  on  whom  rested  tlie  responsibilitj',  made  the 
weightier  by  the  unexpected  order  which  put  him  at  the  head  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  only  three  days  before  the  great  battle 

.Ncwhalls  address  before  the  Sixth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  23 

which  practically  was  the  crisis  of  the  war.  His  g-eneralship  was 
of  the  highest  order,  and  his  strategic  and  practical  operations 
the  best,  yet  one  other  element  of  his  success  has  been  too  little 
regarded.  His  great  moral  and  personal  excellence  was  uni- 
versally felt  and  recognized  throughout  the  army,  and  when  he 
was  put  at  its  head,  that  great  body  was  at  once  lifted  on  a  higher 
plane  and  became  thoroughly  inspired  with  a  lofty  purpose,  and 
an  earnest  wdll  to  do  all  that  should  be  asked.  All  joined  in  a 
silent  thanksgiving  that  General  Meade  was  their  commander, 
for  by  that  mental  revelation  which  permeates  great  masses  of 
disciplined  men,  his  fitness  as  a  leader  was  universally  recognized, 
and  Gettysburg  yet  needs  a  final  memorial  of  General  Meade  to 
mark  his  great  victory. 

Next  in  our  retrospect  let  us  pay  tribute  to  General  Reynolds. 
The  advance,  the  left  wing  of  the  army,  was  given  to  General 
Reynolds,  Meade's  closest  friend.  Unlike  as  were  the  two  in 
mental  and  moral  qualities,  in  physical  appearance  and  military 
bent,  each  perfectly  supplemented  the  other.  When  he  fell  his 
place  was  given  to  General  Hancock,  again  totally  unlike  either 
Meade  or  Reynolds,  a  soldier  of  the  highest  excellence,  who  on 
this  as  in  so  many  other  trying  positions,  did  his  part  in  winning 
the  victory.  One  other  name  must  always  be  honored  in  speaking 
of  the  First  Day  at  Gettysburg. — John  Buford,  gallant  soldier, 
typical  cavalry  leader,  fearless  fighter,  for  with  him  rests  the 
special  distinction  of  first  clearly  forseeing  that  Gettysburg  was 
to  be  the  scene  of  a  great  battle ;  prepared  for  the  Confederate 
onset,  he  shortly  resisted  an  overwhelming  force,  called  confi- 
dently on  Rej^nolds,  his  immediate  commander,  for  the  support 
that  promptly  came  to  his  help,  notified  Meade  of  Reynolds'  deatli, 
advised  him  of  the  need  of  some  one  to  command,  and  in  every 
way  helped  to  save  the  field  and  win  the  victory,  even  at  the  price 
of  the  First  Day's  Battle. 

Standing  here,  no  words  are  needed  to  show  the  strategic  im- 
portance of  Gettysburg,  the  reasons  for  the  tactical  movements, 
and  the  limits  which  the  nature  of  the  country  imposed  on  Meade 
and  his  army,  alike  in  coming  to  Gettysburg  as  they  did  in  hold- 
ing and  defending  their  line,  and  in  gathering  the  fruits  of  the 
victory.  The  hills  and  mountains  that  hid  the  advancing  enemy 
as  he  debouched  from  the  gaps  beyond,  also  sheltered  his  shat- 
tered forces  as  they  withdrew  to  the  Potomac,  and  found  safety  in 
retreat  across  its  waters  to  Virginia.  The  vigor  with  which  Gen- 
eral Meade  concentrated  his  army  at  Gettysburg,  the  ability  with 
which  he  won  the  victory,  show  that  it  is  not  for  want  of  will  that 


24  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

his  pursuit  was  not  swift  euoug-li  to  turu  the  defeat  into  a  rout. 
The  central  facts  and  the  figures  of  the  first  day's  battle,  however 
are  all  that  can  now  be  briefly  told.     Assi^-ned  (for  the  second 
time)  on  the  morning-  of  June  3U,  to  the  command  of  the  left  wing, 
General  Reynolds  led  his  own  Corps,  the  First,  followed  by  the 
Eleventh,  close  aft(n-  Buford's  Cavalry  Division,  to  the  front.    He 
sent  Buford  through  Gettysburg  to  find  the  enem3^     The  old  rule 
had  been  for  the  cavalry  to  keep  near  the  infantry,  but  Buford 
went  boldly  forward,  knowing  that  wherever  Reynolds  sent  him 
he  was  sm-e  to  be  supported,  and  that  in  falling  back,  if  he  must 
do  so,  he  would  meet  the  infantry  on  its  way  out.     It  was  Buford 
who  first  called  attention  to  the  concentration  of  roads  at  Gettys- 
burg that  gave  it  such  strategic  importance.     It  was  his  energy 
in  pushing  forward,  his  foresight  in  thrusting  his  force  out,  not  in- 
vited, that  almost  compelled  the  Confederate  army  to  come  to 
Gettysburg,  and  thus  brought  the  battle  on  there.     At  daylight 
on  the  morning  of  July  1  his  advance  picket  saw  the  enemy  ap- 
proaching on  the  Chambersburg  road,  and  at  5.30  the  first  fire 
came  from  our  side,  as  the  dismounted  cavalrymen  took  refuge 
behind  the  abutments  of  the  bridge  over  Willoughby  run.     Fall- 
ing back  to  higher  ground,  the  advance  of  the  leading  division, 
Hetli's,  of  Hill's  Corps,  was  seriously  disputed.     Devin's  Brigade, 
holding   the   line   from   the   Chambersburg   road  to  the  right. 
Gamble's  that  to  the  left,  Buford  maintaining  a  firm  front  with 
his  few  guns  and  his  thin  line  of  cavalry.  General  Reynolds 
came  promptly  to  the  front,  had  a  brief,  but  significant,  interview 
with  Buford,  saw  that  the  time  had  come  to  put  in  his  infantry, 
promptly  accepted  the  responsibility  of  engaging  the  enemy,  re- 
turned to  meet  the  leading  division,  Wadsworth's,  led  it  to  the 
front,  relieved  Buford's  hard-pressed  lines,  ordered  up  the  rest  of 
his  command,  hurried  up  the  troops,  by  brigades,  and  even  by 
single  regiments,  put  them  into  his  lengthening  lines,  placed  the 
batteries  in  position  as  they  arrived,  and  put  Buford  in  support 
of  his  horse  batteries  in  reserve  and  on  the  flanks.     Thus  rapidly 
d(!veloping  his  line,  the  enemy,  advancing  in  largely  superior 
numbers,  was  held  at  bay,  while  the  First  Corps  was  put  in  posi- 
tion.    The   Fifty-sixth   Pennsylvania,   under  Colonel  Hofmann, 
opened  the  infantry  fire  at  9:30  a.  m.     The  Iron  Brigade  was  i)ut 
forward  by  Reynolds  himself,  and  then,  returning  to  meet  his  ad- 
vancing division,  Reynolds  fell  by  the  hands  of  a  sharpshooter  on 
tlie  spot  now  marked  by  a  memorial  shaft      Almost  at  the  same 
time  two  Confederate  regiments,  the  bulk  of  Archer's  Brigade, 
with  (ieneral  Arch(!r  himself,  were  captured  and  marched  to  the 


Pennsylvania  at  GcHysbnrg.  25 

rear,  and  as  the  dead  body  of  Geueral  Reynolds  was  carried  (jii' 
the  fiekl,  the  captured  Confederates  manifested  their  marked  ic- 
spect  for  the  fallen  ITnion  general.  At  the  outset,  Wadsworth's 
Division,  wiHi  Halls  battery,  were  all  the  infantry  between  Get 
tysburg-  and  two  strong-  Confederate  divisions,  with  large  rein- 
forcements coming-  in  on  the  Carlisle  road.  Robinson's  Division 
arrived  in  time  to  support  the  hard-pressed  little  force  on  the 
right.  Doubleday's  Division  came  in  on  the  left.  Stone's  Brigade 
going  iuto  position  beyond  Seminary  Ridge,  Riddle's  Brigade  ou 
the  extreme  left.  There  it  maintained  its  position,  and  from  11 
a.  m.  until  4  p.  m.  fought  and  manoeuvred  until  it,  too,  was  forced 
to  retire.  About  1  p.  m.  the  leading  division  of  the  Eleventh 
Corps  took  up  its  place  on  the  right,  followed  by  a  second  di- 
vision, with  the  batteries  on  their  right  and  left,  another  division 
and  a  battery  being  placed  in  reserve  on  Cemetery  Hill. 

Heth's  Division  of  Hill's  Corps  was  the  advance  of  the  Confed- 
erate force,  and  it  was  promptly  followed  by  Pender,  while 
Rodes'  and  Earlj^'s  Divisions  of  Ewell's  Corps  came  on  our  ex- 
treme right,  Rodes,  about  2  p.  m..  Early,  about  3  p.  m.,  meeting 
at  the  time  and  place  above  designated,  after  long  marches  from 
different  points,  with  wonderful  accuracy.  The  First  and  the 
Eleventh  Corps  of  our  army  each  numbered  little  more  than  some 
of  the  Confederate  Divisions.  General  Doubleday  points  out  that 
the  Confederate  army  had  but  three  corps,  while  the  Union  army 
had  seven,  so  that  each  of  their  corps  represented  about  a  third, 
each  of  ours  a  seventh  of  the  whole  force,  and  the  same  propor- 
tion extended  to  divisions,  brigades,  and  even  regiments.  Gen- 
eral Doubleday,  who  succeeded  Reynolds  in  command  of  the 
First  Corps,  says  it  took  8,200  men  into  action.  General  Heth 
says  his  division  numbered  some  7,000  muskets.  The  Compte  de 
Paris  says  the  Union  forces  numbered  about  11,500  against  more 
than  30,000  Confederate  troops.  Colonel  Chapman  Biddh^  in  liis 
exhaustive  study  of  the  first  day's  battle,  puts  the  Confederate 
force  at  over  30,000 ;  the  Union  force  was  about  14,000,  8,200  in 
the  First  Corps,  barely  1,000  in  the  Eleventh  engaged.  In  spite 
of  such  odds  and  such  inequality,  the  first  day's  battle  was  a  suc- 
cession of  well-contested  struggles  at  each  point.  Buford's  cav- 
alry held  their  position  against  Heth's  Division  from  8  to  10  a.  m., 
relieved  by  the  First  Corps,  that  in  turn  held  its  own  against  Heth 
and  Pender  until  nearly  1  p.  m.  About  that  hour  the  Eleventh 
Corps  on  the  right  fought  Rodes"  and  Early's  Divisions,  and  even 
after  it  fell  back,  the  First  Corps  still  stoutly  resisted  until  past  4 
o'clock,  when,  outflanked  by  the  heavy  force  of  the  Confederate 


2(;  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

army,  it  was  oblig-ecl  to  retreat  to  Cemetery  Hill.  What  might 
have  been  the  issue  if  Eeynolds  had  been  spared  can  only  be  mat- 
ter of  conjecture,  yet  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  on  more  than 
one  hardh^-contested  field  his  presence  had  converted  apparent 
defeat  into  victory.  Of  him  it  mig-ht  well  be  said,  he  never  can 
be  deathless  till  he  die.  It  is  the  dead  win  battles.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  his  place  was  finall}^  taken  by  Hancock,  who  arrived  on 
Cemetery  Hill  between  3  and  4  p.  m.,  and  ]3romptly  jDut  the  forces 
in  hand  into  position — sent  Wadsworth's  Division  and  a  battery 
to  Culp's  Hill,  on  the  right,  with  fresh  troops,  and  extended  the 
lines  to  the  left  at  Round  Top. 

The  divisions  of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  under  Geary  and  Williams, 
took  positions  on  the  extreme  left  and  right  respectively,  and 
Buford  made  a  strong  cavalry  demonstration  on  both  flanks.  The 
timely  arrival  of  Stannard's  Vermont  Brigade  added  fresh 
strength  to  the  troops.  Leaving  Washington  on  the  25th  at  noon, 
after  an  exhausting  march  of  seven  days,  rain  falling  every  day, 
under  orders  to  report  to  General  Reynolds,  it  reached  Gettys- 
burg late  on  the  afternoon  of  the  1st  of  July,  and  the  tired  troops 
were  placed  in  position  in  column  by  regiments,  connecting  with 
the  divisions  of  the  Third  Corps  just  hurried  to  the  front,  and  in 
rear  of  the  line  of  battle  of  the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps  on  Cem- 
etery Hill.  Thus  the  Confederate  army,  in  spite  of  its  successes, 
saw  the  Union  army  strong  in  its  new  position,  and  while  Gen- 
eral Lee  conditionally  ordered  an  advance,  his  corps  and  division 
generals  were  content  to  prepare  for  it  for  the  next  day.  By 
midnight  of  the  1st  the  bulk  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  in 
its  place,  and  General  Meade  himself  followed  soon  after,  and 
at  once  surveyed  the  field  and  prepared  to  hold  it.  Buford  had 
sent  word  that  here  was  the  place  to  fight  a  battle,  Reynolds  had 
confirmed  it,  Hancock  seconded  it,  Warren,  too,  found  that  they 
were  right,  and  General  Meade  promptly  gave  orders  for  the  con- 
centration of  his  army  there.  The  first  day's  battle  had  se 
cured  the  position  on  which  the  succeeding  days'  battles  were  to 
be  fought  and  won.  It  was  thus  on  Pennsylvania  soil  that  the 
great  and  decisive  battle  was  fought,  with  a  Pennsylvanian, 
Meade,  at  the  head  of  the  army,  with  another  Pennsylvanian, 
Reynolds,  leading  the  advance,  and  falling  at  the  very  fore-front 
at  the  outset.  It  was  another  Pennsylvanian,  Hancock,  who  took 
his  place  and  secured  the  line  on  which  he  himself  fell  desper- 
ately wounded  later  on  ;  it  was  a  Pennsylvania  regiment,  the 
Fifty -sixth,  that  opened  the  infantry  fight  on  the  1st  of  July.  In 
the  First  (^)i-i)s  there  were  twelve  Pennsylvania  organizations; 


Fennsylvania  at  Getfyfihtoy.  27 

ill  the  Eleventh  Corps  there  were  five,  and  eig-hteen  more  were  in 
the  Twelfth  and  Third  Corps,  whose  timely  presence  counted  for 
so  much  in  the  closing-  scenes  of  that  eventful  day  at  Gettysburg. 

Pennsylvania  Day,  by  its  very  name,  recalls  their  pnisence  and 
their  services.  But  the  forces  that  took  part  in  the  first  day's 
battle  included  men  of  New  York,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Indi- 
ana, Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Ohio,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  and 
the  r<egular  army,  so  that  no  state  lines,  no  local  history,  limits  the 
interest  of  the  first  day.  Pennsylvania  has  always  recognized  its 
duty  as  guardian  of  the  field  of  Gettysburg,  and  while  it  honors 
its  own  sons  who  fought  and  fell  here,  it  honors  equally  the  mem- 
ory of  those  of  other  states,  for  all  alike  fought  in  defense  of  the 
Union.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  invites  its  citizens  to  meet 
here  again  to  consecrate  themselves  in  the  presence  of  all  these 
memorials,  testifying  better  than  any  words  can  tell,  the  loyalty 
of  its  sons  to  the  Union,  and  the  tender  regard  piously  cherished 
for  all  who  died  that  the  Union  might  live.  The  years  that  have 
passed  since  the  battle  are  full  of  great  events,  but  much  of  their 
importance  is  due  to  the  issue  of  that  contest,  and  that  issue  is  in 
turn  largely  due  to  the  events  of  the  first  day  and  its  influence  on 
the  result.  Reynolds  set  the  example,  sealing  a  g-lorious  life  by  a 
g-lorious  death,  and  his  men  were  worthy  of  him.  No  more  preg- 
nant tribute  was  ever  paid  than  that  of  General  Meade,  when,  in 
his  dispatch  of  July  4,  he  said:  "We  have  been  engag-ed  with 
the  enemy  for  three  days — July  1,  2  and  3.  On  the  1st  our  forces 
met  and  we  lost  Rejmolds."  Thus  he  puts  the  loss  of  Pieynolds 
by  itself,  showing-  that  even  after  the  successes  of  the  second  and 
third  days,  the  death  of  Reynolds  was  a  heavy  price  to  pay  for  the 
final  result  of  a  crowning  victory.  On  another  occasion  he  said: 
"  Reynolds  was  the  noblest,  as  well  as  the  bravest,  gentleman  in 
the  army.  When  he  fell  at  Gettysburg-  the  army  lost  its  right 
arm."  That  Reynolds  was  appreciated  as  highly  by  his  own  sol- 
diers as  by  the  commanding  general  is  testified  by  the  fact  that 
here  his  old  First  Corps  erected  the  heroic  bronze  statue  that 
stands  in  the  National  Cemetery.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  has 
marked,  by  a  suitable  memorial,  the  spot  on  which  Reynolds  fell, 
and  near  it  are  the  memorials  of  the  organizations  that  fought  on 
the  first  day  in  the  front  on  the  lines  he  formed. 

The  death  of  Reynolds  led  General  Meade  to  do  an  act  which 
exhibited  his  best  qualities  as  a  commander.  Himself  but  three 
days  at  the  head  of  the  army,  he  selected  General  Hancock,  who 
had  but  three  days  before  left  his  division  to  take  command  of  a 
corps,  and  sent  him  to  assume  the  command  of  the  left  wing  in 


2K  Penafisylvania  at  Gettysbiirg. 

succession  to  Reynolds.  The  result  fully  justified  the  choice,  but 
to  make  it  required  moral  courag-e,  insight  into  character,  and 
rapidity  of  decision.  Hancock  on  his  arrival  at  the  front  did  just 
the  work  Avliich  was  needed — rallying  the  troops,  addressing  and 
encouraging  them,  assig-ning-  positions  to  those  already  there, 
hastening  into  line  the  fresh  troops  as  they  arrived.  Anticipating 
Lee's  order  to  Ewell,  he  sent  Wadsworth  to  occupy  Gulp's  Hill, 
and  having  put  all  in  order,  reported  to  General  Meade  that  he 
could  hold  the  position  till  nig-htfall,  and  that  here  was  the 
place  to  fig-ht  our  battle,  and  received  a  prompt  reply  that  the  arm}- 
was  ordered  there.  Thus  Buford  and  Reynolds  and  Hancock  all 
united  in  the  work  that  made  the  first  day's  battle  so  mo- 
mentous. * 

It  was  not  a  surj^rise  nor  an  accident — it  was  the  opening  en- 
gagement between  two  contending  armies.  Over  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  General  Lee  exercised  supreme  command  for 
more  than  a  year,  during  which  he  had  won  four  g-reat  victories. 
Over  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  General  Meade  had  been  in  com- 
mand for  three  days,  and  he  was  hampered  by  orders  from 
Washing-ton,  and  the  necessity  of  conforiuing-  to  them.  He  was 
looking  for  the  enemy,  his  main  point,  as  he  said  to  Halleck,  "to 
find  and  fight  the  enem3^"  He  sent  Reynolds  on  that  errand,  and 
Reynolds  in  turn  despatched  Buford  with  his  cavalry  to  be  the 
eyes  of  the  army.  He  found  them,  and  with  his  clear  prescience 
saw  the  opportunity  and  the  occasion,  and  quickly  seized  it,  and 
Reynolds  in  turn  helped  to  bring-  Lee's  forces  out  of  their  mount- 
ain shelter,  to  hold  them,  and,  in  conformity  with  Meade's  or- 
ders, bettered  in  their  understanding  by  Buford  and  Reynolds 
of  what  was  before  them — an  enemy  rapidly  concentrating  at  a 
position  of  great  importance,  they  held  on  for  the  whole  of  that 
first  day,  while  Gencn-al  Meade  was  enabled  to  prepare  for  that 
offensive  defense  which  he  had  at  the  outst^t  determined  on. 

Even  as  great  a  military  writer  as  Lord  Wolseley  speaks  of  the 
first  day  as  a  surprise  to  the  Confederate  army,  and  not  to  the 
Union  army,  but  he  is  not  borne  out  by  the  facts.  General  Lee 
says,  in  his  report,  that  his  whole  force  was  ordered  to  concen- 
trate at  Gettysburg.  Two  divisions  of  General  Hill's  Corps  were 
sent  to  Gettysburg  by  the  Chambersbnrg  road,  and  tlu' Third  Di- 
vision was  held  in  rt^serve.  The  two  divisions  of  Ewell's  Cor]is, 
Early's  and  Rodes',  were  ordered  there,  and  coming-,  one  from 
York  the  other  from  Carlisle,  their  concentration  was  effected 

*GeruTal  F.  A.  Walker  in  llal ties  and  Leaders  of  tlie  Civil  War. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  29 

with  admirable  precision.  Of  the  Union  Army,  Buford's  Division 
of  cavahy  was  sent  throug-h  (Jettysburg-  on  the  30th  of  June  to 
observe  the  enemy,  and  his  movements  were  closely  watched  and 
fully  reported  both  to  Reynolds  and  Meade.  Reynolds  put  his 
own  corps,  the  First,  into  action  on  the  mornin"-  of  the  first  day, 
and  under  his  orders  the  Eleventh  Corps  came  up  to  its  support, 
while  the  Third  Corps,  later  on,  followed,  and  by  nig'htfall,  with  the 
Twelfth  Corps  and  the  Vermont  Brigade,  were  on  the  ground  and 
in  position.  Surely,  then,  there  was  no  surprise  in  the  battle, 
and  it  was  foug-iit  just  at  the  time  and  place  where  it  best  efiected 
its  object.  True  up  to  the  1st  of  July,  the  Confederate  Army  had 
met  little  but  militia,  and  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  mig-ht  well 
have  asked : 

win-  liave  they  dared  to  march  so  many  miles  upon  her  peaceful  bosom, 
frighting  her  pale-faced  villages  with  war,  and  ostentation  of  despised  arms  ? 
Ridiard  II.,  act  2,  -sc.  S. 

But  the  end  to  the  invasion  came  when  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac and  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  met  in  front  of  Gettys- 
burg-. It  may  be  true  that  some  of  the  Confederates  expected  to 
encounter  only  militia,  yet  the  g-eneral  officers,  its  leaders,  knew 
that  General  Meade  was  looking-  for  the  enemy  and  for  a  place  to 
fig-ht,  and  both  were  found  at  Gettysburg.  There  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  for  three  days  contended  for  the  supremacy  which 
finally  crowned  the  long-  struggle,  and  the  issue  was  largely  due 
to  the  sturdy  valor  of  the  small  body  of  troops  that  on  the  first 
day  withstood  double  their  number  Both  Meade  and  Lee  were 
manoeuvering  for  positions  on  which  to  deliver  battle;  General 
Lee,  to  gather  the  fruits  of  his  invasion  of  the  noi-th,  to  mass 
his  forces  before  the  Union  Army  could  be  concentrated,  and, 
fighting  it  in  detail,  to  win  a  victory  Avliich  should  enable  him 
to  exact  terms  that  would  give  a  new  lease  of  life  to  the  Con- 
federacy ;  General  Meade,  to  protect  Washington  and  Baltimore, 
to  relieve  Harrisburg  and  Philadelphia,  and  to  drive  Lee  across 
the  Potomac.  Buford,  with  his  cavahy,  the  eyes  of  the  army,  saw 
at  a  glance  that  Gettysburg  was  the  best  j)oint  for  concentration 
and  for  a  decisive  battle.  Reynolds,  its  right  arm,  saw  that  the 
time  had  arrived,  and,  with  his  corps,  struck  the  first  blow,  mean- 
ing to  follow  it  up  with  the  help  of  the  Eleventh  and  Third  Corps. 
Hancock,  in  turn,  seized  the  position  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  and  by 
nightfall  secured  it,  so  that  at  the  close  of  the  first  da^^  although 
the  enemy  had  largely  outnumljered  our  force,  yet  the  substantial 
advantage  was  ours,  for  here  Lee  was  brought  to  bay,  and  tlie 
successful  battle  of  the  second  and  third  days  were  largely  the 
outcome  of  that  of  the  first  day. 


:U^  Pennsylvania  at  Getfyshury. 

The  hard  tig-hting  of  the  first  day  is  measured  bj^  that  best 
test,  the  casualty  list,  strikingly  alike  on  both  sides,  in  spite  of 
the  contrast  of  the  numbers  engag-ed.  Much  of  the  details  of 
this  kind  will  be  found  in  Fox's  Book  of  liegimental  Losses,  well 
called  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs,  and  it  deserves  close  and  diligent 
study  on  this  and  on  the  other  great  battles  of  the  war,  for  its  ex- 
haustive study.  The  First  Corps  took  into  action  8,200  and  lost 
6,025.  The  Eleventh  Corps,  out  of  9,197,  took  into  action.  Gen- 
eral Howard  says  "  hardly  6,000,"  and  lost  3,801.  On  the  Con- 
federate side,  in  Hill's  Corps,  Heth  says  he  took  in  7,000  and  lost 
2,850,  and  Pender  lost  1,690  out  of  4,260  engaged.  Ewell's  Corps 
was  20,000  strong  (according  to  General  Meade's  letter  to  Colonel 
Benedict),  and  Bodes'  Division,  out  of  6,207,  lost  2,858,  and  Ear- 
ly's, 1,188  out  of  5,477.  The  First  Corps  lost  over  70  per  cent., 
the  Eleventh  Corps  over  60  per  cent.  Of  the  First  Corps,  the 
Iron  Brigade  lost  61  per  cent.,  1,153  out  of  1,883 ;  the  First  Di- 
vision 2,128,  and  the  Second  Division  1,686,  out  of  2,500,  while 
the  smallest,  the  Third  Division,  consisting,  with  the  exception 
of  one  New  York  regiment,  entirely  of  Pennsylvania  regiments, 
lost  1,748  out  of  2,069,  over  80  per  cent.,  and  the  other  divisions 
were  little  behind  the  same  heavy  percentage.  Biddle's  Brigade 
of  the  Third  Division  lost  897  out  of  1,287,  nearly  70  per  cent., 
leaving  only  390,  a  fragment  of  a  regiment.  Stone's  Brigade,  by 
Colonel  Wister's  report,  went  in  with  1,300  men  and  lost  852, 
over  66  per  cent.  It  had  but  three  regiments,  the  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-third,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-ninth  and  One  Hundred 
and  Fiftieth  Pennsylvania,  and  no  command  fought  more  desper- 
ately or  suffered  greater  losses.  At  its  head  its  commander,  Col- 
onel Boy  Stone,  was  wounded,  and  his  successor.  Colonel  Lang- 
horne  Wister  was  also  wounded.  After  taking  position  to  the 
right  of  Biddle's  Brigade,  and  rendering  effective  assistance  to 
Wadsworth's  hard-pressed  division.  Stone's  little  brigade  was 
made  the  point  of  a  concentrated  attack  in  force  by  double  its 
numbei-;  against  its  three  small  regiments  were  brought  six  regi- 
ments the  average  strength  being  over  five  hundred  each. 

The  Confederate  reports  lay  stress  on  the  severity  of  their 
losses.  General  Heth  speaks  of  losing  2,700  out  of  7,000,  nearly 
40  per  cent.,  in  twenty-five  minutes.  Colonel  Hopkins  of  the 
Forty-fifth  North  Carolina,  says  that  regiment  suffered  more  than 
it  ever  did  before  in  the  same  time.  The  Second  North  Carolina 
reported  a  loss  of  two-thirds.  The  Twenty-sixth  North  Carolina 
lost  over  76  percent.,  Pender's  old  brigade  over  48  percent.,  Dan- 
iel's over  43  per  cent.,  and  the  regimental  losses  in  both  Hill's  and 


Pennsylvania,  at  Gettysburg.  31 

Ewell's  Corps  were  very  heavy.    On  our  side,  of  the  losses  of  the 
Peunsylvauia  reg-iments,  the  following-  were  in  the  First  Corps: 

Eleventh  Pennsylvania  lost  117  out  of  292,  or  40  pei*  cent. 

Fifty-sixth  Pennsylvania  lost  183  out  of  252,  or  50  per  cent. 

Eighty-eighth  Pennsj'lvania  lost  106  out  of  296,  or  35  per  cent. 

Ninetieth  Pennsylvania  lost  94  out  of  20S,  or  45  per  cent. 

One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Pennsylvania  lost  165 out  of  255,  or  65  per  cent. 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty-first  Pcmisylvania  lost  179  out  of  263,  or  68  per 
cent. 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Pennsylvania  lost  211  out  of  362,  or  59  per 
cent. 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Pennsylvania  lost  252  out  of  465,  or  55  per 
cent. 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-ninth  Penn.4ylvania  lost  336  out  of  450,  or  75  per 
cent. 

One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Pennsj^lvania  lost  264  out  of  397,  or  68  per  cent. 

One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  Pennsylvania  lost  335  out  of  467,  or  73  per 
cent. 

The  Union  troops  at  various  points  won  sigfnal  success,  for 
they  captured  parts  of  three  brigades  of  Confederate  troops, 
Archer's,  Davis'  and  Iverson's. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Pennsylvania  reported  the  cap- 
ture of  more  prisoners  than  the  reg-iment  numbered. 

Of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  in  the  Eleventh  Corps, 

The  Twenty-seventh  lost  111  out  of  324,  or  45  per  cent. 

The  Seventy-third  lost  34  out  of  332,  or  10  per  cent. 

The  Seventy-fourth  lost  110  out  of  381,  or  32  per  cent. 

The  Seventy-fifth  lost  111  out  of  258,  or  40  per  cent. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-third  lost  211  out  of  569,  or  39  {)er  cent. 

On  the  Union  side  of  the  greatest  regimental  losses  at  Gettys- 
burg the  First  Corps  is  represented  by  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fifty-first,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-ninth,  One  Hundred  and 
Fiftieth,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-seventh,  One  Hundred  and 
Forty-third  and  One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  Eleventh  Corps  by  the  Twenty-seventh,  Seventy-fourth, 
Seventy-fifth,  and  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-third  Pennsylvania. 
On  the  Confederate  side,  the  Twenty-sixth  North  Carolina  lost, 
according  to  General  Hoke's  report,  708,  but  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment's list,  588  out  of  "  over  800,"  over  75  per  cent.,  for  these 
North  Carolina  regiments  went  into  the  field  of  great  strength, 
some  as  high  as  1,800,  others  1,500 ;  one  company  of  the  Twenty- 
sixth  North  Carolina  lost  out  of  3  officers  and  84  men,  all  of 
the  officers  and  83  of  men;  another  company,  of  the  Eleventh 
North  Carolina,  lost  36  out  of  38.  The  Second  North  Caro- 
lina Battalion  was  reported  by  General  Ewell  as  losing  200,  b}^ 
the  War  Department  153,  out  of  240,  75  or  65  per  cent. :  Lane's 


32  Pennsylvania  at  GeMyshurg. 

North  Carolina  Brig'ade  of  Pender's  Division,  lost  660  out  of  1,355, 
nearly  50  per  cent. :  Daniel's  Brigade  lost  916  out  of  2,100,  over 
43  per  cent. ;  Pettig-rew's  Brigade  lost  1,105,  nearly  the  whole 
strength  of  Biddle's.  The  total  loss  in  the  Union  Army  at  Gettys- 
burg- was  27  per  cent. ;  that  of  the  First  Corps  on  the  first  day  was 
over  70  per  cent.,  that  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  over  60  per  cent. 
Compare  these  with  the  losses  in  famous  foreign  battles.  At 
Balaklava  the  Light  Brigade  lost  37  per  cent.,  at  Inkerman  the 
Guards  lost  45  per  cent.,  the  heaviest  German  regimental  losses 
in  the  Franco-Prussian  war  were  49  per  cent.  The  Twenty-sixth 
North  Carolina  lost  72  per  cent.,  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty- 
ninth  and  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  Pennsylvania  about  as 
heavily.  Nor  did  these  Pennsylvania  regiments  fight  any  better 
on  Pennsylvania  soil  than  elsewhere,  while  their  comrades  from 
other  states  fought  as  bravely  here  as  in  any  other  field  during- 
the  war.  It  has  been  the  habit  to  speak  of  the  first  day's  battle 
as  if  it  had  been  an  accidental  encounter,  in  which  horse,  foot  and 
artillery  were  driven  in  and  through  Gettysbm-g-.  In  point  of 
fact  there  was  no  accident,  no  surprise,  no  easy  victory.  Buford 
went  by  Beynolds'  order  to  find  the  enemy,  and  his  report  on  the 
30th  showed  Avhere  Lee's  forces  were  concentrating.  From  the 
dawn  of  July  1st,  when  Buford's  cavalry  first  met  the  advance  of 
Hill's  Corps,  until  nig-htfall,  when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
concentrated  at  and  near  Gettysburg,  there  was  sturdy  fig-hting, 
stout  resistance  against  a  largely  superior  force,  and  an  all-im- 
portant position  and  time  to  concentrate  on  it  gained.  The  Con- 
federate Ai-my  fought  to  Avin  the  first  day,  but  the  Union  Army 
fought  to  win  the  next  day  and  the  next,  and  the  final  victory.* 

TJie  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  a  varying  series  of  successive  en- 
gagements, with  alternate  gains  and  losses,  but  the  final  result 
was  that  crowning  success  which  was  largely  due  to  the  good  fig-ht 
fought  on  the  first  day  against  heavy  odds. 

The  first  day's  battle  was  a  series  of  distinct  contests,  and,  like 
every  battle,  it  was  a  compound  of  victory  and  defeat ;  every  sol- 
dier killed,  wounded  or  captured,  every  inch  of  ground  g-ained  or 
lost,  being  part  of  the  final  result.  It  was,  indeed,  "the  soldier's 
battle,"  for  it  was  the  fixed  determinaticm  of  the  soldiers  to  hold 
the  ground  that  counted  for  more  than  any  skilful  manoeuvres  of 
military  art  or  the  best  tactical  methods.  Buford's  two  brigades 
of  cavuby  fouglit  and  held  in  check  H(>th's  Division,  ard  when 
Jiuford  was  relieved,  the  First  Corps  fought  Heth's  and  Pender's 


*Jolin  C.  Hopes'.  "Tlio  Canipaigu  under  Pope. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  .33 

Divisions.  When  the  Eleventh  Corps  came  to  the  front  it  met 
Rodes'  and  Early's  Divisions,  and  then  the  rig-lit  of  the  First  Corps 
also  became  eng-aged  with  these  strong  Divisions.  Meredith's 
Brigade  of  the  First  Division  of  the  First  Corps  captured  part  of 
Archer's  Brigade,  Cutler's  Brigade  captm-ed  part  of  Davis'  Brig- 
ade, Baxter's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  of  the  First  Corps 
captured  part  of  Iverson's  Brigade  of  Bodes'  Division  of  Ewell's 
Corps.  Meredith's  Brigade  fought  in  turn  the  whole  or  part  of 
Archer's,  Pettigrew's,  Brockenbrough's  and  Daniel's  Brigades. 

Stone's  Brigade  and  the  Sixth  Wisconsin,  Ninety-fifth  New 
York  and  Fourteenth  New  York  fought  Davis'  and  Daniel's  Bri- 
gades, and  the  Fifty-sixth  Pennsylvania  and  the  Seventy-sixth  New 
Y^'ork  also  encountered  them,  while  Baxter's  and  Cutler's  Bri- 
gades were  pitted  against  the  brigades  of  Iversou,  O'Neal  and  Piam- 
seur.  Of  the  artillery  engaged  on  the  first  day,  the  record  is 
one  of  ]3re-eminent  service.  Tidball's  Horse  Battery,  under  Lieu- 
tenant Calef,  fought  almost  unaided,  and  the  batteries  of  the 
First  Corps  bore  the  brunt  of  a  largely  superior  number  and 
weight  of  guns ;  Cooper's  Battery  B,  First  Pennsylvania  Light 
Ai-tillery,  Stevens'  Fifth  Maine,  Pveynolds'  L,  First  New  York, 
Stewart's  B,  Fourth  United  States,  and  of  the  Eleventh  Corps, 
Wiedrich's  I,  First  New  York,  Dieckmann's  Thirteenth  New  York 
Light  Artillery,  Wilkeson's  G,  Fourth  United  States,  Dilger's 
I  and  Heckman's  K,  First  Ohio  Light  Artillery,  greatly  helped 
to  secure  the  weak  Union  forces  from  the  strong  Confederate 
lines  that  steadily  gathered  there  confident  of  success.  Paul's 
Brigade  captured  part  of  several  brigades  of  Pender's  Division. 
Stone's  Brigade  of  the  Third  Division  fought  in  turn  Davis'  Bri 
gade  of  Heth's  Division,  Daniel's  Brigade  of  Rodes'  Division  and 
Scales'  Brigade  of  Pender's  Division.  Biddle's  Brigade  of  the 
Third  Division  on  the  extreme  left,  fought  Pettigrew's  and  Mc- 
Gowan's  Brigades  of  Heth's  Division,  while  Brockenbrougli's  and 
Lane's  and  Scales'  extended  the  Confederate  line  and  overlapped 
the  Union  left,  just  as  Early's  Brigades  overlapped  the  Union 
right.  There  Barlow's  Division  fought  Gordon's,  Hays'  and 
Avery's  Brigades,  and  Ames"  fought  Doles'  and  Daniels',  and 
the  right  of  the  First  Corps,  Baxter  and  Cutler,  and  the  left  of 
the  Eleventh,  fought  Iverson's,  Daniel's,  Doles',  Ramseur's  and 
O'Neal's  Brigades.  Coster's  Brigade  of  Steinwehr's  Division  was 
pitted  against  Hays'  and  Hoke's  and  Ramseur's  Brigades.  While 
the  First  Corps  was  put  in  almost  to  the  last  man,  and  the  Elev- 
enth Corps  had  only  a  Aveak  reserve  on  Cemetery  Hill,  the  Con- 
federates had  two  divisions,  Johnson's  of  Ewell's,  and  Anderson's 
3 


34  Pcnnsijlvania  at  Getiyshurg. 

of  Hills  Corps,  estimated  by  General  Fitz.  Lee  at  over  10,000 
each,  and  the  foiu-  divisions  that  had  been  engaged,  Heth's,  Pen- 
ders,  Rodes"  and  Early's,  at  the  close  of  the  action,  at  over  4,500 
each.  The  First  Corps  then  was  reduced  from  9,000  to  3,000,  and 
the  part  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  actually  engaged  from  6,000  to 
3,800.  The  actual  losses  of  the  Union  forces  on  the  first  day  were 
proportionally  far  heavier  than  those  of  the  Union  Army  on  the 
other  days  of  the  three  days  of  fighting,  and  both  Union  and 
Confederate  forces  on  the  first  day  lost  more  heavily  than  on 
almost  any  other  battlefield.  The  Second  Corps  lost  4,350  out 
of  10,500  engaged,  over  42  per  cent.,  in  the  battles  of  the  second 
and  third  days;  the  Third  Corps  lost  4,210  out  of  less  than  10,000 
actually  engaged  on  the  second  day,  42  per  cent. ;  the  Fifth  Corps 
lost  2,187  out  of  11,000,  less  than  20  per  cent.;  the  Sixth  Corps 
lost  only  242,  for  it  was  wisely  held  in  reserve ;  the  Twelfth  Corps 
lost  1,801  out  of  8,000;  on  the  Confederate  side  on  the  first  day, 
Heth  lost  2,850  out  of  7,000,  40  per  cent.  Pender  lost  1,690  out 
of  7,000 :  Early  lost  1,188,  and  Rodes  2,853  out  of  their  divisions 
which  went  into  action  each  8,000 ;  35  per  cent,  for  the  latter,  and 
about  12  per  cent,  for  the  former. 

Pickett's  loss  in  his  famous  charge  was  65  per  cent.,  2,888,  of 
of  which  232  were  killed,  1,157  wounded  and  1,499  captured  or 
or  missing ;  but  on  the  first  day  the  Iron  Brigade  lost  over  60  per 
cent.,  and  Biddle's  Brigade,  and  Stone's  Brigade  lost  nearly  70 
per  cent.  each.  The  First  Corps  with  six  brigades,  and  the 
Eleventh  with  five,  fought  eight  brigades  of  Hill's  Corps  and  nine 
of  Ewell's,  and  yet  at  the  close  of  the  first  day,  the  fresh  troops 
of  Lee's  Ariny  were  held  off  from  gathering  the  fruits  of  their 
hard-earned  success  by  the  strength  of  the  forces  before  them  and 
those  placed  on  the  right  and  left.  Even  Wadsworth's  Division, 
beaten  and  outnumbered,  still  held  on  to  Culp's  Hill,  and  prevented 
Ewell  from  seizing  it.  Thus,  too,  Buford's  little  cavalry  force 
made  sufficient  demonstration  on  the  flanks  to  arrest  the  Con- 
federate advance,  and  even  the  Union  guns  at  the  foot  of  Semi- 
nary Ridge,  manned  by  the  men  of  the  Iron  Brigade,  though  hard 
pressed,  were  safely  withdrawn.  Thus  the  Union  forces  were  out- 
numbered and  forced  to  retreat,  but  neithcn-  dismayed  nor  driven 
ofi'  hastily.  Tlius,  too,  was  gained  tlu^  practical  fruits  of  the  first 
day's  battle,  in  the  rapid  concentration  of  Meade's  Ai-my  on  tlie 
position  in  the  rear  of  Gettysburg,  where  General  Meade  turned 
liis  oirensive  dc^fensc  into  a  final  repulse  and  defeat  of  Lee's  Arm3^ 
It  was  the  first  day  that  prepared  the  Avay  for  this  result,  and 
dearly  purchased  as  it  was,  the  price  Avas  none  too  great  to  pay 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty shiir<j.  35 

for  the  infinite  advantage.  There  is  glory  enough  for  all  who  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  but  for  those  who  fought  on  the 
first  day  there  is  the  special  glory  of  having  fought  against  over- 
whelming numbers,  and  yet  with  such  firmness  and  pertinacity 
that  the  forward  movement  of  Lee's  Army  was  arrested,  time 
secured  for  the  arrival  and  concentration  of  Meade's  Army,  and 
the  expected  easy  onset  of  the  Confederates  resisted  afc  every  point. 
To  the  events  of  the  first  day  is  largely  due  tlu^  final  issue  of  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  therefore  it  deserves  a  special  record 
to-day  here. 

No  one  thinks  of  limiting  the  significance  of  the  battle  of  Get- 
tysburg to  the  spot  where  it  was  fought,  yet  the  fact  that  the  field 
of  battle  lies  within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Peinisylvania  im- 
poses a  special  duty  which  has  always  been  fully  recognized.  As 
far  back  as  1864  the  Battle-field  Memorial  Association  was  or- 
ganized to  secure  the  ownership  of  the  ground.  State  after  state 
has  joined  in  the  solemn  duty  of  marking,  by  permanent  memo- 
rials, the  position  of  every  organization,  and  the  dedication  ser- 
vices have  been  memorable  for  eloquence  and  pathos.  The  State 
of  Pennsylvania  now  marks  the  final  act  of  a  long  series  of  legis- 
lative and  executive  measures,  by  inviting  the  veteran  soldiers  of 
all  its  organizations  that  took  part  in  the  great  battle,  to  join  in 
this  reunion,  and  to  set  the  seal  of  approval  on  its  work,  ^y  its 
generous  aid  and  under  the  watchful  care  of  a  Commission  com- 
posed of  able  officers,  every  one  of  its  eighty-six  organizations 
vAW  be  represented  on  the  field  by  suitable  memorials  of  its  ser- 
vices here.  Let  us  gratefully  acknowledge  the  way  in  which  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  has  recognized  and  fulfilled  its  obligation. 
It  has  freely  given  money,  and  more  than  that,  the  Governor  and 
the  Commission  appointed  by  him,  have  given  time  and  thought, 
and  have  fulfilled  to  general  satisfaction,  a  long,  difiicult  and  deli- 
cate task.  The  Commission  closes  its  report  with  an  urgent  appeal 
for  a  memorial  of  General  Meade  and  his  great  services.  Let  us 
heartily  second  that  appeal.  The  same  honor,  too,  is  due  to  Gen- 
eral Hancock.  Great  as  is  the  work  that  has  been  done  in  mak- 
ing Gettysburg  a  permanent  historical  record  in  bronze  and  gran- 
ite, that  record  is  incomplete  until  statues  of  Meade  and  Han- 
cock are  placed  on  the  field  where  the  great  victory  was  Avon. 
History  has  enrolled  their  names  high  on  the  list  of  those  who 
deserved  well  of  their  country,  and  in  its  great  and  growing  pros- 
perity the  country  should  not  fall  short  in  paying  the  tribute 
due  them  here.  Meade  and  his  able  lieutenants  earned  here  the 
gratitude  of  the  nation,  and  he  and  they  should  stand  forever  in 


36  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

liviug-  brouze,  keeping-  watch  and  ward  over  the  memorials  of 
their  soldiers. 

The  men  of  the  First  Corps  put  Reynolds'  statue  here  in  mem- 
or}^  of  their  deep  sense  of  his  g-reat  qualities,  and  of  the  affec- 
tion that  endeared  him  to  his  soldiers.  The  first  day's  battle 
was  larg-ely  due  to  his  inspiration,  and  his  spirit  ruled  the  field 
long  after  his  dead  body  had  been  borne  from  it.  To  his  succes- 
sor in  command  there,  sent  in  answer  to  Buford's  warning-  note, 
'there  seems  no  commanding  officer  here,'  to  Ha»ncock,  both  for 
his  services  in  the  closing  hours  of  the  first  day,  in  snatching  the 
substantial  fruits  of  victory  from  the  enemy,  and  for  his  still 
more  shining  successes  on  the  succeeding  days  of  the  battle, 
there  is  still  due  the  acknowledgment  best  to  be  made  in  a  bronze 
heroic  statue.  Then  to  complete  the  work,  Meade  himself  should 
stand  here,  that  the  long  list  of  memorials  on  the  field  he  won, 
should  at  last  be  completed  by  one  worthy  of  the  great  comman- 
der. That  done,  and  only  then,  may  we  feel  that  the  history  of 
Gettysburg  is  finally  told  in  bronze  and  granite,  and  that  to  all 
justice  has  been  fully  meted  out. 

Yesterday  we  dedicated  our  regimental  monuments,  to-day  we 
recall  the  operations  of  each  of  the  three  days  of  the  great  bat- 
tle. Honor  has  been  duly  paid  to  the  organizations  that  fought 
here.  Here  stands  the  statue  of  Reynolds.  There  at  Round 
Top  is  the  statue  of  Warren.  We  look  in  vain  for  Meade  and 
Hancock.  Their  names  are  forever  associated  with  Gettysbm^g, 
and  it  is  due  to  them,  to  the  men  who  fought  under  them,  that 
here  at  Gettysbury  due  honor  should  be  paid  them.  Until  that 
is  done,  we  cannot  feel  that  the  task  is  yet  complete.  Let  us  then 
see  to  it  that  before  another  Pennsylvania  Day  is  celebrated,  the 
statues  of  Meade  and  Hancock  shall  be  put  in  place  here.  That 
done,  then  indeed,  will  the  work  be  completed,  and  Gettysburg 
will  no  longer  need  the  crowning  memorial  that  is  still  wanting. 
In  leaving  Gettysbm-g  let  us  all  bend  our  best  energies  to  the 
rcMjuisite  measures  for  securing  suitable  honors  to  Meade  and 
Hancock,  and  may  we  meet  here  at  no  distant  day  to  join  in  un- 
veiling their  statues  on  the  field  forever  connected  with  their 
names. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  37 

THE  SECOND  AND  THIRD  DAYS      JULY  2  and  3,  1863. 
Brevet  Bkioadiek-Genekal  Henky  H.  Bingham. 

IN  the  great  metropolis  of  the  nation  but  a  few  months  ago, 
amid  joy  and  thanksgiving,  speech  and  song,  peace  and  pros- 
perity, hallelujah  and  praj'^er,  the  official  representatives  of  the 
people  and  assembled  thousands  of  the  populace,  celebrated  the 
centennial  of  the  inauguration  of  George  Washington,  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  A  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people,  liberty  for  all,  but  exacting  loyalty 
from  all,  the  American  Republic  had  lived  one  hundred  years. 
Our  Declaration  of  Independence  was  a  masterful  reality,  our  con- 
stitution a  matchless  charter  of  freedom,  and  that  God  inspired 
utterance  that  three  millions  of  patriots  gave  to  mankind  and 
humanity :  "  We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form 
a  more  perfect  Union,  establish  justice,insure  domestic  tranquillity, 
provide  for  the  common  defense,  promote  the  general  welfare  and 
secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  prosperity, 
do  ordain  and  establish  this  constitution  for  the  United  States," 
found  at  the  incoming  of  the  second  century,  sixty-five  millions 
of  freemen,  "a  family  at  peace  among  ourselves,"  who  could  with 
reverent  acclaim  send  greeting  to  the  generations  to  come  and 
with  bended  knee  and  uplifted  eyes,  in  spirit  humble,  but  voice 
firm  and  unwavering,  declare,  "AVe  have  fought  a  good  fight, 
we  have  kept  the  faith,  glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth 
peace,  good  will  toward  men."  We  are  to-day  a  happy  people. 
A  constitution  preserved,  the  integrity  of  the  Union  maintained — 
liberty  and  law  our  cloud  liy  day  and  pillar  of  fire  by  night.  But 
the  path  has  been  no  easy  one  to  follow ;  the  roses  that  have  lined 
the  way  have  had  many  thorns,  and  their  colors  have  been  darkly 
red,  and  on  the  hill  side  and  in  the  valley,  the  unnumbered  and 
nameless  graves  with  monumental  shafts  and  simple  stones,  cover 
all  that  remains  of  a  patriot  dead  who  saci'ificed  their  all  for 
human  rights,  that  here  assembled  to-day,  we  "May  hail  the 
coming  centurj'  Avith  hope  and  joy." 

The  limitations  of  the  constitution,  the  integrity  and  indepen- 
dence of  the  states,  the  legislation  enacted  by  the  sovereig-n  Con. 
g-ress,  the  statutes  enforced  within  the  borders  of  the  common- 
wealths, the  discussions  in  church  and  from  the  public  rostrum  upon 


38  Fennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

the  construction  of  our  fundamental  law,  tlie  variety  and  diversity  of 
interests  in  our  indiistries  and  large  communities;  labor  in  its 
many  forms  and  conditions,  all,  all  contributed  to  consummate, 
upon  the  election  and  inauguration  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  that 
physical  and  moral  climax  of  forces,  known  in  our  history  as  the 
War  of  the  Kebellion  or  the  American  Civil  War  of  1861-1865.  It 
was  the  greatest  war  of  modern  times.  Its  field  of  operation  meas- 
ured almost  a  continent  in  territory ;  eight  hundred  millions  of  treas- 
ure— a  people's  toil,  but  paid  its  living  moving  needs — its  dead 
and  dying  reached  six  hundred  thousand  men  and  permanentlj^ 
disabled  and  destroyed  the  health  of  over  one  million  more — it 
covered  a  land  with  widows  and  orphans — it  begot  suffering  never 
to  be  estimated  and  privations  countless;  it  exhibited  bravery 
unparalleled,  courage  and  endurance  unsurpassed ;  its  leadership 
was  magnificent,  its  soldiery  heroic.  Such  was  the  nation's 
tragedy  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  which  you  played  so  well 
your  part.  Greatest  of  all,  in  the  fulness  of  time  it  came,  be- 
cause in  the  destiny  of  our  civilization  and  national  life  it  had  to 
come  that  American  constitutional  liberty  might  live — "The 
Union,  one  and  inseparable,  now  and  forever." 

Amen  to  the  might}^  sacrifices — amen  and  all  hail  the  mightier 
consummation. 

The  contending  armies  cover  bodies  of  men  in  action  and  bat- 
tle, in  suffering  and  slaughter,  in  camp  and  hospital  almost  be- 
yond human  conception  or  understanding.  The  Union  forces 
enrolled  during  the  four  years  number  two  millions  seven  hun- 
dred and  seventy-two  thousand  four  hundred  and  eight  men 
(2,772,408)  and  estimated  upon  a  basis  of  three  years'  service, 
2,320,272,  or  about  two  thousand  regiments. 

The  Confederate  armies  from  the  best  attainable  sources  are 
estimated  at  700,000  for  the  period  of  the  war,  or  786  regiments 
on  the  ten-company  basis. 

The  military  population  of  the  states  on  the  Union  side  was 
4,559,872,  and  from  the  eleven  states  of  the  Confederacy  1,064,193. 

There  were  killed  or  died  of  wounds  on  the  Union  side — 

Officers, (5,865 

Enlisted  Men, 103,705 

.Aggregate,      110,070 

Died  of  disease  on  tlie  Union  side^ 

Officers, 2,712 

Enlisted  Men, 197,008 

Aggregate 199,720 


Pennsylvania  at  Getf.yshurg.  39 

Making-  the  grand  aggreg-ate  from  all  (causes  during  the  war 
359,528,  or  15.4  of  the  entire  arm}'. 

There  were  275,175  wounded,  but  not  mortally. 

The  estimated  loss  of  the  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  battle 
on  the  Confederate  side  was  94,000,  and  death  from  disease  59,297. 

The  Union  army  embraced  volunteers  from  every  condition  of 
our  industrial  life,  but  the  grand  measure  of  obligation  belongs 
to  that  people  Avho  in  everj'  contest  for  freedom  have  ever  been 
foremost. 

Eorty-eig-ht  per  cent,  were  farmers,  twenty-four  per  cent,  me- 
chanics, sixteen  per  cent,  laborers,  five  per  cent,  commercial  pur- 
suits, three  per  cent,  professional  men,  four  per  cent,  miscella- 
neous. 

Nationality  formed  a  distinctive  feature.  The  great  body  of 
foreigners,  Avho  from  the  days  of  our  Revolution,  have  done  so 
much  to  develop  our  industries  and  add  to  our  wealth,  strength 
and  vigor  as  a  people,  responded  quickly  to  the  call  for  troops, 
and  fought  bravely  through  the  long  war. 

Three-fourths  of  the  armj^  were  native  Americans.  Of  the 
500,000  soldiers  of  foreign  birth,  Germany  furnished  175,000; 
Ireland,  150,000 ;  England,  50,000 ;  British  America,  50,000;  other 
countries,  75,000. 

Coming  late  into  active  warfare,  but  when  once  a  part  of  the 
army  rendering-  valuable  and  distinguished  service,  we  find  the 
enlistment  of  the  black  troops  to  have  reached  the  large  number 
of  178,975,  and  their  deaths  from  all  causes  to  have  been  36,847. 

The  Republic  has  remembered  their  services  and  in  the  battles 
of  the  future  they  wall  enter  at  the  commencement  of  every 
struggle  for  freedom. 

There  were  one  hundred  and  twelve  battles  in  Avhich  one  side 
or  the  other  lost  over  five  hundred  men  killed  and  wounded,  and 
in  all  there  were  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-two 
g-eneral  eng-agements,  l)attles,  skirmishes  or  affairs  in  which  at 
least  one  reg-iment  was  eng-aged.  Every  state  of  the  United 
States  and  every  territory  sent  volunteers  to  the  Union  Armj'. 

Such  briefly  were  the  physical  and  statistical  conditions  of  the 
two  great  forces  fighting  for  the  supremacy  of  their  principles 
and  moral  ideas,  accepting-  in  the  arbitrament  of  arms  the  final 
determination  of  the  issues  involved. 

This  mighty  host — these  millions  who  fought  the  fight,  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  who  fell,  and  the  million  w^ho  were  broken 
down  in  health  and  streng-th,  came  willing-ly — came  for  the  war 
shouting-,  •'  We  are  coming,  father  Abraham,  five  hundred  thou- 


•to  Pemisylvcmia  at  Gettysburg. 

stiud  more."  Yen  they  canie  and  broug-ht  final  victory — not  sim- 
ply the  applause  of  the  multitude  from  all  over  the  land — not 
alone  the  trophies  of  war — torn  battle-flag's  and  smoking-  guns, 
but  they  brought  final  victory  fvdl  and  complete. 

Our  C oust itutio) till  (rovernmeid  saved- — saved  not  only  to  the 
victors  but  to  the  vanquished.  Saved  to  be  loved  and  honored, 
revered,  respected  and  obeyed  by  all.  A  quarter  of  a  century 
has  iiassed  and  truly  can  we  say  as  Milton  said  of  Cromwell, 
"That  war  made  him  g-reat,  peace  greater." 

Throug-hout  the  leng-th  and  breadth  of  this  great  common- 
wealth a  loud  appealing-  voice  ring's  out — "Watchman,  what  of 
the  nigflit?"  The  nation  Avants  help!  and  lo,  the  answer  comes 
from  mountains  and  valleys,  from  the  fields  ripe  with  the  waving 
g-olden  grain ;  from  the  centers  of  trade,  commerce  and  manufac- 
ture ;  from  the  loom,  the  anvil  and  the  workshop ;  from  the 
bench,  the  bar  and  the  pulpit ;  from  the  schools  and  coUeg-es  of 
learning-  and  science — from  youth  and  age,  from  every  condition 
of  American  manhood — "All's  Avell,  Pennsylvania  will  give  her 
bravest  and  best,  the  strongest  and  most  faithful  of  her  sons." 

Call  the  roll :  315,017  white  soldiers,  8,612  black  soldiers,  14,307 
sailors  and  marines,  aggregating  337,936. 

Sixty -five  and  nine-tenths  of  the  military  population,  averaged 
upon  the  basis  of  three  year's  service,  they  numbered  265,517, 
embraced  in  two  hundred  and  fifteen  regimental  organizations. 
Of  the  three  hundred  regiments  in  the  Union  army  that  sustained 
the  heaviest  losses  in  battle,  including  every  regiment  in  service 
which  lost  over  one  hundred  and  thirty  killed  or  died  of  wounds 
during  the  war,  fifty-three  are  grouped  from  Pennsylvania.  Thir- 
ty-seven Pennsylvania  regiments  lost  in  killed  and  died  of  wounds 
in  battle  over  ten  per  cent,  of  their  total  enrolment. 

Of  the  forty-five  regiments  in  the  Union  army  that  lost  over 
two  hundred  men  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  the  action,  eleven 
are  from  Pennsylvania. 

Of  the  twenty -two  regiments  in  the  Union  army  where  the  loss 
of  killed  or  died  of  wounds  during  the  war  reached  fifteen  per 
cent,  or  upwards  of  their  enrolment,  five  are  from  Pennsylvania. 

They  have  the  following  order: 

4th — One  Hundred  and  Fortieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteei's,  17.4. 

9th — One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Peanisylvania  Volunteers, 
16.5. 

10th — One  Hundred  and  Forty-first  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
16.1. 


Pennsylvania  at  GeUjisburcj.  41 

12tli — One  Huudrcxl  and  Forty-eio-hth  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, 15.  G. 

1 3tli— Eig-hty-tliird  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  15.5. 

Thirty -three  thousand  one  hundred  and  eig-hty-three  ag-a^reg-ate 
the  number  of  deaths  (woimds  and  disease)  from  all  causes — an 
averag-e  of  15.4  of  the  troops  furnished. 

The  percentage  of  killed  in  action  of  the  soldiers  from  the 
Keystone  State,  based  upon  the  white  troops,  is  greater  than  in 
the  quota  of  any  other  northern  state. 

The  cavalry  of  Pennsylvania  being-  specially  disting-uished, 
exceeding-  in  losses  that  of  the  cavalry  of  any  other  state. 

These  brave  men  who  foug-ht  so  g-allantly  were  Pennsylvania's 
sons.  The}'  are  all  around  us  here  to-day  where  they  fell.  They 
are  buried  in  the  sleeping-  homes  of  the  nation's  dead,  and  in  the 
resting-  places  where  loving-  eyes  can  watch  and  loving-  tears  can 
ever  water  their  g-raves.  You,  the  living-  soldiers  here  with  us, 
equally  brave,  have  quietly  melted  into  the  peaceful  walks  of  life 
ever  performing^  full  duty  as  American  citizens. 

Pennsylvania  g-ave  you  all  to  the  nation,  and  when  you  Avore 
the  honored  blue,  however  much  you  loved  your  state,  you  be- 
came the  soldiers  of  the  Union. 

But  the  time  was  near  in  the  mighty  contest  when  you,  the 
living-,  and  the  thousands  dead,  were  to  be  marshalled  upon  the 
hills  and  valleys  of  your  loyal  state  and  in  a  death  strug-gle,  fig-ht 
the  greatest  battle  of  the  war  and  contest  in  the  most  important 
strategic  issue  of  the  age,  for  it  was  upon  this  field — this  Gettys- 
burg "  that  the  star  of  the  Confederacy  reaching  the  zenith 
turned  by  swift  and  head-long  plunges  toward  the  nadir  of  outer 
darkness  and  collapse." 

Waterloo  and  Gettysburg  are  marked  as  the  two  great  battles 
of  the  age. 

The  Union  army  numbered  82,000  men  and  300  guns ;  the  Con- 
federate numbered  70,000  men  and  250  guns;  the  battle  lasted 
three  days  and  the  casualties  upon  the  Union  side  were  23,003, 
and  upon  the  Confederate  27,525  .men. 

In  detail  the  Union  cause  lost  3,063  killed,  14,492  wounded, 
and  5,435  missing  or  captured ;  many  of  the  wounded  and  many 
of  the  captured  died.  No  authentic  details  are  available  for  the 
Confederate  side. 

Pennsylvania's  bravery  upon  this  field  embraces  26,G28  men ; 
in  detail,  sixty-eight  regiments  of  infantry,  eight  regiments  of 
cavalry,  and  five  batteries  of  artillery. 


42  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

The  killed  and  mortally  wounded  are  67  officers,  and  964  men, 
1,031  total. 

The  g-eneral  casualties  number  5,907. 

We  are  g-lad  to  be  here  to-day  to  aid  in  the  serious  and  patri- 
otic ceremonies  that  will  contribute  to  make  this  hallowed  ground 
immortal.  This  large  gathering  of  the  living  remnant  of  a  brave 
soldiery;  these  representatives  of  civil  authority  ;  these  organi- 
zations of  loyal  devotion  to  comradeship ;  this  gathering  of  vast 
numbers  upon  the  hillsides — the  military  display  in  blue,  these 
flags  and  guns  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  war,  these  s])eechless 
mounds  and  numberless  graves,  these  monuments  that  proclaim 
a  history,  all  attest  the  greatness  and  fitness  of  this  occasion. 
We  are  glad  to  be  here.  How  the  scene  has  changed.  What  is 
it  now  ?  Cemetery  Hill  and  the  Ridge,  Gulp's  Hill,  Round  Top, 
Peach  Orchard  and  Devil's  Den — What  it  was!  No  one  man 
living  or  dead  ever  saw.  You  were  here,  but  the  fight  was  every- 
where. No  pen  can  write,  no  tongue  describe,  no  artist's  brush 
or  pencil  picture.  In  the  years  to  come  impartial  history  will 
place  in  imperishable  record  the  best  adjustment  of  all  contro- 
A^ersies  and  conflicting  statements.  Let  us  hope  that  is  best. 
Better  that  those  of  us  who  were  a  part,  shall  hold  its  bloody 
record  as  a  memory,  and  treasure  the  heroic  deeds  of  our  comrades, 
as  the  needed  sacrifices  for  "  nobler  modes  of  life  and  purer  laws." 
But  "  with  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,"  we  can 
quickly  pass  in  review  some  of  the  fearful  work  of  those  never- 
to-be-forgotten  days. 

Lee's  invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  first  determined  ad- 
vance to  plant  his  standards  and  entire  army  upon  free  soil,  and 
passing  over  the  Susquehanna  to  capture  the  capital  of  our  state, 
and  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Washington,  where  great  treasure 
could  be  demanded  and  exacted  from  these  cities  of  wealth. 

Once  having  estaljlished  a  foothold,  recognition  would  quickly 
be  accorded  by  foreign  nations. 

He  came  upon  our  fruitful  borders  and  entered  our  rich  domain, 
with  banners  flying  and  all  the  surroundings  of  a  conquering 
hero.  His  army  marshaled  a  leadership  experienced  in  warfare, 
possessed  of  the  highest  military  capacity,  and  a  soldiery  ripe 
from  the  victories  of  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  bold, 
aggressive,  disciplined,  and  feeling  the  spirit  of  invincibility. 
They  came  to  do  or  die.  To  fight  and  to  stay.  The  great  loyal 
North  Jcneiv  their  j»irpose  of  invasion  and  trembled.  The  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  strong  in  numbers,  wearied  and  worn  with  long 
marching,  remembering  the  severe  recent  defeats  and  hard  blows 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  48 

received  in  Virg"iuia,  lacked  that  morale  aud  enthusiastic  confi- 
dence that  had  been  its  companion  on  many  a  hard-foug-ht  field. 
But  when  the  army  knew  the  next  clash  of  arms  was  to  be  on 
the  soil  of  Pennsylvania — their  home  and  heritage — like  a  giant, 
conscious  of  streng-th,  and  restive  for  a  final  struggle,  they  forg-ot 
defeat  and  weariness,  and  lifting-  up  their  voices  sang-  songs  of  vic- 
tory as  they  moved  in  compact  form  on  marches  forced  and  long-. 

The  chang-e  in  the  command  of  the  army  had  just  reached  the 
men,  and  with  unswerving-  judgment  and  soldierly  instinct  they 
knew  and  felt  that  in  General  Meade  the  army  could  confidently 
trust  and  safely  fig-ht ;  a  confidence  merited  and  deserved.  The 
battle  of  the  first  of  July  is  over,  and  along-  the  many  roads  con- 
verg-ing-  upon  these  hills  the  Union  Army  is  lapidly  marching-, 
lig-hted  by  the  full  moon  and  cooled  by  the  soft  air  of  the  summer 
nig-ht. 

General  Meade  reaches  the  field  about  midnight ;  conferences 
with  Hancock,  Howard  and  others  follow,  then  an  immediate  in- 
spection of  the  field,  to  be  renewed  at  four  (4)  a.  m.,  when  the 
first  rays  of  daylight  appear.  There  has  been  no  delay,  no  evi- 
dence of  uncertainty,  the  battle  is  to  be  fought  here  and  the 
troops  are  all  marching  on. 

A  supreme  struggle  known  to  soldiers  and  general.  The  troops 
arrive  and  by  9  a.  m.,  with  the  exception  of  the  Sixth  Army 
Corps,  not  far  away,  the  dispositions  are  made — great  expedition 
creditable  to  Meade  and  his  soldiers. 

On  the  Union  side,  the  right  wing  composed  of  the  Twelfth 
Corps  with  Wadsworth's  Division  of  the  First  Corps,  based  itself 
on  the  rough  and  wooded  eminence  of  Culp's  Hill.  The  Eleventh 
Corps  with  E-obinson's  and  Doubleday's  Divisions  of  the  First 
Corps  held  Cemetery  Hill.  The  prolongation  of  the  line  to  the 
left  along  the  crest  of  Cemetery  Ridge  was  occupied  by  Han- 
cock's Second  Corps ;  the  Third  Corps,  under  Sickles,  formed  the 
left  wing  running  from  Hancock's  fiank  to  liound  Top.  The 
Fifth  Corps  had  upon  its  arrival  taken  position  on  the  right,  in 
reserve.  On  the  Confederate  side  Lougstreet  held  the  right, 
(opposite  Sickles)  his  troops  drawn  along  the  Avell-wooded  line 
of  Seminary  Ridge ;  Hill's  Corps  continued  the  line  along  the 
same  ridge  to  the  Seminary,  opposite  the  Union  center,  and 
Ewell's  Corps,  the  Confederate  left,  stretched  from  the  Seminary 
through  the  town  and  enveloped  the  base  of  Culp's  Hill. 

Thus  face  the  two  giants  that  are  to  meet  in  a  deadly  contest — 
a  grapple  that  will  know  no  yielding  save  in  defeat. 

There  seems  to  be  some  misunderstanding  about  the  line  Gen 


44  Pennsylvmiia  at  Gettysburg. 

eral  Sickles  has  taken.  His  troops  are  seeu  advancing-,  and  as 
he  moves  forward  they  are  leavin^:  Hancock's  left  and  a  large  gap 
is  plainly  visible,  and  Sickles'  left  is  in  advance  of  Round  Top 
and  an  angle  is  made  with  Hancock's  line  instead  of  a  compact 
prolongation.  Is  the  army  to  chang-e  its  left  line,  or  are  all  to 
move  further  forward,  is  the  inquiry  of  men  and  commanders  ? 
The  sight  was  a  grand  one,  that  marching  mass  of  trained  brave 
men ;  they  looked  invincible,  although  something  seemed  not 
rig-ht,  for  many  horsemen  were  ridings  rapidly  in  all  directions, 
while  the  movement  afforded  a  large  part  of  the  army  the  oppor- 
tunity to  see  the  power  of  a  compact  force. 

Meade  rides  rapidly  up  to  the  ridge  accompanied  by  Sickles : 
an  earnest  conversation  follows  concerning  the  advanced  position 
of  the  troops.  Meade,  before  the  Committee  on  the  Conduct  of 
AVar,  states :  "  I  told  him  it  was  not  the  position  I  had  expected 
him  to  take ;  that  he  had  advanced  his  line  beyond  the  support 
of  my  army,  and  I  was  very  fearful  he  would  be  attacked  and 
lose  the  artillery  which  he  had  put  so  far  to  the  front,  before  I 
could  support  it.  General  Sickles  expressed  regret  that  he 
should  have  occupied  a  position  which  did  not  meet  with  my  ap- 
proval, and  he  very  promptly  said  that  he  would  withdraw  his 
forces  to  the  line  which  I  had  intended  him  to  take.  He  could 
see  the  ridge  by  turning  around  which  I  had  intended  him  to 
take,  but  I  told  him  I  was  fearful  that  the  enemy  would  not  al- 
low him  to  withdraw,  and  that  there  was  no  time  for  any  further 
change  or  movement.  Before  I  had  finished  that  remark  the 
enemy's  batteries  opened  upon  him  and  the  action  commenced." 

Lee  had  resoh'ed  to  attack  the  Union  line — his  own  words  are  as 
follows :  "It  was  determined  to  make  the  principal  attack  upon  the 
enemy's  left,  and  endeavor  to  be  in  a  position  from  which  it  was 
thought  that  our  artillery  could  be  brought  to  bear  with  effect. 
LoDgstreet  was  directed  to  place  the  divisions  of  Hood  and  McLaws 
on  right  of  Hill,  partially  enveloping  the  enemy's  left  which  he  was 
to  drive  in.  General  Hill  was  ordered  to  threaten  the  eneny 's  center 
to  prevent  reinforcements  from  being  drawn  to  either  wing,  and  co- 
operate Avith  his  right  division  in  Longstreet's  attack.  General 
Ewell  was  instructed  to  make  a  simultaneous  demonstration  upon 
the  enemy's  right,  to  be  converted  into  a  real  attack  should 
opportunity  offer." 

The  battle  has  opened,  and  as  Longstreet  has  been  observed 
by  the  troops  posted  in  the  orchard,  our  artillery  opens  and  ere 
long  the  musketry  fire  grows  fiercer. 

The  attack  falls  upon  Sickles'  line,  the  left  front,  just  where  it 
recedes  from  Sherfy's  Peach  Orchard  on  the  Emmitsburg  road. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  45 

DeTrobriand  and  Ward's  Brig-ades,  of  Biruey's  Division,  hold 
this  line.  The  attack  is  boldly  made,  and  the  strug-^-le  becomes 
close  and  unyielding-.  The  enemy's  line  laps  the  left  flank  of  the 
Third  Corps  by  about  two  brigades,  and  at  once  it  is  apparent 
the  effort  will  be  to  scale  the  sides  of  Round  Top  and  gain  pos- 
session of  this,  the  key  to  our  line.  As  the  battle  grows  in 
fierceness  and  intensity,  additional  troops  are  continually  arriv- 
ing-. Meade,  upon  leaving-  Sickles,  had  ordered  to  the  left  Cald- 
well's brave  division  of  the  Second  Corps,  and  troops  of  the 
Fifth  Corps  are  already  arriving-  on  the  field. 

Brig-ade  upon  brig-ade  go  in  and  come  out — all  around  Round 
Top,  Peach  Orchard,  Devil's  Den,  Plum  Run,  Emmitsburg  road 
and  the  Wheat  Field. 

The  battle  opening  at  four  o'clock  p.  m.,  on  the  extreme  left, 
had  extended  towards  the  town,  until  by  six  o'clock  every  Confed- 
erate brigade  had  advanced  from  the  line  of  battle  on  Seminary 
Ridge,  including  that  of  Law's,  on  the  extreme  right  of  General 
Lee's  line,  opposite  Round  Top,  to  Wright's  Brigade,  which  had 
attacked  Gibbon's  Division  on  Hancock's  center,  and  the  whole 
intervening  country  from  the  Devil's  Den,  on  the  base  of  Round 
Top,  to  and  above  Codori's  house,  on  the  Emmitsbm-g  road, 
was  filled  with  a  struggling  mass  of  armed  men. 

The  demons  of  war  have  been  at  their  terrible  work.  Horn- 
seems  to  follow  hour,  but  there  is  no  cessation  to  the  booming 
cannon  and  the  rolling  of  musketry.  Wounded  men  are  continu- 
ally coming  back,  yet  the  lines  hold  their  own  only  to  break  and 
re-form  and  again  attack.  Birney's,  Graham's  and  Humphreys' 
troops  have  fought  hard,  and  Caldwell's  Division  of  four  brigades 
have,  under  a  scathing  fire,  struggled  long  and  valiantly.  Sykes, 
of  the  Fifth  Corjjs,  has  brought  into  action  four  of  his  brigades, 
and  others,  under  Barnes,  Ay  res  and  Crawford,  are  soon  to  follow 
and  do  good  work.  Williams  has  been  ordered  from  the  right, 
and  closely  follows  the  Fifth  Corps.  A  mass  of  troops  are  on 
the  left,  and  our  line  is  now  strong  where  it  was  once  so  weak. 

Our  losses  are  appalling.  Graham  falls  wounded,  and  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  The  brave  Sickles  has  received  a  ball  in 
the  leg,  and  he  has  been  carried  off  the  field.  Hancock  is  as- 
signed to  the  command  of  the  corps.  Cross  and  Zook,  of  Cald- 
well's Division,  are  killed,  and  AVillard  dies  bravely.  Thousands 
of  men  are  hors-de-comhat.  Brave  Humphreys,  in  obedience  to 
Birney,  completes  his  movement  to  fall  back  from  his  advanced 
position,  and  displays  that  cool  intrepidity  and  courage  that  has 
ever  marked  his  able  generalship.     He  reaches  his  line  at  last,  but 


•i(j  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

half  of  his  gallant  force  have  fallen.  Crawford's  Pennsylvania 
Reserves,  and  a  part  of  Hays'  Division  do  g-ood  work;  and  Hunt, 
intelligent  and  watchful  soldier,  with  his  reserve  artillery,  has 
strengthened  the  line.  Men  are  worn  out  with  the  fury  of  the 
fight;  the  dead  are  everywhere;  the  wounded  legion.  Night  at 
last  comes,  and  around  the  Devil's  Den,  Peach  Orchard,  Round 
Top  and  the  "Wheat  Field  and  woods  where  the  battle  boiled 
and  bubbled  like  a  seething  cauldron,  the  worn-out  and  exhausted 
soldiers  slept  side  by  side  ^\ith  their  comrades  dead. 

The  battle  on  the  left  for  the  day  is  over.  The  blazing  sun  has 
sunk  to  rest  and  night  takes  pity  and  shadows  all,  that  the  fear- 
ful slaughter  may  cease.  Errors  of  judgment  may  have  been 
committed — other  disposition  of  troops  may  have  been  wiser, 
and  our  lines  may  have  been  located  giving  us  greater  strength 
and  greater  resistance.  But  that  is  passed ;  no  battle  of  the  war 
exhibited  greater  bravery  on  the  part  of  officers  and  men,  than 
that  which  clustered  around  and  ujjon  Little  Round  Top  and  the 
now  famous  fields  and  woods  upon  our  left. 

The  losses  of  the  Third  Corps  were  very  great.  The  men 
fought  and  died,  and  then  seemed  to  rise  up  and  strike  again. 
Brave  Warren,  whose  rare  military  judgement  and  quickness  of 
action  saved  Round  Top,  and  Weed,  Vincent,  O'Rorke  and  Haz- 
lett,  who,  after  heroic  and  magnificent  work,  yielded  up  their 
lives  to  hold  this  important  citadel,  will  ever  be  held  in  the  special 
honor  and  love.  Brave  men;  none  braver  on  that  memorable 
field.  Round  Top  will  yet  be  crowned  with  their  monuments  in 
bronze  and  stone. 

Up  to  a  late  hour  the  entire  right  of  our  line,  extending  from 
Cemetery  Hill  to  and  over  Culp's  Hill,  had  remained  unassaulted 
except  by  the  sharp  artillery  fire  from  batteries  on  Benner's  Hill, 
but  they  were  eventually  silenced  by  the  splendid  practice  of 
Union  guns  on  East  Cemetery  Hill. 

Wadsworth's  Division  of  the  First  Corps,  had  occupied  the 
nortliern  face  of  Culp's  Hill  the  night  before,  and  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  second,  Geary's  Division  of  the  Twelfth  Corps 
had  moved  over  from  its  position,  north  of  Little  Round  Top, 
and  formed  on  AVadsworth's  right,  extending  down  the  south- 
eastern face  of  the  hill;  and  a  little  later  Williams'  Division, 
commanded  by  General  Ruger,  marched  over  from  Wolf's  Hill 
Avliere  it  had  spent  the  night,  and  formed  on  Geary's  right,  ex- 
tending the  line  in  a  zig-zag  course  to  Spangler's  meadow  at  the 
base  of  the  hill. 

Notwithstanding  these  troops  had  not  been  molested  during 


Pennsylvania  at  Geffi/sbiny.  47 

the  day,  they  had  not  been  idle.  Immediately  on  takin^::  that 
position,  a  line  of  breastworks  had  been  commenced,  which  by 
nightfall  were  sufficient  to  afford  the  troops  ample  protection. 
When,  however,  the  condition  of  the  battle  on  the  left  assumed 
such  threatening-  proportion.  General  Meade  called  on  ( reneral 
Slocum,  commanding-  the  rig-ht  center,  for  troops  to  go  to  the  as- 
sistance of  the  left,  and  General  Williams,  temporarily  command- 
ing- the  corps,  was  ordered  to  send  his  own  division,  commanded 
by  General  Ruger.  These  troops  moved  out  of  their  works  ac- 
companied by  Lockwood's  Brigade,  and  were  led  by  General 
AVilliams  in  person  to  the  scene  of  action,  arriving,  however,  after 
the  severe  fighting  was  over,  and  only  Lockwood's  Brigade  was 
temporarily  engaged.  In  the  meantime  General  Slocum  had  or- 
dered Geary  to  send  two  brigades  of  his  division  to  the  same 
destination;  and  Candy's  and  Kane's  Brigades,  under  the  per- 
sonal command  of  General  Geary,  started  for  the  same  destina- 
tion, but  through  some  unexplained  error  they  marched  down 
the  Baltimore  pike  to  and  beyond  Bock  creek,  when  they  threw 
out  pickets,  leaving  only  Greene's  Brigade  to  hold  the  long  line 
of  works  built  and  occupied  by  the  entire  corps.  As  these 
brigades  moved  out  General  Greene  commenced  to  deploy  the 
One  Hundi'ed  and  Thirty-seventh  New  York  Volunteers  in  that 
portion  of  the  works  vacated  by  Kane's  Brigade.  At  the  same 
time  that  the  Twelfth  Corjas  troops  were  being  withdrawn,  John- 
son's Division  of  Ewell's  Corps  advancing  from  beyond  Benner's 
Hill,  moved  to  attack  the  Twelfth  Corps'  jDOsition  on  Gulp's  Hill, 
Steuart's  Brigade  assaulting  Kane's  position  at  the  moment 
when  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- seventh  New  York  was  being 
deployed  in  the  works,  and  although  stoutly  resisted,  Steuart 
occupied  the  position  and  his  brigade  spent  the  night  inside  the 
Union  works.  Although  Greene's  position  was  previously  as- 
saulted, he  successfully  repulsed  every  attack,  assisted  by  several 
First  and  Eleventh  Corps  regiments  sent  to  him  by  General 
Wadsworth,  and  by  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  battle  ended.  In  the 
meantime  General  Kane,  hearing  the  sound  of  battle,  returned 
^vith  his  command,  and  although  fired  upon  by  Steuart's  men 
when  he  attempted  to  go  to  his  old  position,  he  eventually 
reached  it  by  a  circuitous  route  and  occupied  a  strong  position 
among  the  rocks  on  Greene's  right,  and  by  midnight  Col.  Candy's 
Brigade  also  returned  and  extended  General  Kane's  line.  When 
Ruger's  Division  and  Lockwood's  Brigade  returned  on  finding 
their  works  occupied  by  the  enemy,  they  took  up  a  position  on 
the  open  fields  facing  the  woods,  except  Colgrove's  Brigade, 


48  Pennsylvania  at  Geityshunj. 

which  moved  over  to  the  east  side  of  Spangler's  meadows.  While 
this  contest  was  taking-  place,  Generals  Slocum  and  Williams  were 
attending"  a  council  of  war  at  General  Meade's  headquarters. 

On  returning  and  learning  the  state  of  affairs  General  Slocum 
at  once  ordered  his  artillerj'^  in  position  to  command  the  works 
occupied  by  the  enemy,  and  at  4.30  a.  m.  it  opened  fire. 

In  the  meantime  General  Johnson  had  been  reinforced  by  Gen- 
eral AValker's  Brigade  of  his  own  division,  and  Daniel's  and 
O'Neal's  Brigades  of  Major-General  Bodes'  Division,  and  when 
Slocum's  artiller}^  opened  fire,  Johnson  having  no  artillery  in  po- 
sition with  which  to  reply,  ordered  an  attack  by  his  infantry  all 
along  the  line.  A  counter-attack  was  made  by  General  Williams, 
and  the  battle  raged  with  varied  success  until  near  eleven  o'clock, 
by  which  time  the  enemy  was  driven  out  and  the  orig-inal  line 
I'estored. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  Johnson's  attack  on  Gulp's  Hill, 
Hays'  and  Hoke's  Brigades  of  Early's  Division  charged  Barlow's 
division,  Adelbert  Ames  in  command,  in  position  on  East  Ceme- 
tery Hill.  The  crest  of  the  hill  was  occupied  by  Wiedrich's, 
Bicketts'  and  Beynolds'  Batteries,  while  Stewart's  Battery,  also  on 
the  hill,  was  trained  on  Baltimore  street  leading  from  the  town. 
But  the  most  important  position,  a  shoulder  on  the  west  side  of 
Gulp's  Hill,  since  called  Stevens'  Knoll,  was  occuj)ied  by  the 
Fifth  Maine  Battery  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Whittier. 

The  assault  was  made  at  the  dusk  of  evening  and  was  not  ob- 
sei'ved  until  the  enemy  was  far  advanced.  Colonel  Wainwrig-ht, 
chief  of  First  Corps  artillery,  directed  his  batteries  to  open  fire, 
but  unfortunately  the  guns  were  so  placed  that  they  could  not 
be  depressed,  and,  notwithstanding  the  terrible  fiank  fire  by  the 
Fifth  Maine  Battery,  the  infantry  giving-  way,  the  enemy  was 
soon  among  the  guns.  Wiedrich's  Battery  was  captured  and  one 
or  two  of  Bicketts'  guns  were  spiked.  At  this  juncture  General 
Hancock  dispatched  the  brave  and  fearless  General  Carroll  with 
his  gallant  brigade  to  the  scene  of  action.  General  Carroll 
immediately  led  his  troops  forward  attacked  the  enemy,  and 
assisted  by  some  Eleventh  Corps  troops  quickly  restored  the  line 
and  recaptured  the  guns  when  the  battle  ended  for  the  night. 

Before  the  firing  had  ceased  on  the  Union  right,  on  the  second 
of  July,  General  Meade  hastened  to  his  headquarters  and  called  his 
council  of  war — a  gathering  of  the  ablest  and  greatest  leaders 
that  had  ever  commanded  the  corjDS  of  the  Potomac  Army. 
Slocum,  Sedgwick,  Hancock,  Howard,  Newton,  Sykes,  Birney, 
Williams,  Gibbon,  Buttcrfield,  were  all  present.     The  conclusion 


Pennsylvania  at  GeMyshny'j.  49 

■was  soon  reached.  "  Remain  in  the  present  position  and  await 
the  enemy's  attack."  Out  of  52  infantry  brigades,  42  had  been 
eng-ag-ed  and  36  seriously.  The  corps  comma,uders  reported 
about  58,000  men  for  the  next  day's  fight. 

The  losses  during  the  day  crippled,  perhaps,  the  Union  side 
the  least,  but  the  enemy  had  gained  great  advantages.  On  their 
right  the  Confederates  had  secured  a  lodgment  on  the  bases  of 
the  Round  Tops,  possession  of  Devil's  Den,  and  the  ridges  on 
the  Emmitsburg  road,  a  valuable  position  for  artillery. 

On  the  left  an  occupation  of  part  of  the  intrenchments  of  the 
Twelfth  Corps  with  an  outlet  to  the  Baltimore  pike,  by  which  all 
of  our  lines  could  be  taken  in  reverse.  At  the  center,  partial 
success,  effecting-  no  lodgment  because  they  lacked  proper  sup- 
port. Lee  recognized  the  value  and  importance  of  the  advan- 
tag-es  he  had  secured,  and  having  had  engaged  but  seventeen 
out  of  his  thirty-seven  brigades  of  infantry,  he  felt  confident  a 
great  victory  could  have  been  gained,  if  his  orders  had  been 
obeyed  and  his  generals  had  co-operated. 

The  morale  and  discipline  of  his  men  were  excellent — they 
wanted  to  fight  and  looked  forward  to  a  victory  on  the  morrow. 
Lee's  languag-e  is  as  follows:  "The  operations  of  the  second  of 
July  induced  the  belief  that  with  proper  concert  of  action,  and 
with  the  increased  support  which  the  positions  gained  on  the 
right  would  enable  the  artillery  to  render  the  assaiilting  columns, 
we  should  ultimately  succeed,  and  it  was,  accordingly,  determined 
to  continue  the  attack." 

The  same  bright  moon  that  had  lighted  the  way  of  the  thou- 
sands of  brave  soldiers,  gayly  singing  their  songs  of  triumph  as 
they  marched,  July  first,  to  these  memorable  fields,  shone  out 
again  with  equal  brilliancy,  upon  scenes  of  activity  and  unceas- 
ing labor.  The  wounded  were  carried  to  the  rear  and  the  lines 
re-formed  among"  the  dead,  too  numerous  to  be  cared  for.  Sleep 
came  to  the  eyes  of  few.  It  required  the  vigor  of  youth  to  with- 
stand the  strain. 

Throughout  the  loyal  states  consternation  was  in  the  minds 
and  fear  in  the  eyes  of  men.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  suf- 
fered reverses  on  the  first  and  second  of  July,  and  nothing-  save 
that  shattered  and  worn  army  stood  between  the  march  of  Lee's 
victorious  legions  and  the  great  cities  of  the  North. 

The  Sixth  Corps  supplies  reserves  to  various  parts  of  the  line. 
The  Fifth  Corps,  on  the  left,  extends  itself  so  as  to  occupy  the 
acclivities  of  Great  Round  Top,  and  protect  the  flank  from  sm-- 
prise.     The  Third  Corps,  worn  out  and  disabled,  is  in  reserve. 
4  . 


50  Pennsylvania  at  Gcttys/nirg. 

At  early  dawn  the  tight  commences  ou  the  right,  for  orders 
have  been  sent  to  dislodg-e  the  enemy.  Slocum  commands  the 
right  wing-,  and  he  voted  last  nig-ht  at  the  council,  "stay  and 
fight  it  out."  It  is  most  important  that  our  line  be  maintained, 
and  for  almost  five  hours  a  determined  and  coui'ageous  struggle 
continues.  Finally  the  enemy  are  compelled  to  move  back,  and 
our  troops  regain  their  position.     This  is  an  unexpected  loss  to  Lee . 

Pending  the  formation  of  Longstreet's  column  on  the  3d,  Gen- 
eral Lee  directed  General  Stuart  to  move  with  his  cavalry  beyond 
the  left  of  his  infantry,  and  endeavor  to  secure  a  position  from 
which  to  co-operate  with  the  attack  about  to  be  made  by  General 
Longstreet.  This  movement  was  made,  but  was  met  by  a  counter- 
movement  by  General  Pleasonton  who,  under  orders  from  Gen- 
eral Meade,  had  taken  up  a  position  to  meet  any  flank  attack  by 
the  enemy,  and  protect  the  Union  flank  and  rear.  Simultaneous 
with  the  great  cannonade  Stuart's  command,  consisting  of  Hamp- 
ton's, Fitzhugh  Lee's,  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  and  Jenkins"  Brigades,  ad- 
vanced to  the  attack.  They  were  met  by  McLitosli's  Brigade 
and  Custer's  Brigade,  of  Kilpatrick's  Division,  and,  after  a  des- 
perate hand-to-hand  engagement,  were  repulsed. 

Later  in  the  day  General  Meade  ordered  General  Kilpatrick  to 
take  up  a  position  to  threaten  the  Confederate  right.  General 
Kilpatrick  moved  with  Farnsworth's  Brigade,  and  was  subse- 
quently joined  by  Merritt's  Brigade,  of  Buford's  Division.  A 
demonstration  was  made  hy  General  Kilpatrick's  order,  during 
which  General  Farnsworth  was  killed. 

The  whole  cavalry  movement  of  the  2d  and  3d  of  July,  exhib- 
ited on  the  part  of  officers  and  men,  not  only  bravery  and  cour- 
age, but  able  leadership,  making  memorable  their  record  as  indis- 
pensable adjuncts  to  the  great  battle  and  victory.  Pennsylvania's 
contribution  to  the  corps  embraced  many  troops,  and  under  the 
fighting  qualities  of  fearless  Pleasonton,  the  names  of  Generals 
John  Buford,  Da^dd  McM.  Gregg  and  Colonel  J.  Irvin  Gregg, 
will  ever  be  cherished  and  loved. 

It  is  now  eleven  o'clock,  and  our  lines  are  firmer  and  stronger 
than  on  the  2d  of  July.  The  men  have  had  rest  and  food,  the 
ground  is  better  understood  and  the  troops  are  resolute,  knowing 
that  another  disaster  may  or  will  be  com]3lete  defeat.  Extreme 
quiet  reigns,  and  behind  the  low  earthworks  the  men  wait  the 
coming  storm.  Hancock  rides  his  Ihie,  and  his  appearance,  like 
an  inspiration,  gives  confidence  to  his  soldiers.  About  one  o'clock 
two  cannon  shots  are  fired — the  men  knoAv  they  are  signal  guns. 
Suddenly,  amid  smoke  and  flame,  there  belches  forth  a  thunder 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty .shvrtj.  51 

cannonade  as  if  the  very  elements  were  in  battle,  and  the  air  is 
filled  with  explodins:  shells.  Pandemonium  has  commenced,  and 
will  so  continue  for  the  next  two  hours.  Fifteen  minutes  pass 
for  all  is  quiet  along-  the  Union  front,  then  there  is  a  return  of 
death-dealing:  hospitality,  and  the  seventy -seven  «-uusof  the  Union 
Ai-my  join  tlie  oneliundi-ed  and  thirty-eight  g-uns  of  the  Confed- 
eracy. What  seemed  thunder  before  now  seems  a  hundred  times 
more  deafening,  for  the  troops  are  all  lying-  near  the  artillery. 

Men  hug  the  ground,  for  death  and  destruction  are  flying  all 
around — a  sight  so  jnagnificent  has  never  been  seen  by  this  g-en- 
eration  upon  this  continent.  Our  guns,  after  an  hour's  incessant 
storming-,  gradually  cease  firing.  The  enemy  believe  our  artillery 
has  been  silenced,  but  it  has  been  tlie  wise  foresig-ht  and  jude- 
ment  of  Meade  and  Hunt  who  had  directed  the  ammunition  to 
be  saved. 

Under  the  cover  of  the  smoke  wafted  by  a  soft  light  breeze, 
the  enemy  advanced.  Pickett's  fighting  men,  fresh,  strong-  and 
determined  to  reach  our  lines,  move  forward  as  if  on  a  holiday 
parade.  They  look  like  the  brave  Third  Corps  as  it  looked  yes- 
terday. The  direction  of  the  line  is  distinct — not  a  turning-  of  the 
left  flank,  but  the  assault  is  to  fall  upon  Cemetery  Ridge  and  Han- 
cock's Corps.  These  soldiers  are  like  their  superb  commander — 
they  fight  to  win — die  if  need  be,  for  they  have  faced  danger 
on  many  fiercely  contested  fields.  There  are  ten  reg-iments  of 
Pennsylvania  troops  in  that  old  Second  Corps,  and  he  is  a  Penn- 
sylvania soldier  who  commands  them.  Across  the  open  plain 
the  enemy  marches  with  front  apparently  compact.  Pickett  leads, 
and  then  comes  Armistead,  Garnett,  Wilcox,  Kemper,  Pettigrew, 
Trimble  and  a  number  of  fearless  men.  It  is  their  last  heroic 
charg-e.  That  line  of  determined  men  lying  along  the  Second 
Corps'  front  intend  to  allow  no  return. 

How  the  banners  flaunt,  but  they  Avill  soon  drop,  for  the  hands 
that  hold  them  will  be  stricken  down.  It  is  death  or  victory,  and 
the  soil  is  Pennsylvania. 

The  enemy  make  a  movement,  a  half  wheel,  our  artillery  opens 
upon  the  right  flank,  and  McGilvery's  forty  guns  are  demoraliz- 
ing- the  steadiness  of  the  forward  movement.  Other  Confederate 
brigades  now  appear.  Archer,  Davis  and  Brockenbrough  are  seen 
in  single  line  with  Scales  on  the  right  and  Lane  on  the  left.  Pickett's 
skirmishers  are  ordered  back  for  real  work  is  about  to  begin. 

Forward,  forward,  here  they  come.  No  fear,  no  indecision — 
their  eyes  are  fixed  on  the  ridg-e  and  they  will  not  waver  save  in 
death.     They  are  fourteen  thousand  strong. 


52  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

They  are  witliiu  two  liuudred  yards  of  the  line  on  the  ridge 
and  Hazard,  from  his  artillery,  Rorty,  Brown,  Gushing-,  Arnold 
and  Woodruff  blaze  canister  into  their  ranks,  the  infantr}^  pour 
musketry  and  McGilvery's  guns  drive  them  with  shot  and  shell 
and  roll  up  their  tlank. 

They  are  now  upon  us.  We  can  see  their  faces — long,  color- 
less, gaunt — their  clothing  covered  with  blood  and  dirt. 

The  muskets  bayoneted,  carried  at  a  charge,  the  look  upon 
their  firm  set  faces,  resolute,  defiant,  fearless.  Up  men  of  Penn- 
sylvania! up  soldiers  of  the  Second  Corps!  you  or  they  must  win 
this  day;  there  is  no  retreat  now. 

Harrow's  and  Hall's  men  strike  them  on  our  left,  Stannard's 
fiank  fire  rolls  them  ,up  on  our  right,  and  brave  Alexander  Hays 
with  soldiers  worthy  of  the  gallantry  of  their  leader,  with  a  fire 
concentrated  and  fearful  in  its  havoc,  wedges  them  into  a  solid 
column,  which,  driven  like  a  massed  weight,  falls  with  a  fearful 
force,  impelled,  upon  the  front  of  Webb's  Brigade.  They  now 
seem  irresistible,  and  they  mean  to  kill. 

Webb,  in  the  midst  of  his  soldiers,  fights  as  they  fight,  yet  he 
is  ever  the  leader.  The  fearful  thunderbolt  has  driven  back  his 
first  line,  but  it  readily  re-forms  on  the  second  and  brave  Webb 
falls  wounded. 

The  scene  passes  description — shot  and  shell  and  canister  and 
musketry,  every  implement  of  warfare  and  death  play  havoc  and 
let  loose  the  dogs  of  war.  Battle  fiags  di'op,  men  throw  up  their 
arms  and  fall  upon  their  faces  within  our  lines. 

The  fight  is  over,  the  victory  of  victories  is  won.  Well  done, 
sagacious  Meade — bravely  done,  Hancock,  master  leader  in  the 
battle  front  of  this  the  battle  of  the  century — your  blood  has 
hallowed  this  ground ;  and  you,  heroic  Gibbon,  and  Webb,  and 
Gushing,  and  Hays,  and  the  long  line  of  living  and  dead  leaders, 
well  done.  A  nation  thanks  you  and  thanks  your  great  army. 
Soldiers  of  Pejmsylvania,  your  valor  has  been  seen  in  many  bat- 
tle fields,  but  on  none  has  it  been  greater  or  grander,  nobler  or 
more  heroic  than  on  the  July  days  of  1863. 

Again  we  hear  the  call,  and  in  its  tones  a  wail  of  anxiety,  al- 
most grief — "  Watchman,  what  of  the  night  ?"  The  answer  is 
heard  all  over  the  land—"  All's  well.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac 
has  gained  a  great  victory,"  and  like  an  ocean's  roar  comes  back 
response— "Thank  God  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac." 


MUSIC. 
Dedication  Quartktte. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyabury.  53 


TRANSFER  OF  MONUMENTS  TO    GET'lYSBURG  BATTLE- 
FIELD MEMORIAL  ASSOCIATION. 


Governor   )ames  A.  Beaver. 


MT  COUNTRYMEN:  You  have  heard,  in  eloquent  phrase, 
from  the  hps  of  personal  participants  in  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg-,  what  Pennsylvania's  sons  did  here  in  con- 
nection with  their  comrades  from  other  states,  to  preseiTe  the 
heritage  of  our  fathers  for  transmission  to  our  sons.  The  mem- 
orials erected,  and  yet  to  be  erected,  upon  this  tield,  are  designed 
to.  transmit  this  story,  so  far  as  perishable  materials  can,  to  the 
coming  generations.  The  story  itself  will  be  transmitted  in 
other  and  more  enduring  ways.  We  recog-nize  it  as  proper,  hoM - 
ever,  that  the  spot  upon  which  men  proved  their  devotion  to 
principle  by  the  surrender  of  their  lives,  should  be  marked  by 
something  distinctive  and  appropriate.  This  has  been  done  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  as 
voiced  in  the  acts  of  their  representatives,  and  it  now  devolves 
upon  me,  as  their  chief  executive,  to  transfer  the  custody  of  these 
memorials  to  a  body  of  gentlemen  composed  of  representatives 
of  the  different  states,  whose  troops  pai'ticipated  in  the  battle 
on  the  side  of  the  Union,  and  organized  for  the  express  purpose 
of  preserving  the  battle-field  and  its  surroundings,  and  of  per- 
petuating- the  memory  of  the  deeds  of  its  participants. 

The  Gettysburg-  Battle-field  Memorial  Association  has  done  a 
great  work  in  preserving  this  field  for  the  study  of  patriots, 
heroes  and  soldiers  for  all  time  to  come.  The  organization  is  not 
distinctively  Pennsylvanian.  In  its  management  are  found  the 
representatives  of  the  several  states  contributing  to  the  pur- 
chase and  care  of  the  battle-field.  Its  work,  although  confined 
to  a  given  locality,  is  of  interest  to  the  people  of  the  countrj^  and 
the  world.  For  historical  purposes,  and  for  the  study  of  strat- 
eg-y  and  tactics,  Gettysburg-  is  to  be  the  g-reat  battle-field  of  the 
country  and  of  the  world.  This  fact  has  long  been  recognized 
by  the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Memorial  Association,  and  is  be- 
coming recognized  more  and  more  by  the  people  of  the  entii-e 


54  Pennsylvania  at  (reJlydmrg. 

country.  Gettj'sbiirf;:  docs  not  belong  to  Pennsylvania.  Just  as 
the  principles  of  rig-lit  for  Avhicli  men  here  fought  were  universal, 
and  the  results  here  won  of  general  value  to  our  common  coun- 
try, so  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg  is  the  heritage  of  our  coun- 
trymen everywhere.  Their  representatives  control  it  now.  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  their  official  representatives  in  Congress  will 
make  provision  for  its  further  development  for  historical  pur- 
poses, until  the  location  of  every  military  organization  which 
fought  upon  the  field  will  be  designated  and  permanently 
marked. 

Pennsylvania  has  entire  confidence  in  the  present  organization 
cliarged  with  the  duty  of  preserving  and  maintaining  this  battle- 
field, and  she,  without  hesitation,  transfers  to  its  custody  these 
memorials,  erected  by  her  ofticial  boimty  and  the  contributions 
of  the  survivors  of  the  several  organizations  which  participated 
in  the  battle.  She  has,  by  legislative  enactment,  sanctioned  the 
organization  of  the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Memorial  Associa- 
tion ;  she  has  contributed  of  her  funds  to  its  support ;  she  has 
pride  in  its  work,  and  will,  doubtless,  continue  to  co-operate  Avith 
it  and  through  it  for  its  continued  development,  and  the  enlarge- 
ment of  its  scope  and  efibrts. 

To  you,  as  the  representative  of  this  Association,  I  beg  to 
transfer  the  custody  of  Pennsylvania's  memorials,  assured  that 
they  will  be  properly  cared  for  and  faithfully  preserved,  and  that 
so  long  as  these  perishable  materials  shall  continue  to  do  so  they 
will  be  permitted  to  tell  their  story  of  heroism,  sacrifice  and  de- 
votion to  the  generations  yet  unborn. 


Pe7ins>/lv(mi(i  at  Gcfh/s/mnj.  55 


ACCEPTANCE  OK  THE  MONUMENTS  ON  BEHALF  OF    THE 
BATTLE-FIELD  MEMORIAL  ASSOCIATION. 

Hon.  Edwakd  McPhek.son. 


GOVERNOR  BEAVER :  The  Battlefield  Association  wiUin^crly 
accepts  the  care  of  the  memorials  which  you  have  cou- 
fided  to  it.  These  tasteful  and  enduring-  monuments  of 
bronze  and  granite,  are  an  appropriate  expression  of  the  profound 
emotions  with  which  a  grateful  people  ]-egard  the  great  work  done 
liere  by  a  noble  soldiery.  They  vividly  recall  to  this  generation, 
as  they  will  suggest  to  future  generations,  the  anxieties  and 
griefs  which,  in  the  midst  of  war's  alarms,  disquieted  the  homes 
of  our  broad  and  busy  commonwealth.  The^^  will  as  vividly  re- 
call the  numberless  privations  and  fatigues  of  camp  and  march, 
the  suffering  in  hospital,  the  constant  strain  of  expectation,  the 
awful  carnage  of  battle,  which  those  brave  hearts  endured  for 
us  and  for  the  possession  of  g-enerations  who  are  to  come  after  us. 
And  they  will  also  forever  testify  the  precious  fruits  of  victory — 
our  Union  saved,  our  constitution  purified,  our  institutions  im- 
measurably strengthened,  the  whole  people  firmly  bound  in  an 
indissoluble  union  of  indestructible  states. 

This  lofty  thought  had,  before  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  no 
place  in  the  accepted  theories  of  our  government,  but  is  a  gift 
from  that  war.  Before  that  event  the  Union  was  llippantiy  and 
frequently  threatened  from  within,  in  both  the  North  and  the 
South;  and  if  the  states  were  boasted  as  indestructible,  it  was  be- 
cause they  were  claimed  to  be  independent  and  sovereign — and 
not  at  all  as  indestructible  because  an  integral  part  of  a  union  in- 
dissoluble in  whole  and  equally  indestructible  in  every  part.  So 
far  as  we  are,  therefore,  this  day  fused  into  unity  and  have  a 
cloudless  future,  Ave  owe  it  primarily  to  the  constancy  and  valor 
of  the  armies  of  the  Union,  who  thereby  made  the  nation  their 
debtor  to  an  amount  which  cannot  be  computed  or  paid. 

How  much  of  the  great  result  due  to  our  many  victories  may 
be  directly  due  to  this  victory,  it  is  not  possible  accurately  to 
state.     But  there  were  then  existing  circumstances  of  peculiar 


56  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

gravity  which  made  this  victory  indispensable  to  the  cause  of  the 
Union.  We  know  that  long-  before  this  battle  several  European 
cabinets  had  considered  the  policy  of  unfriendly  intervention  in  our 
affairs.  We  know,  definitely,  that  six  months  before  this  battle 
the  Emperor  of  France  had  taken  a  step  in  that  policy  of  hostil- 
ity to  which  he  was  impelled  by  ambition  for  his  dynasty,  now 
happily  sunk  from  sight.  And  we  knov/,  further,  that  the  gov- 
erning classes  in  most  European  states  then  complacently  re- 
garded the  end  of  the  Great  Republic  as  inevitable  and  awaited 
only  a  sufficient  pretext  to  decide  the  issue  and  glean  the  profits. 
Our  dangers  from  within  were  hardly  less  serious.  Delays  and 
defeats,  debt  and  the  draft,  had  sorely  tried  and  deeply  discour- 
aged the  hopeful  and  faithful,  and  had  driven  the  timorous, 
the  time-serving  and  the  treacherous  to  look  for  peace  through 
surrender.  The  invasion  of  Pennsjdvania  was  made  at  this  su- 
preme crisis — the  supreme  crisis  of  the  war,  diplomatically,  po- 
liticaUy  and  militarily,  and  was  timed  so  as  to  be  adapted  to  these 
various  exigencies.  In  all  the  war  there  was  no  moment  so  big 
with  the  fate  of  empire  as  July,  1863.  If  at  that  pivotal  period, 
with  foreign  and  domestic  enemies  of  the  Union  alike  crouching 
for  its  destruction,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  been  subdued 
and  beaten,  and  if  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1863,  the  victorious  army 
of  Northern  Virginia  had  been  in  quick  pursuit  of  its  flying-  foe 
to  the  then  probable  capture  of  Baltimore  and  of  Washington, 
there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  fact  would  have  become 
the  long-sought  pretext  for  foreign  intervention  with  its  horrid 
brood  of  consequences.  But  the  Ai'my  of  the  Potomac  stood  in 
its  tracks — shaken  but  yet  firm,  weakened  but  yet  defiant,  threat- 
ened but  yet  victorious.  It  remained  master.  The  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  it  was  which  sped  its  way  to  the  camps  from 
which  it  came,  and  whence  it  never  afterward  took  a  northern 
step.  As  it  disappeared  there  also  disappeared  all  opportunity 
for  intervention.  And  Gettysburg,  having  escaped  the  misfor- 
tune of  witnessing  the  wounding  unto  death  of  Liberty  and 
Union,  rose  to  be  the  venerated  spot  on  which  free  institutions 
received  their  efficacious  baptism  of  fire  and  blood. 

In  order  to  comprehend  Gettysburg  as  a  great  historic  name, 
and  as  a  special  place  in  the  world,  it  is  necessary  to  know  ex- 
actly what  each  side  represented  in  this  death  struggle.  For  this 
the  official  data  are  available — data  which  cannot  be  confused  or 
denied,  and  must  not  be  forgotten.  The  differences  between  the 
two  were  radical  and  unmistakable;  were  written  down  at  the 
time  in  justification  for  action  taken,  and  were  put  in  issue  when 


Peunsylvauui  at  Getty sJmrg.  57 

appeal  was  made  to  the  God  of  Battles.  The  "other  side,"  by  its 
declarations  of  that  date,  foug-lit  for  the  theory  that  our  common 
constitution  had  created  a  confederacy  of  states,  and  had  not 
formed  a  union  of  the  people  of  the  states.  They  foug-ht  for 
the  existence  in  that  confederacy  of  an  indefeasil)le  right  in  each 
state  to  secede  from  it  on  every  i)retext  deemed  good  by  each 
state,  and  against  the  right  of  the  Union  to  prevent  the  with- 
drawal from  it  of  the  people  of  any  state  on  any  pretext.  They 
fought  for  the  right  of  two  governments  and  two  peoples,  to  di- 
vide between  them  the  territory  of  the  Union,  and  against  the 
rig'ht  of  one  government  and  one  people  to  preserve  as  its  per- 
petual home,  the  magnificent  empire  won  and  given  by  the 
fathers.  And  they  fought  that  human  slavery,  instead  of  remain- 
ing- a  system  local  to,  and  controlled  by,  states,  and  with  only 
qualified  but  defined  rights  in  the  Union,  should  be  made  the 
universal  dominating  interest  in  the  confederacy — absolute  every- 
where as  to  rights,  its  characteristic  institution,  the  very  "corner- 
stone" of  its  fabric,  the  dictator  of  its  policies,  and  a  chief  ob- 
ject in  its  life. 

These  fundamental  differences  were  brought  by  common  consent, 
at  Gettysburg,  to  the  point  of  the  bayonet  and  the  mouth  of  the 
cannon,  to  be  settled,  after  gig-antic  combat,  by  those  grim  and 
imperious  judges  from  whose  decision  there  is  no  appeal.  Every 
soldier  who  fought  in  either  army,  therefore,  fought  willingly  or 
unwillingly,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  for  or  against  the  idf^as 
involved  in  these  differences.  And  Gettysburg  has  thenceforth 
stood,  and  will  stand  while  history  endures,  as  a  synonym  for  an 
indivisible  government  under  the  constitution,  with  freedom  and 
equal  rights  for  all  as  the  pervading  purpose  of  the  former,  and 
as  the  perpetual  inspiration  of  the  latter. 

Feelings  of  unspeakable  thankfulness  for  this  great  gift  have 
imiDelled  the  participating  states  to  mark  this  field,  as  no  field 
has  been  marked  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  unto  this  day. 
Already  there  are  upon  it  two  hundred  and  eighty -seven  memo- 
rial stones  and  structures,  which  are  located  with  historical  accu- 
racy upon  the  lines  of  battle  of  the  Union  Army,  twelve  miles  in 
extent.  Every  regimental  position  has  been  or  will  be  marked. 
And  every  tragic  spot  will  be  indicated  upon  this  unique  locality 
now  known  to  have  been  the  point  expected  and  preferred  by  the 
commander  of  the  invading  army  for  the  collision — the  conver- 
gence to  it  of  roads  from  all  directions  within  a  radius  of  fifty 
miles,  having  indicated  it  as  the  probable  seat  of  battle  with  the 
defensive  army  of  the  Union. 


58  Pennsylvania  ai  (Tcffi/shmr/. 

Thus  by  a  series  of  luilitaiy  events  not  specifically  planned  by 
either  side,  this  battle  of  the  g-iants  came  to  be  within  the  lines 
of  Penn,  but  few  miles  from  the  lines  of  Calvert — the  line  be- 
tween the  two  having-  long-  been  the  separation  bet  wen  the  states 
of  the  free  and  the  states  of  the  slave.  The  distinction  which 
then  came  to  Pennsylvania,  and  which  will  be  to  it  as  a  crown 
throughout  the  ages,  found  it  neither  unprepared  nor  unworthy. 
No  region  in  the  Union  has  a  prouder  political  lineage  than  this 
in  which  we  are.  It  was  solemnly  dedicated,  over  two  hundred 
years  ago,  by  its  wise,  unselfish  and  humane  founder,  to  "kind- 
ness and  goodness  and  charity,"  through  forms  of  government  in- 
tended to  give  freedom  in  order  that  the  colonists  might  be 
happy.  As  colony  and  as  commonwealth,  the  record  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  radiant  with  acts  of  mercy  and  justice  and  virtue. 
Early  in  the  strugg"le  for  independence,  patriotic  fervor  drove  it 
to  the  front,  and  troops  from  this  neighborhood  were  among  the 
first  to  hurry,  in  1775,  after  Bunker  Hill,  to  the  help  of  the  colo- 
nists of  New  England  whose  cause  they  made  their  own.  When 
independence  was  proclaimed,  it  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania 
that  its  language  was  first  heard.  While  the  country  was  in  the 
throes  of  the  revolution,  in  1780,  seven  years  before  the  passage 
of  the  great  northwestern  ordinance,  it  was  Pennsylvania — a 
name  "already  dear  throughout  the  world  as  a  symbol  of  free- 
dom ■■ — which,  fii'st  of  the  thirteen,  "  led  the  way  towards  intro- 
ducing freedom  for  all,"  by  passing  the  act  of  emancipation, 
which  restored  and  established  within  it  the  rights  of  human  na- 
ture— giving"  as  reasons  therefore  thankfulness  for  escape  from 
dang-er  and  a  desire  to  give  a  substantial  proof  of  gratitude,  the 
duty  of  proving  the  sincerity  of  their  professions  in  favor  of 
freedom  and  the  peculiar  pleasure  of  adding  "one  more  step  to 
universal  civilization." 

When  independence  was  won,  and  the  convention  of  1787  pro- 
duced, within  its  chief  city,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
"the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck  oflf  at  a  given  time  by 
the  brain  and  purpose  of  man,"  Pennsylvania,  in  its  deep  yearn- 
ing for  nationality,  was  one  of  the  first  two  states,  and  the  first 
of  the  large  states,  to  greet  and  ratify  it;  and  from  that  august 
moment  to  this  it  has,  without  default  or  stint,  given  to  the  safety 
of  that  constitution  and  to  the  growth  of  that  union  the  sturdy 
service  of  its  strong-  hands  and  the  measureless  wealth  of  its  rich 
heart. 

It  must,  therefore,  he  regarded  as  a  supreme  historic  felicity 
that  n\n)]\.  a  territory  so  dedicated,  ainong  a  people  so  molded 


Pennsylvania  at  Getfi/s/nituj.  5*) 

and  so  trained,  and  in  a  state  so  disting-iiislied,  in  wbicli  over 
eighty  years  before,  had  been  struck  the  first  ringing  blow  for 
human  freedom,  was  here  struck  the  decisive  blow,  in  the  fulness 
of  time  and  in  a  Titanic  struggle,  for  the  salvation  of  our  consti- 
tution, the  maintenance  of  our  union,  and  the  rescue  of  the  im- 
perilled rights  of  human  nature ;  and  that,  in  this  mighty  con- 
test, it  was  from  out  tli(!Se  peaceful  and  beautiful  hills,  for  years 
the  silent  watchers  and  the  shielding  friends  of  fleeing  bondmen, 
bondwomen  andbondchildren,  when,  suddenly,  as  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye,  transformed  by  the  subtle  alchemy  of  battle,  into  quak- 
ing, smoking,  cloud-capijed,  blood-drenched  mounts,  there  issued 
in  clear  and  resolute  voice,  amid  the  lightning  flashes  of  artillery 
and  the  thunderous  roar  of  musketry,  the  thrilling  but  just  sen- 
tence that,  as  the  expiation  for  all  this  suffering  and  as  the  i^un- 
ishment  for  all  this  wrong,  both  our  Union  and  our  constitution 
shall  remain  inviolate,  and  our  country  shall  no  longer  contain  a 
slave.     Then,  and  tlierein,  had  Gettysburg  its  consecration. 

Honored  Governor  of  our  illustrious  commonwealth!  I  accept 
from  your  hands,  by  direction  of  the  Battle-field  Memorial  Asso- 
ciation, the  gifts  which  are  the  embodiment  of  the  people's  grati- 
tude; and,  fully  realizing  what  they  represent  and  what  our  duty 
is  and  wdll  be  towards  them,  promise  you  to  devote  ourselves  to 
their  care  as  to  a  religious  duty  of  highest  obligation. 


(60) 


Pennsylvania 


Reserve  day 


GETTYSBURG, 

September  2d,  iSgo. 


(fii) 


Pennsylvania  Reserve  Day, 

Tuesday,  September  2,  1890,  1.30  p.  m. 


Ckrkmonies  at    thk  Rostrum  of  -j'hk  National  Cemeikky, 
Gettysburg,   Pa. 


Hon.  Andrew   G.  Curiin,  Presiding, 

JVar  Governor  of  the   Commonwealth,  1 861-1866. 

Music,  Frankford  Band,  of  Philadelphia. 

Prayer,  Chaplain  J.  Hervev   Beale. 

Choir,  *'Dro}'imng   from  the  Ranks." 

"The  Organization  of  the  Reserves," 
Hon.  Andrew  G.  Curtin. 

"The  Commanders  of  the  Reserves," 

Colonel  John   H.   Taggart. 

Music,  Frankford  Band. 

"The  First  Brigade  at  Gettysburg," 

Brevet  Brigadier-General  Roher  r  A.  McCoy. 

"The  Third  Brigade  at  (jettysburg," 

Lieutenant  W.  Haves  (trh-r. 

Poem,  "Major  and  Surgeon  G.  B.  Hotchkins. 
Read  by  First  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant  W.  P.  LLo^ d. 

Presentation  of  Monuments  to  Battle-field  Association, 

Hon.  James  A.  Beaver,  Governor  of  the  Gommomvealth. 

Acceptanc<^  on  behalf  of   Battle-field  Association, 

Brevet  Major  Chill.  W.  Hazzard. 

Music,  Frankford  Band. 


(62) 


THE   FIRST  BRIGADE  AT  GETTYSBrRG. 
Brkvet   Bru;ai)if.k-(;knkkai.  Rohkri-   A.   McCov. 


ON  the  3d  of  June,  1863,  Brigadier-General  S.  AV.  CraAvford, 
of  the  regular  army,  an  able  and  g-allaut  Pennsylvauian, 
who  had  won  distinction  at  Fort  Sumter,  in  1861,  and  later, 
as  an  ofhcer  on  General  Rosecrans'  staff,  and  also  as  a  brigade 
commander  in  Banks'  army,  was  assigned  to  the  division  and 
proceeded  to  prepare  it  for  active  service  in  its  camps,  near 
Washington,  D.  C,  to  which  it  had  been  withdrawn  at  the  ur- 
gent solicitation  of  Governor  Curtin,  who  always  vigilantly  looked 
after  the  welfare  of  Pennsylvania  troops,  in  order  that  its  ranks 
might  be  repleted  after  the  many  hard-fought  battles  in  which  it 
had  participated. 

All  then  existing  vacancies  in  field  and  line  officers  were  filled. 
With  some  recruits,  and  the  return  of  many  from  the  hospitals 
who  had  been  absent,  wounded  or  sick,  the  division  was  soon  in 
good  condition  for  the  field;  and  both  Reynolds,  of  the  First 
Corps,  and  Meade,  of  the  Fifth,  applied  to  the  War  Department 
to  have  it  assigned  to  his  individual  command.  After  four 
mouths  of  monotonous  picket  duty  experienced  on  the  outposts 
of  the  defenses  of  Washington,  it  became  irksome  to  the  spirit 
of  the  corps,  accustomed,  as  it  had  been,  to  most  active  and  se- 
vere service  at  the  front,  and  when  rumors  of  a  threatened  inva- 
sion into  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  followed  close  upon  the 
battle  of  Chancellorsville,  fought  on  the  3d  of  Ma3%  1863,  which 
were  made  significant  by  a  call  for  the  militia  of  the  state  by 
Governor  Curtin,  on  the  12th  of  June,  for  her  defense,  the  old 
veterans  became  restive  and  petitioned  the  general  government 
to  return  them  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  On  the  12th  of 
June,  coincident  with  the  state  proclamation,  though  no  danger 
was  then  apprehended  at  Washington  of  any  invasion,  Lee, 
flushed  and  emboldened  by  his  past  successes,  which  he  believed 
augured  well  for  the  success  of  other  plans  that  were  far-reach- 
ing in  their  effect,  left  his  position  south  of  the  Rappahannock, 
and  started  on  a  cautious  movement  toward  the  Shenandoah  Yal- 

(  63  ) 


64  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshnrg. 

ley  tending  towards  the  north.  By  the  next  day  Hooker  was 
also  on  the  move,  closely  watching  the  unfolding  of  the  enemy's 
plan.  After  capturing  Winchester,  on  the  night  of  the  14th,  the 
advance  rebel  cavalry,  under  Jenkins,  crossed  the  Potomac  and 
pushed  rapidly  through  to  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  followed  by  Ew- 
ell's  Corps,  on  the  l()th,  that  raided  by  division,  north  upon 
Chambersbui'g,  York  and  Carlisle,  and  also  westward  up  the  Po- 
tomac to  Cumberland,  Md.  By  these  several  movements  Lee 
had  hoped  to  draw  the  Ai'my  of  the  Potomac  into  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania,  and  then  with  the  balance  of  his  army  he  would 
move  ijy  Snicker's  and  Ashby's  gaps,  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  upon 
Washington,  and  strike  from  the  south  side.  But  the  plan  not 
having  the  desired  effect  upon  Hooker,  he  suddenly  pushed  for- 
ward his  whole  army  into  Maryland  on  the  24th  and  25th,  and 
rapidly  advanced  into  Pennsylvania  with  the  purpose  to  plunder 
and  destroy,  if  he  could  not  succeed  in  transferring  the  battle- 
ground from  Virginia.  Hooker,  who  had  advanced  according  to 
the  movements  of  Lee,  then  started  in  pursuit,  and  on  the  25th 
crossed  the  Potomac  at  Berlin  and  Edwards'  Ferry,  and  proceeded 
to  Frederick,  Md.,  thus  keeping  between  Washington  and  the 
enemy,  who  had  crossed  at  Williamsport  and  Falling  Waters. 
On  the  23d,  orders  were  issued  from  the  War  Department  for  the 
Pennsylvania  Reserves  to  join  the  main  army  at  Frederick, 
though  the  Second  Brigade  was  detained  for  defense  at  Wash- 
ington. The  regiments  of  the  First  and  Third  Brigades  were 
withdrawn  from  their  various  out-posts,  and  by  five  o'clock  that 
afternoon  were  on  the  move.  On  the  27th,  the  Potomac  was 
crossed  at  Edwards'  Ferry,  and  on  Sunday,  the  28th,  the  division 
reached  the  array  at  Frederick,  and  was  assigned  as  the  Third 
Division,  Fifth  Army  Corps,  the  same  position  it  held  through 
the  Peninsular  campaign.  To  their  surprise  they  found  General 
Sykes  taking  command  as  successor  to  General  Meade,  who,  that 
morning,  had  received  the  appointment  of  commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  place  of  Hooker,  suddenly  relieved  at 
his  own  request.  The  same  breath  that  heralded  to  the  aston- 
ished troops  the  retirement  of  the  one,  through  his  own  farewell 
order  to  the  army,  announced  the  appointment  of  the  other,  and 
his  acceptance  of  the  command.  And  whatever  may  have  been 
the  private  individual  judgment,  not  a  murmur  of  discontent 
arose  from  that  well -disciplined  and  loyal  body  of  men  to  ques- 
tion the  wisdom  that  decided  the  rise  and  fall  of  its  command- 
ers. Space  will  not  permit  going  into  the  details  of  this  sudden 
change  on  the  eve  of  a  great  battle,  nor  the  cause  that  inspired 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysbwg.  65 

it;  suffice  it  to  say  that  thej^  were  neither  just  nor  generous  to 
"fighting-  Joe  Hooker,"  nor  creditable  to  General-in-Chief  Hal- 
leck. 

As  a  part  of  the  secret  and  unwritten  history  of  the  selection 
of  a  successor  to  Hooker,  when  it  had  been  determined  to  relieve 
him,  it  is  worthy  of  record  that  from  the  long  list  of  able  gen- 
erals in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  only  names  voted  upon  by 
the  Cabinet  for  the  position  were  Reynolds  and  Meade,  both  of 
whom  had  risen  into  fame  as  commanders  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Reserve  Volunteer  Corps.  No  greater  compliment  could  have 
been  paid  to  the  corps  than  this,  and  the  fact,  that  in  considera- 
tion of  its  two  great  chieftains,  a  single  vote  alone  decided  which 
should  wear  the  highest  honors.  From  Frederick  the  division 
moved  at  noon  on  the  29th,  as  rear  guard  to  the  long  artillery 
and  ammunition  trains,  which  at  times  greatly  impeded  progress, 
but,  after  long  delays,  it  moved  so  rapidly  forward  that  lost  time 
was  recovered  in  very  severe  marches,  reaching  Uniontown,  Mary- 
land, on  the  evening  of  the  30th,  where  it  encamped  for  the  night. 
On  the  afternoon  of  July  1st,  the  division  was  halted  at  the  state 
line  to  hear  a  most  patriotic  and  stirring  address  from  General 
Crawford.  Looking  over  into  their  own  loved  state  with  all  the 
pride  of  their  patriotic  hearts,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  men  became 
almost  unbounded,  and  as  they  crossed  the  line  with  cheer  after 
cheer  there  was  determination  to  fight  as  they  had  never  fought 
before  to  drive  the  invader  from  the  soil  of  their  native  state. 
The  march  from  the  state  line  to  Gettysburg,  via  Hanover  and 
McSherrystown,  was  almost  continuous  and  very  fatiguing,  and, 
as  but  little  time  could  be  allowed  for  either  sleep  or  rest,  sorely 
tried  the  physical  endurance  of  the  men.  But  they  were  in  most 
excellent  spirits,  and  but  little  straggling  took  place.  Perhaps 
never  was  greater  effort  made  to  keep  up,  and  as  they  approached 
Gettysburg,  knowing  that  the  battle  had  already  been  forced  and 
that  General  Reynolds  had  fallen,  it  proved  a  stimulus  to  more 
than  ordinary  power  to  overcome  fatigue,  and  helped  the  sick 
and  the  weak  to  force  their  waning  strength.  The  death  of  Gen- 
eral Reynolds  was  received  with  demonstrations  of  sincere  sor- 
row by  the  old  Reserves.  He  was  the  only  one  of  the  original 
quartette  of  her  commanders  that  death  had  summoned,  and 
from  the  battle-field.  Brave,  generous  and  true,  his  courage  never 
failed  where  duty  called.  It  was  while  conspicuously  prominent 
in  posting  his  troops,  July  1st, — a  target  for  the  enemy's  fire, 
that  the  fatal  bullet  pierced  his  ncH'k  and  he  fell — dying  almost 
instantly.  His  remains  were  taken  to  Lancaster,  the  city  of  his 
5 


6G  Peimsylvania  at  Getty nhurg. 

birth,  where,  on  July  4th,  midst  tolling-  bells  and  muffled  drums, 
and  solemn  requiems  sadlj'  chanted — all  that  was  mortal  was  laid 
away  in  quiet  rest  until  that  day  when  carnal  strife  is  lost  in 
everlasting-  peace.  The  division  arrived  on  the  field  of  battle 
on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  2d  of  July,  and  joined  the 
Fifth  Corps  at  a  point  Avhere  the  Baltimore  pike  crosses  Rock 
creek,  and  was  ]30sted  in  the  rear  of  the  right  of  the  line  of  the 
army  as  a  support,  that  position  being  then  threatened  by  the 
enemy.  About  three  o'clock  the  Fifth  Corps  was  moved  from  its 
position  near  the  extreme  right  to  the  left  of  the  line  where  Gen- 
eral Crawford  was  ordered  to  mass  the  division  near  the  east  slope 
of  Little  Round  Top,  where  guns  and  ammunition  was  inspected. 
The  men  were  impatient  to  engage  in  the  terrible  conflict  raging 
in  their  front,  and  into  which  they  knew  they  would  soon  be  or- 
dered, but  for  the  time  being  the  topography  hid  from  them  the 
panorama  of  bloody  war  taking  place  in  their  front. 

The  line  of  battle  for  the  second  day  lay  along  Cemetery  Ridg-e 
from  Culp's  Hill,  on  the  right,  to  Round  Top,  on  the  left,  and  the 
disposition  of  the  troops  was  as  follows :  On  the  extreme  right, 
on  Culp's  Hill,  with  its  right  flank  extending  to  Rock  creek  and 
the  Baltimore  pike,  lay  the  Twelfth  Corps,  with  AVadsworth's  di- 
vision of  the  First  on  its  left ;  connecting  on  the  left  flank  of  this 
division,  and  along  Cemetery  Ridge,  lay  the  Eleventh  Corps,  with 
the  First,  Second,  Third  and  Fifth  Corps  prolonging  the  line  to 
Round  Top,  or  rather  such  appears  to  have  been  the  plan  of  the 
original  line.  But  in  taking  position  that  afternoon  the  Third 
Corps,  General  ISickles,  advanced  to  a  ridge  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  to  the  front,  along-  and  beyond  the  Emmitsburg-  road, 
into  the  presence  of  a  large  body  of  the  rebel  army,  with  his  line 
on  the  right  stretching  along  the  front  of  a  part  of  the  Second 
Corps,  and  the  left  down  through  the  peach  orchard,  wheat-field 
and  woods  to  the  Devil's  Den,  in  the  ravine  in  front  of  Round 
Top.  The  position  was  one  of  extreme  peril,  and  troops  less 
brave  and  disciplined  than  the  gallant  old  Third  Corps  Avould 
not  have  battled  as  they  did  against  such  odds  until  relief  came. 
General  Hancock  placed  his  First  Division  to  cover  its  right 
flank,  and  sent  Caldwell's  division  to  strengthen  the  line  on  the 
left.  Fortunately  the  Fifth  Corps  had  just  arrived,  and  Griflin's 
division,  commanded  by  Barnes,  and  Ayres'  division,  regulars, 
were  also  thown  in  on  the  left,  where  the  most  des]ierate  struggle 
ensued  for  the  possession  of  Round  Top.  While  this  contest 
was  raging-,  and  the  Union  forces  battled  and  held  their  ground 
as  a  wall  of  iron,  General  Sykes  ordered  General  Crawford  to  the 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  67 

slope  of  the  rocky  ridge  to  the  right  and  front  of  Little  Round 
Top,  to  cover  the  troops  engaged  in  the  front  should  it  b(^come 
necessary  for  them  to  fall  back.  This  lnoveni(!ut  placed  the 
Third  Brigade  pretty  well  down  the  rockj'  slope  with  the 
Eleventh  Regiment  in  the  rear  of  the  brigade,  and  in  front  of  the 
First  Regiment  of  the  First  Brigade. 

At  this  juncture,  and  while  the  division  was  being  massed  left 
in  front,  an  order  was  received  by  General  Crawford  to  send  one 
of  his  brigades  to  the  assistance  of  Vincent,  then  closely  engaged 
with  the  enemy  on  the  slopes  of  Big  Round  Top ;  Fisher's  Third 
Brigade  was  designated  for  this  service,  and  filed  out  by  regiment 
to  the  left.  While  this  movement  was  being  executed  our  troops 
in  front,  borne  down  by  superior  numbers  and  pressed  back, 
though  contesting  every  inch  of  ground  from  the  peach  orchard 
to  the  wheat-field  and  stone  wall  suddenly  broke  and  fell  back 
in  confusion  across  Plum  run,  closely  pursued  by  the  enemy  who 
sought  to  cut  through  the  Union  forces  and  seize  the  batteries  on 
the  left  with  Weed's  Hill  and  Round  Top.  The  moment  of  time 
was  most  critical.  On  it  hung  the  destiny  of  the  day,  and  the 
fate  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg — for  a  two  days'  loss  of  position 
would  scarcely  insure  victory  for  the  third.  To  stem  the  tide  of 
disaster,  General  Crawford  personally  ordered  Colonel  Jackson 
not  to  move  the  Eleventh  Regiment  out  with  the  Third  Brigade, 
but  to  remain  in  position  where  he  was,  in  front  of  the  First 
Brigade.  The  First  Brigade  then  moved  rapidly  forward  to  the 
gTOund  vacated  by  the  four  regiments  of  Fisher's  brigade.  Tliis 
placed  the  men  within  the  range  of  the  enemy's  musketry  fire, 
which  was  particularly  severe  on  the  Eleventh  Regiment.  Here 
Lieutenant  John  O'Hara  Woods  and  a  number  of  enlisted  men  were 
killed,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Porter  and  Lieutenant  Fulton  and 
many  men  wounded,  with  casualties  in  each  of  the  other  regi- 
ments of  the  brigade. 

It  was  a  position  requiring  the  highest  qualities  of  the  veteran 
soldier,  but  the  men  who  fought  at  Dranesville,  Mechanics- 
ville,  Gaines  Mill,  New  Market  Cross  Roads,  Malvern  Hill,  Second 
Bull  Run,  South  Mountain,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg  and  Mine 
Run  held  it  immovable  with  their  comrades  falling  about  them, 
only  eager  and  impatient  to  meet  the  enemy  and  add  new  laurels 
to  those  already  won.  During  this  time  Colonel  McCandless  was 
forming  his  brigade  into  two  lines  of  battle — the  first  line  com- 
posed of  the  Sixth,  Colonel  Wellington  Ent,  which  was  to  tlu- 
right  and  rear  of  the  Eleventh,  Colonel  S.  M.  Jackson,  and  tlie 
First  Regiment,  William  Cooper  Taliey,  on  the  left.     The  second 


68  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

line  being-  massed  on  the  first — the  Second  Reg-iment,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Georg-e  A.  "Woodward,  and  the  First  Eities,  (Bucktails,) 
Colonel  Charles  Frederick  Taylor,  on  the  left. 

But  before  this  movement  could  be  fully  cari'ied  out,  and  our 
front  being-  practically  uncovered  by  the  broken  masses  of  troops 
retreating-  past  us,  and  the  enemy  being-  at  close  rang-e,  the  front 
line  opened  fire. 

The  Eleventh  was  armed  with  smooth-bore  muskets,  and,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  usual  charge  of  "buck  and  ball,"  the  men,  realizing- 
that  the  eng-ag-ement  would  be  at  close  quarters,  had  added  addi- 
tional charg-es  of  "buckshot."  Never  before  in  the  history  of  its 
service  did  the  Eleventh  deliver  a  volley  with  such  terrible  effect, 
each  musket  sending,  as  it  were,  a  handful  of  death-dealing-  balls 
into  the  ranks  of  the  exultant  enemy  advancing  so  confidently 
with  shouts  of  victory.  But  it  was  only  to  receive  a  volley  that 
sent  many  of  them  reeling  in  the  agonies  of  pain  and  death,  while 
their  comrades,  broken  and  dismayed,  had  no  time  to  re-form  be- 
fore the  order  was  given,  Forward,  double  quick — CHARGE. 

With  the  furious  battle  yell  peculiar  with  the  Pennsylvania 
Reserve  Corps,  and  well  remembered  by  "Stonewall  Jackson's ' 
men,  against  whom  they  were  so  often  matched,  the  brigade  swept 
down  the  declivity,  following  their  gallant  leader,  General  Craw- 
ford (who  carried  the  colors  of  the  First  Regiment  on  horseback), 
over  the  boulders  of  granite  and  swampy  ground  of  Plum  run, 
deploying  as  they  went  and  hurling  back  the  enemy,  drove  him 
across  the  plain,  over  the  stone  wall,  through  the  woods  and  wheat- 
field,  until  the  lateness  of  the  hour  made  it  imprudent  to  push 
further  into  the  enemy's  lines.  But  it  was  enough,  the  tide  was 
turned,  a  portion  of  the  lost  ground  regained,  many  prisoners 
taken,  and  the  day  saved,  and  by  this  charge,  so  daring,  effective 
and  decisive,  was  an  inspiration  given  to  the  whole  line  that 
brighten(;d  hope  and  renewed  confidence  in  the  ultimate  success 
that  so  gloriously  crowned  the  field  of  Gettysburg. 

With  the  exception  of  a  strong  skirmish  line,  the  command 
was  withdrawn  to  the  stone  wall  and  fence  skirting  the  woods 
to  the  right.  As  they  charged  the  regiments  deployed  so  that 
when  the  stone  wall  was  reached,  the  Sixth  was  on  the  extreme 
right,  with  the  Eleventh,  First,  Second  and  Bucktails  to  its  left. 
The  Bucktails,  in  the  charge,  were  met  by  a  heavy  fire  on  their 
front  and  on  their  left  flank  from  the  Devil's  Den.  Their  brave 
leader,  Colonel  Charles  Frederick  Taylor,  brother  of  the  late 
Bayard  Taylor,  was  instantly  killed  as  his  regiment  took  and 
crossed  the  stone  wall. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  69 

The  reg-iments  remained  iu  position  back  of  the  stone  Avail 
until  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  8(1,  when  General  Crawford,  under 
personal  direction  from  General  Meade,  who  anticipated  an- 
other movement  on  his  left,  ordered  Colonel  McCandless  to  move 
his  brig-ade,  with  the  Eleventh  Reg-iment  of  Fislier's  brigade, 
forward,  and  capture  the  battery  uncomfortably  near  liis  line, 
and  ascertain  the  position  and  strength  of  the  enemy  beyond 
and  skirting  the  wheat-field.  This  movement  ivas  one  of  the  hril- 
liant  dashes  of  the  war,  and  is  modestly  and  tersely  told  by  Col- 
onel McCandless  in  his  official  report:  "  On  the  evening  of  the  3d 
instant,  I  was  ordered  to  advance  and  clear  the  woods  on  my  front 
and  left,  to  do  Avhich  the  command  had  to  cross  an  open  field 
about  eight  hundred  j^ards  wide.  The  enemy,  noticing  this  move- 
ment, opened  a  battery  directly  in  front.  I  pushed  the  Sixth  Regi- 
ment through  the  woods  on  the  right,  and  drove  out  the  enemy's 
skirmishers  and  annoyed  the  g-uuners,  causing  the  battery  to 
slacken  its  fire,  and  as  the  remaining  regiments  of  the  brigade 
charg'ed  in  line,  and  at  a  run  across  the  open  field,  they  compelled 
the  enemy  to  retire.  Having-  cleared  the  woods  in  front,  and 
finding  a  line  of  the  enemy  in  the  woods  on  my  left  and  at  right 
ang-les  therewith,  I.  charg-ed  the  enemy  directly  on  the  left  flank, 
routing  him,  capturing  nearly  two  hundred  prisoners,  among- 
them  a  lieutenant-colonel,  also  a  stand  of  colors.  The  field  M'as 
strewn  with  small  arms,  two  or  three  thousand  in  nimiber,  the 
majority  of  which  had  been  piled  on  brush  heaps  ready  to  be 
burned.  The  enemy  took  up  a  new  position  on  a  wooded  ridge 
about  a  half  a  mile  in  advance  on  our  front,  and  were  bus}^  dur- 
ing the  night  chopping-  timber  and  fortifying."  The  second 
charg-e  of  the  First  Brigade  was  a  fitting-  close  for  such  heroic 
deeds,  and  when  the  streng-th  of  position  of  the  rebel  right, 
with  its  great  number  of  batteries  playing-  over  their  heads,  the 
intrepid  push  into  the  enemy's  lines  away  from  all  supports, 
thus  recovering  that  entire  part  of  the  field  covered  thickly  with 
the  dead  and  wounded,  that  from  their  numbers  onh^  revealed 
how  fearful  and  desperate  the  conflict  had  been  the  day  before, 
was  truly  a  deed  of  humanity  as  well  as  of  great  courage.  The 
enemy  believed  such  dash  could  only  be  inspired  bj^  the  advance 
of  a  heavy  force,  for  it  was  made,  as  will  be  remembered,  at  a 
double  gnick,  Antli  onlj^  occasional  pausing-s  to  fire  on  the  resist- 
ing though  retreating  foe,  and  the  woods  alone  prevented  th<5 
enemy  from  discerning  the  insig-nificant  numb(^r  pursuing.  As 
it  w^as  now  dusk  and  too  late  to  follow  up  the  advantage  g-ained, 
the  command  rested  for  the  night  on  the  position  won.     The  men 


70  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

of  the  ambulance  corps  were  soon  upon  the  heki  with  stretchers, 
and  began  as  rapidlj^  as  possible  to  transport  the  suifering-  vic- 
tims of  the  lost  ground  of  the  previous  day  to  the  care  of  the 
field  hospitals,  Avhere  their  wounds  were  dressed  and  water  and 
nourishment  supplied  for  the  first  time  in  more  than  twenty-four 
hours.  Such  are  some  of  the  viscissitudes  and  terrible  sufferings 
that  war  imposes.  The  night  was  passed  in  the  woods  in  impene- 
trable darkness,  as  any  fire  or  lights  would  have  revealed  our 
position,  and  well  is  remembered  the  sensations  of  that  strange 
wierd  experience  among  the  dead.  Hardly  a  step  could  be  taken 
without  fear  or  danger  of  treading  on  some  body  corporeal, 
whether  living-  or  lifeless,  and  the  horror  of  ghostly  thoughts 
that  intruded  was  anything-  but  composing  to  exhausted  nerves 
and  aching-  muscles.  While  feeling  around  for  a  comfortable 
place  to  rest,  the  hand  was  just  as  likely,  as  was  the  case  more 
than  once,  to  touch  a  form  whose  face  was  ic}'^  cold  in  death,  as 
that  of  a  comrade  in  whom  the  life  blood  was  warmly  and 
strongly  pulsating  in  vigorous  life.  A¥hen  the  early  dawn  per- 
mitted a  look  around,  the  first  sight  that  greeted  the  eye,  close 
at  hand,  was  the  ghastly  one  of  more  than  one  hundred  dead 
Confederates  laid  out  in  line  for  the  rude  battle-field  burial,  from 
which  their  living  comrades  had  been  driven  the  evening  before. 
The  next  day,  the  4th  of  July,  no  advance  of  any  importance  was 
made  by  either  army,  beyond  reeonnoitering  the  position  of  the 
enemy  in  the  immediate  front,  and  sending  the  cavalry  out  on 
the  flanks  to  watch  and  report  the  movements  of  the  rebel  force. 
Each  army  maintained  picket  lines  which  kept  up  the  usual  ex- 
change of  shots,  generally  without  results.  Otherwise  all  was 
quiet.  Meanwhile  the  time  was  energ-etically  employed  in  bury- 
ing the  dead,  caring-  for  the  wounded  and  distributing  ammuni- 
tion. After  being  under  fire  for  forty-three  hours,  the  command 
was  called  in  from  the  skirmish  line  and  relieved,  about  ten 
o'clock,  and  withdrawn  to  the  stone  wall,  Avhere  it  was  again  re- 
lieved, at  one  o'clock,  by  the  Second  Division,  regulars,  and  or- 
dered to  the  vicinity  of  Round  Top,  where  it  joined  the  Third 
Brigade. 

The  Confederates  were  elated  with  their  past  successes  and 
confident  of  a  present  victory,  upon  which  they  expected  im- 
mediate foreign  recognition  and  aid  from  the  disloyal  element  in 
the  North,  and  to  transfer  the  seat  of  Avar  from  the  exhausted  fields 
of  Virginia  to  tlie  fertile  valleys  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania. 
They  fought  with  unusual  bravery  and  ho[)(>fulness  until  after 
Pickett's  charge,  when  the  legions  under  Meade,  instead  of  a  dis- 


Pennsylvanid  at  Getty, sburg.  71 

pirited  army  were  fouud  imiuo\ul)le  ami  equally  determined  to 
win  success ;  so  that  dcit'eat,  after  most  desperate  and  sang'uinaiy 
fig-hting  for  three  days,  with  an  aggregate  loss  in  both  armies  of 
54,000  men,  left  the  Confederate  army  and  people  of  the  South 
more  dejected  over  their  cause  and  less  sanguine  of  final  success 
than  ever  before.  Thus  was  the  backbone  of  tin;  g-reat  rebellion 
broken,  and  the  historian  has  found  in  Getty shimj  the  decisive  battle 
of  the  war. 

England  has  her  Waterloo,  France  hvv  Austerlitz  and  Germany 
her  Sedan,  but  the  loyal  North  with  equal  pride  can  hand  from 
sire  to  son  for  generations  yet  to  come  her  glorious  field  of  Gettys- 
burg. The  days  preceding  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  found  the  dark- 
est period  in  the  history  of  the  rebellion  for  the  North.  Ever}' 
interest  was  at  stake,  and  gloomy  fears  pervaded  cabinet  councils 
and  hearthstones.  But  when  on  that  memorable  afternoon  the 
lightning  telegraph  flashed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific: 
"Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  are  ours,"  despair  vanished  and  hope 
again  sprang  into  life  with  a  vigor  never  to  be  quenched  until 
final  victory  crowned  our  arms  at  Appomattox. 

Glorious  4th  of  July,  1776 — glorious  4th  of  July,  1863 — may 
their  memories  thus  intertwined  in  the  nation's  heart,  ever  call 
forth  our  warmest  gratitude.  May  the  enjoyment  of  our  world- 
renowned  heritage  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  ever  keep  fresh 
the  debt  we  owe  to  those  who,  through  great  tribulations,  estab- 
lished our  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  those  who  eighty- 
seven  years  later  sealed  the  blood-bought  treasure  with  a  second 
sacrifice  of  blood-bought  victor3^ 


PRAYER. 


Chaplain  J.  Hervey   Heale. 


GOD  of  our  Fathers,  we  adore  and  worship  Thee,  and  to  Thee, 
by  whose  grace  and  providence  we  are  what  we  are,  as  a 
nation;  here,  Father,  from  this  sacred  spot,  surrounded  by 
the  thousands  of  known  and  unknown  graves  and  a  few  of  tlu' 
survivors  of  this  bloody  field,  we  lift  our  hearts  in  rendering- 
thanksgiving  and  everlasting  prayer. 

We  thank  Thee  for  our  glorious  national  heritage,  for  the  mag- 
nificent land  of  Avealthy  hills  and  fertile  plains,  and  for  the  laws 
and  institutions  which  make  it  a  land  of  progress  and  liberty. 


72  Pennsijlvania  at  Gettysburg. 

We  tliauk  Thee  for  our  Christian  sires,  lovers  of  freedom  and 
of  God,  men  of  conscience  and  integ-rity  whose  names  have  jew- 
eled history,  and  the  memory  of  whose  deeds  is  an  inspiration  to 
heroism  and  patriotic  pride. 

We  thank  Thee  for  Plymouth  Eock,  for  Yorktown,  and  that  in 
the  strength  of  justice  and  the  mig-ht  of  mercy  our  arms  were 
plumed  with  victory  at  Appomattox. 

We  thank  Thee  that  through  Thy  kindness  and  mercy,  the 
father  of  our  corps  and  so  many  of  its  survivors  are  here  to-day. 

We  implore  Thee,  Father,  to  let  heaven's  richest  blessing  rest 
upon  all  that  are  present,  the  families  of  the  survivors  and  of  the 
fallen,  upon  our  country  and  all  for  whom  we  should  pray  ;  in  the 
name  of  Christ  we  ask  it  all.     Amen. 


THE  COMMANDERS  OF  THE   RESERVES. 


Colonel  John  H.  Taggakt. 


COMRADES  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  RESERVES: 
We  meet  to-day  to  dedicate  these  monuments  to  the  mem- 
ory of  our  fellow-soldiers,  our  honored  commanders.  The 
flight  of  years  but  enhances  their  merits:  nor  can  time  dull  their 
record  on  the  roll  of  fame.  These  leaders  of  the  troops  raised  bj"  a 
g-reat  commonwealth  were  the  sons  of  Pennsylvania,  born  under 
her  conservative  institutions,  and  mustered  beneath  her  guid- 
ing star  of  equity.  They  Avere  reared  equally  upon  the  princi- 
ples of  constitutional  liberty  and  respect  for  the  rights  of  prop- 
erty. The  first  shot  fired  at  the  national  flag,  on  Fort  Sumter, 
fired  also  the  northern  heart.  To  a  man,  Pennsylvanians  were, 
first  of  all,  Americans.  The  Keystone  State  was  one  among  many 
in  that  vast  sectional  strife,  but  all  personal  considerations,  ma- 
terial interests,  even  the  claims  of  kindred  of  her  children,  never 
caused  them  to  waver  for  an  instant  in  their  devotion  to  their 
countr3^ 

AVhile  this  was  the  g-eneral  sentiment,  the  men  who  first  signed 
the  record  of  their  principles  as  leaders  of  our  armies,  j^racti- 
call J'  staked  their  lives  and  fortunes  on  the  hazard  of  the  die ;  and 
here  the  supremacy  of  moral  and  physical  courage  was  strikingly 
displayed  by  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  the  War  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.    On  his  action  the  issue  of  the  contest  hung.     Pennsyl- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  73 

vania  was  the  Keystone  of  the  Uuiou,  aud  her  chief  executive 
personally  supported  the  arch,  not  oidy  of  the  nation,  but  of  the 
g-eog-raphical  territory  binding-  together  the  North  and  the  South. 

Pennsylvania  was  more  closely  allied  with  the  South  than  witli 
the  North  in  ante-bellum  days.  Her  commercial  interests  and 
family  connections  were  largely  with  Maryland,  Virg-inia  and 
other  southern  states.  Many  of  her  institutions  were  patriarchal. 
Her  policy  was  one  of  peace,  and  her  people  were  thoroughly 
aware  of  the  magnitude  of  the  impending  conflict. 

No  man  was  more  personally  endeared  to  the  whole  people  of 
his  state  than  Governor  Curtin.  His  individual  acquaintance 
with  them  was  marvelous.  It  is  alleged  that  he  kissed  every  baby 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1861  and  1862.  Spared  to  see  tAventy- 
five  years  of  peace,  and  bless  his  native  state,  he  is  to-day  the 
grandest  of  all  the  historic  figures  among-  his  living  countrymen. 

A  partisan  administration  had  consigned  to  the  southern  ar- 
senals great  stores  of  munitions  of  war,  and  in  the  South,  too, 
the  larg-est  division  of  the  regnlar  army,  under  General  Twiggs, 
had  supinely  laid  doAvn  their  arms  before  the  power  of  the  con- 
federacy of  the  slave  states;  yet  Andrew  G.  Curtin  recognized, 
that  Pennsylvania  was  sound  to  the  core,  and  that  her  sons  would 
unflinchingly  fig-ht  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  His  work 
in  organizing  and  arming  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Volunteer 
Corps  was  not  less  phenomenal  than  the  sag-acity  with  which  he 
selected  George  A.  McCall  to  instruct  and  command  them.  Mc- 
Call  was  a  thorough  soldier,  a  great  organizer,  and  his  strong 
personality  Avas  impressed  upon  the  Peserves  from  the  time  they 
entered  the  United  States  service  until  they  were  mustered  out 
at  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  enlistment.  He  was  as  mild 
and  gentle  as  a  woman,  but  firm  as  a  rock  in  the  enforcement  of 
discipline,  yet  his  kindness  of  heart  made  him  looked  up  to  as  a 
father  by  his  beloved  Reserves,  and  his  noble  example  of  heroism 
in  battle,  endurance  of  fatigue  and  privation  on  the  march  and 
in  camp  was  the  admiration  of  those  wlio  felt  proud  of  him  as 
their  leader. 

General  McCall  was  a  Philadelphian  by  birth,  a  graduate  of  the 
West  Point  Military  Academj'  of  1822,  and  an  old  officer  of  the 
reg-ular  army.  He  served  with  distinction  in  the  war  ag-ainst  the 
Florida  Indians  in  1836,  afterward  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  in 
1850  was  appointed  by  President  Taylor,  inspector-general  of  the 
United  States  army  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  which  position  he 
held  with  great  credit  to  himself  until  April,  1853,  when  he  re- 
signed his  commission,  retired  from  the  military  service,  and  re- 


74  Feniisi/lvania  at  Geffi/slmrg. 

maiued  on  his  farm  in  Chester  county  until  tht;  rebellion  of  the 
southern  people  called  his  countrymen  to  arms.  Immediately 
thereafter,  in  April,  1861,  Governor  Curtin  summoned  Colonel 
McCall  to  Harrisburg-  to  advise  with  him  on  tlie  military  situa- 
tion and  assist  in  the  organization  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve 
Corps.  His  whole  heart  and  soul  were  in  the  work.  It  was  his 
ambition  and  his  pride  to  make  the  corps  the  equal,  if  not  the 
superior,  of  any  other  body  of  troops  either  in  the  reg-ular  or  vol- 
unteer service.  How  well  he  succeeded  the  history  of  the  divi- 
sion attests.  After  the  first  battle  of  BuU  Run,  if  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Reserves  had  not  been  organized,  armed  and  equipped  ready 
for  the  field,  Washington  city  would  have  fallen  before  the  vic- 
torious foe.  The  capture  of  Washing-ton  would  have  been  most 
damaging  to  the  Union  cause,  as  its  enemies  could  then  have 
dictated  terms  to  the  conquered  Federal  government  from  its 
capital. 

When  the  Reserves  encamped  at  Tenallytown,  on  Georgetown 
Heights,  General  McCall,  on  entering  the  United  States  service, 
was  commissioned  a  brigadier-general  in  the  volunteer  service. 
.  Up  to  that  time  the  Reserves  had  not  been  organized  into  bri- 
gades, being  composed  of  separate  regiments,  under  the  command 
of  General  McCall,  holding  a  state  commission  as  major-general. 
In  order  to  perfect  their  organization  into  brigades.  General 
McCall  recommended  to  General  Simon  Cameron,  the  then 
Secretary  of  War,  the  assignmeut  of  Brigadier-General  John  F. 
Reynolds  to  command  the  First  Brigade,  Brigadier-General 
George  G.  Meade  to  command  the  Second  Brigade  and  Brigadier 
General  E.  O.  C.  Ord  to  command  the  Third  Brigade. 

General  McCall's  selection  of  his  brigadier-generals  showed  the 
wondeiful  perceptive  and  discriminating  faculties  of  the  man. 
These  ofticers  were  all  graduates  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  but  none  of  them  had  ev(>r  commanded  large  bodies  of 
troops  until  they  were  assigned  to  the  Reserve  Corps.  The  men 
were  green  volunteers,  but  with  such  training  as  they  received 
from  these  able  and  enthusiastic  officers  they  rapidly  developed 
into  well-disciplined  soldiers. 

In  the  woi'ds  of  General  John  Gibbon,  of  the  regular  army,  ex- 
pressed in  his  address  upon  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Gen- 
eral Meade  in  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia,  October  18,  1887, 
i-especting  Generals  McCall,  Reynolds  and  Ord: 

"Meade  was  especially  fortunate  in  hisasso(;iates ;  for  George  A. 
McCall,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  his  time,  was  his 
commander,  ;ind  tli(>  other  brigade  commanders  were  destined  to 


l^ennsylvania  at  Getlya/mry.  75 

inscribe  their  uuuies  high  on  the  glory  roll  of  their  couutry — 
John  F.  Eeynolds  and  E.  O.  C.  Ord 

"There  were  regular  officers,  who,  at  the  commencement  of  our 
civil  war,  unmindful  of  the  different  circumstances  under  which 
they  were  serving,  seemed  to  think  there  Avas  but  one  way  to  en- 
force discipline  in  our  volunteer  forces,  and  that  was  by  follow- 
ing- the  old  rut  and  routine  of  tlie  regular  army.  Such  an  idea 
never  found  place  in  the  minds  of  the  oflicers  I  have  mentioned  ; 
and  the  results,  as  exemplified  in  the  subsequent  career  of  the 
Pennsylvania  lieserves,  amply  justified  the  wisdom  and  sound 
judgment  of  those  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  placed 
in  command  over  them. 

"It  was  frequently  noted  during  the  war  and  afterwards,  how 
much  of  the  renown  gained  by  volunteer  organizations  could  be 
traced  back  to  the  right  direction  given  to  their  efforts  by  the 
sound  judgment,  g^ood,  hard,  common  sense,  firm  hand,  and  just 
dealings  of  the  commanders  who  first  took  them  in  charg-e." 

General  McCall  commanded  the  Reserves  in  the  brilliant  eu- 
gag-ement  at  Dranesville,  December  20,  1861,  arriving  on  the 
ground  soon  after  the  action  hadcommencedunderthe  direction  of 
General  Ord,  commanding-  the  Third  Brigade.  This  was  the  first 
victory  of  the  Union  troops  after  the  disastrous  battle  of  Bull 
Bun,  and  the  massacre  at  Ball's  Bluff".  McCall  also  led  them  in 
the  famous  Seven  Days'  Battles  in  front  of  Bichmond,  and  in  the 
battle  of  Mechanicsville,  June  26,  1862,  in  which  the  Beserves 
bore  the  brunt  of  the  fight  and  achieved  a  great  success.  It  was 
one  of  the  brightest  pages  in  his  gallant  military  record.  In  the 
battle  of  New  Market  Cross  Boads,  June  30,  1862,  lie  was  cap- 
tured and  taken  prisoner  to  Bichmond,  and  was  exchanged,  along 
with  General  Beynolds,  who  was  captured  at  Gaines'  Mill,  June 
27,  1862,  and  both  returned  to  the  camp  at  Harrison's  Landing, 
on  the  James  river,  on  the  8th  of  Aug-ust,  1862.  They  were 
most  enthusiastically  received  on  their  return  by  the  Beserves. 

The  severit}^  of  the  Peninsular  campaign,  and  the  close  confine- 
ment in  Libby  Prison,  had  so  seriously  impaired  General  McCall's 
health,  that  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  his  home  in  Chester 
county  to  rest  and  recuperate.  After  passing  several  weeks  with 
his  family,  imder  constant  medical  treatment,  he  became  con- 
vinced that  he  was  not  able  to  resume  his  position  in  the  army, 
and  he  resigned  his  commission  and  retired  to  private  life.  After 
the  battle  of  New  Market  Gross  Boads,  General  Truman  Sey- 
mour, who  succeeded  General  Ord  in  command  of  the  Third 
Brigade  after  Ord  was  promoted  to  major-general,  assumed  com- 


76  Pcnnsjilvania  at  Gettf/sburg. 

maud  of  the  Reserves  until  the  returu  of  Geueral  Rejniolds,  who, 
being-  the  ranking-  officer,  took  command  of  the  corps,  at  Har- 
rison's Landing,  on  the  day  of  liis  returu  to  that  camp. 

Geueral  Reynolds  Avas  a  high-tempered  man,  the  ideal  Hotspur, 
as  brave  as  a  lion  in  battle,  and  perfectly  oblivious  of  danger 
when  in  presence  of  the  enemy.  His  promotion  to  the  command 
of  the  First  Corps,  and  his  heroic  death  on  the  battle-field  of 
Gettysburg,  on  the  first  day,  are  too  Avell  known  to  need  repeti- 
tion here.  He  died  defending  the  soil  of  his  native  state,  aud 
yonder  monument,  reared  to  his  memory  on  this  historic  g-round 
by  his  sorrowing  comrades,  will  attest  to  future  generations  the 
courage  and  valor  he  displayed  on  this  sanguinary  but  glorious 
field. 

General  Meade  Avas  badly  wounded  in  the  battle  of  New  Market 
Cross  Roads,  at  the  head  of  his  brigade,  and  went  to  his  home  in 
Philadelphia  for  surgical  treatment.  Six  weeks  after  this  he 
rejoined  his  command,  and  took  part  in  the  second  disastrous  bat- 
tle of  Bull  Run,  August  30th,  1862,  in  which  action  General  Rey- 
nolds commanded  the  Reserve  Corps,  where  he  displayed  the 
greatest  bravery  and  courage. 

After  this  the  Confederate  General,  Lee,  made  his  first  invasion 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  1862.  On  the  march  of  the  Armj^  of  the  Po- 
tomac to  Antietam,  General  Reynolds,  on  the  12th  of  September, 
was  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  Reserve  Corps,  and  as- 
signed to  command  tlu^  Pennsylvania  Militia.  General  Meade 
succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  Reserves,  and  fought  them  most 
gallantly  in  the  battles  at  South  Mountain,  Antietam,  and,  later 
on,  at  Fredericksburg,  on  December  13,  1862,  where,  out  of  4,500 
officers  and  men  going  into  battle,  1,853  were  killed,  wounded 
and  missing. 

After  leaving  the  Reserves  to  command  the  militia.  General 
Reynolds  did  not  return  to  them,  but  was  assig-ned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  First  Army  Corps. 

The  ability  and  good  g-eneralship  displayed  by  General  Meade 
in  commanding  first  a  brig-ade  of  the  Reserves,  and  afterwards 
the  whole  Reserve  Corps,  caused  him  to  be  promoted  to  the 
command  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps. 

When  General  Mead(!  left  the  Reserves  to  enter  upon  the  higher 
command,  the  parting  was  a  sad  one  on  both  sides.  The  officers 
and  men  were  g-rieved  to  lose  him,  but  they  felt  proud  of  his  pro- 
motion. On  his  part  his  feelings  were  truthfully  expressed,  in 
his  farewell  order,  Avhich  was  read  in  presence  of  all  the  compa- 
nies of  the  Reserves  on  Christmas  Day,  1862,  as  follows: 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  11 

■'In accordance  with  Special  Order,  No.  3H0,  wliich  separates  the 
commanding-  general  from  the  division,  he  takes  occasion  to 
express  to  the  officers  and  men  that,  notAvithstanding  his  just 
pride  at  being  promoted  to  a  hig-her  command,  he  experiences  a 
deep  feeling  of  regret  at  parting  from  them,  with  .whom  he  has 
been  so  long  associated,  and  to  whose  services  he  here  acknowl- 
edges his  indebtedness  for  whatever  of  reputation  he  may  have 
acquired. 

"The  commandmg  general  will  never  cease  to  remember  that 
he  belonged  to  the  Reserve  Corps.  He  will  Match  with  eager- 
ness for  the  deeds  of  fame  which  he  feels  sure  they  will  enact  under 
the  command  of  his  successors,  and  though  sadly  reduced  in 
numbers  from  the  casualties  of  battle,  yet  he  knows  the  Reserves 
will  always  be  ready  and  prompt  to  uphold  the  honor  and  glory 
of  their  state." 

I  have  now  traced  the  commanders  of  the  Reserve  Corps  from 
its  origin  down  to  the  second  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  by  Gen- 
eral Lee  and  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Meade  was  suddenly 
called  to  a  liigher  plane  of  duty,  to  command  the  veteran  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  He  did  not  solict  that  honor.  On  the  contrary, 
it  came  unexpectedly  upon  him  as  a  duty,  and,  like  the  good  and 
true  soldier  that  he  was,  he  promptly  assumed  the  command  on 
the  28th  of  June,  1863,  at  Frederick  City,  and  three  days  after- 
ward the  most  decisive  battle  of  the  war  began,  and  in  three  days 
more  its  greatest  victory  was  won. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Other 
speakers  who  will  follow  and  who  took  part  in  it  with  the  Reserves 
will  do  that  better  than  I  can.  In  this  great  battle  the  Reserves 
Avere  commanded  by  another  gallant  Pennsjdvanian,  General 
Samuel  Wylie  Crawford,  a  native  of  Franklin  county.  At  the 
battle  of  Antietam,  while  in  command  of  the  First  Division  of 
Mansfield's  corps.  General  Crawford  was  severely  wounded  in  the 
thigh,  from  which  he  has  not  recovered  to  tliis  day.  He  was 
rallying  a  regiment  which  had  broken  when  he  received  his  wound, 
but  refused  to  be  taken  from  the  field  and  remained  with  his  men 
cheering  them  on  victory. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  1863,  General  Crawford  was  assigned  to 
command  the  Reserves.  He  was  their  leader  in  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  and  here  he  displayed  the  highest  qualities  of  a  sol- 
dier— good  generalship  and  heroic  courage. 

General  CraAvford  also  commanded  tlie  Reserves  in  the  battles 
of  the  Wilderness,  Spotsylvania  Court  House  and  Bethesda 
Church.     On  the  1st  of  June,  186-i,  he  issued  liis  fareAvell  order 


78  Pmiisi/lvania  at  Gcflyfihunj. 

to  his  war-worn  Reserves,  assuring-  them  that  they  had  nobly  sus- 
tained liim  with  unwavering-  fidelity  in  the  many  trying  scenes 
through  whii'li  they  had  passed.  He  regretted  that  lie  could  not 
return  to  Pennsylvania  with  them,  and  said  it  would  ever  be  his 
pride  that  he  was  once  their  commander,  and  that  side  by  side 
they  fought  in  campaigns  which  will  stand  unexampled  in  his- 
tory. Of  all  the  commanders  of  the  Reserve  Corps,  General 
Crawford  is  the  only  surviving  one. 

Comrades,  I  desire  to  pay  a  merited  tribute  to  Brevet  Major- 
General  Horatio  G.  Sickel,  of  the  Third  Reg-iment  of  Reserves, 
who  commanded  the  Reserve  Corps  for  a  short  time  in  the  earlj- 
\yAi'i  of  1863,  after  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  corps  at  Alexandria,  when  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  was  fought.  He  was  a  brave,  cool  and 
faithful  soldier,  who  entered  the  army  from  civil  life  in  1861,  and 
enjoj'^ed  the  confidence  of  every  commander  of  the  corps.  He 
died  this  year,  mourned  by  all  his  comrades. 

General  Meade  was  harshly  and  most  unjustlj^  criticised  for  his 
management  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg-.  He  was  censured  for 
not  pursuing  and  destroying  Lee's  army.  In  a  conversation 
in  Philadelphia  with  General  Meade  some  eight  years  after  the 
liattle,  I  asked  him  whether,  with  all  the  kn(JA\'ledg-e  he  had  sub- 
sequently received  of  the  strength  and  movements  of  the  Con- 
federate Army,  and  of  his  abilitj^  to  attack  Lee  on  his  retreat,  he 
felt  that  he  was  justified  in  doing  as  he  did  after  the  battle. 

He  replied  in  nearly  these  words: — "I  am  fully  convinced  that 
the  course  I  pursued  was  right.  If  I  had  attempted  to  attack 
Lee  on  his  retreat,  in  liis  stronghold  along  the  Potomac,  the  re- 
sult might  have  been  disastrous  to  the  Union  cause ;  aiid  all  the 
fruits  of  our  victory  have  been  lost.  It  was  too  g-reat  a  risk  to 
take,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  I  did  right  m  not  forcing  another 
battle  at  that  time,  in  the  exhausted  condition  of  our  ti'oops.  You 
know  how  hard  General  Lee  tried  to  crush  General  McClellans 
army  in  the  Seven  Days'Battles,  but  he  failed  to  doit  undermuch 
more  favorable  circumstances  than  those  that  existed  with  the 
Union  troops  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg." 

General  Meade  has  never  had  justic(!  done  him  for  the  vast  ser- 
vice he  rendered  the  nation  in  the  victor}^  at  Gettysburg.  Bum- 
side  failed  at  Fredericksburg,  Hooker  made  another  failure  at 
CliancoUorsville,  but  Meade  was  a  triumphant  success  on  this 
hist(n-ic  field.  He  was  then  at  the  head  of  a  victorious  army, 
Avhich  had  achieved  the  most  decisive  triumph  of  the  war,  and 
brokf'ii  tlie  l)ackb()ne  of  the  rebellion;  vet  Ik;  was  forced  to  sub- 


Pennsylvania  af   (jcttiinhnrii.  79 

mit  to  the  indig-nity  of  liaviug-  General  Grant  placed  over  him 
as  his  superior  in  command  in  the  army  that  Meade  had  fouo-ht 
so  Avell. 

The  authorities  at  Washing-ton  probably  did  it  tor  diplomatic 
reasons.  General  Grant  was  a  true  soldier,  and  so  was  Meade. 
AVlien  Grant  was  ordered  to  command  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
Meade,  as  his  subordinate,  obeyed,  as  a  good  soldier  should,  and 
gave  Grant  a  hearty  and  nncomi)laining  support  until  the  A\'ar 
of  the  Rebellion  ended. 

In  Philadelphia,  where  the  ashes  of  McCall  and  Meade  repose, 
responsive  to  the  vernal  sun  of  each  recurring  year,  the  survi- 
vors of  the  Peunsjdvania  Reserves  and  their  Grand  Army  com- 
rades march  abreast  to  deck  their  graves  with  flowers— emblems 
of  those  brightest  blossoms  of  the  soul,  love,  veneration  and 
gratitude.  But  Decoration  Day  for  us  may  soon  be  celebrated 
in  a  fairer  clime,  where  generous  fruits  on  trees  immortal  grow: 
and  ere  we  pass  that  silent  river,  shining  brighter  with  the 
Christian's  hope,  we  fain  would  leave  a  grateful  tribute  on  the 
battle-field  of  Gettysburg  to  General  George  G.  Mead(;.  This  is 
the  duty  that  still  remains. 

Pennsylvania  owes  it  to  herself  to  here  commemorate  the  glorj- 
of  the  hero  who  saved  her  soil  from  the  armies  of  the  devastat 
ing-  foe.  To  Meade,  who  repelled  the  invading  enemy,  let  the 
Memorial  Hall  be  dedicated,  that  it  may  prove  the  shrine  of  pa- 
triotism for  future  generations. 

A  monument  to  Meade  should  also  be  erected  in  the  National 
Cemetery  as.  a  companion  piece  to  that  of  Reynolds.  They  were 
united  in  life,  and  in  death  their  glory  should  not  be  parted.  On 
Round  Top  let  Memorial  Hall  arise,  a  fitting  consecration  to 
Meade's  great  victory  on  this  field.  Let  it  be  a  treasury  of  trophies 
and  mementoes  of  all  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  that  fought 
at  Gettysburg. 

The  Board  of  Commissioners  on  Gettysburg  Monuments  have 
done  their  duty  well  in  erecting  the  monuments  we  dedicate  to- 
day. To  no  abler  hands  could  the  duty  of  erecting  a  monument 
to  Meade  and  a  Memorial  Hall  on  Little  Round  Top  be  entrusted. 

Comrades!  We  stand  uj^on  the  battle  ground  of  Truth  ti-ium- 
phant!  On  the  field  of  Gettysburg  thousands  shed  their  blood, 
and  gave  their  last  sigh  for  freedom  :  Here  shiv(n-y  died  amid  its 
worshippers,  and  here,  in  enduring  marble,  W(^  ]ilace  the  record 
of  our  comrades'  deeds.  Words  ai'e  faint  to  iiaint  the  glories  of 
immortality ;  but  here  our  hands  have  raised  and  our  eyes  have 
seen  the  signs  and  symbols  of  lines  eternal  which  shall  bear  wit- 
ness through  all  the  ages  to  come. 


80  Pennsylvania  at  Geffy.shurg. 

AVheii  tlie  wild  winds  of  winter  hold  their  revels  amid  these 
sacred  stones,  beneath  the  snow's  soft  mantle,  or  decked  with 
tlowers  of  opring-,  these  monuments  Avill  still  remain  the  tokens 
of  the  perennial  honor,  love  and  affection  in  which  we  hold  tlie 
memory  of  cur  commanders. 

In  the  inimitable  thought  of  President  Lincoln,  when  he  stood 
upon  this  hallowed  ground,  rather  let  us  say  that  these  monu- 
ments dedicate  us,  the  fellow  soldiers  of  the  brave,  to  the  service 
of  a  deathless  memory  and  love  of  country.  For  these  there  needs 
no  tear  nor  melancholy  sigh.  Life  can  give  no  more  than  death, 
after  well-earned  glory;  nor  has  the  tomb  its  chill  for  him  who 
sleeps  beneath  the  soldier's  flag. 


thb:  third  brigade  at  Gettysburg. 


Lieutenant  William  Haves  Grier. 

COMKADES,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  You  have 
listened  to  the  man  who  called  into  being,  as  soldiers,  every 
man  who  wore  the  blue,  from  Pennsylvania,  during  the 
war,  and  who  was  known  in  my  boyhood  days  as  the  "  silver- 
tongued  orator  from  Snowshoe ; "  you  have  listened  to  the  talented 
editor  who  commanded  regiments  and  brigades ;  j^ou  have  listened 
to  the  scholar  and  soldier,  who  had  much  to  do  with  the  inside 
workings  of  the  division,  and  you  will  hear  from. the  brilliant 
soldier,  who  is  the  honored  Governor  of  this  Commonwealth,  and 
last,  but  not  least,  you  will  hear  from  Major  Chill  W.  Hazzard,  the 
humorist  from  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela,  and  in  their  midst, 
or  as  it  were,  like  the  meat  in  a  sandwich,  stands  the  liigh  private 
in  the  rear  rank.  And  now,  comrades,  what  do  you  think  would 
have  been  the  status  of  this  crowd  of  speakers,  along-  the  Poto- 
mac, in  1863?  I  can  tell  you,  with  the  exception  of  the  private, 
all  of  them  would  have  been  sitting  in  a  marquee,  sipping  Apol- 
linaris  water,  and  your  humble  servant,  with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder, 
Avould  have  been  marching  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  tent, 
g-iving  them  that  protection  they  so  much  needed.  And  as  long 
as  the  soldier  kept  guard  they  would  have  been  safe.  They  may 
need  care  to-day  and  tluit  may  be  the  reason  wliy  a  private  was 
injected  into  the  programme,  as  a  little  leaven  sometimes  leavens 
the  whole  lump.  They  won  fame  in  their  country's  service,  but  back 
of  it  all  stands  the  jirivate  soldier.     They,  no  doubt,  appreciate 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  81 

the  fact  that  without  the  work  of  the  private  soldier  they  would 
yet  be  with  us,  iu  the  ranks  of  the  common  herd. 

We  do  not  envy  them  their  good  luck,  and  hope  each  one  may 
yet  be  invited  to  go  higher  and  higher. 

To  sing-  the  story  of  a  brigade's  heroic  deeds  in  battle  may  seem 
to  be  an  easy  task,  but  when  it  is  considered  that  over  twenty-seven 
years  have  come  and  g-one  since  the  battle  of  Gettysburg-  was 
fought  and  won,  you  may  well  ask  one  another  whether  it  is  i^os- 
sible  for  memory  to  enable  you  to  g-ive  any  of  the  details  of  the 
action  or  services  of  any  brigade  with  which  you  may  have  been 
connected.  Those  of  you  who  were,  as  I  was,  an  enlisted  man  in 
the  ranks,  can  readily  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  duty  assigned 
me  is  about  as  hard  as  was  the  scaling  of  Round  Top  at  mid- 
nigfht.  A  private  soldier  knew  but  little  of  what  occurred  outside 
of  his  own  company  or  regiment,  and  when  he  did  get  any  infor- 
mation concerning  his  brigade,  division  or  corps,  he  received  it 
from  the  newspapers.  He  read  it  to-day  and  forgot  it  to-morrow, 
because  it  was  not  impressed  upon  his  mind  with  the  vividness 
and  distinctness  that  came  from  actual  experience. 

When  the  g-enial  secretary  of  the  Monument  Commission  wrote 
me  extending  an  invitation  to  "make  an  address  that  should  re- 
late to  the  services  of  the  Third  Brigade  in  battle,"  I  was  surprised, 
and  when  in  his  invitation  he  further  said  that  these  "addresses 
will  be  embraced  in  a  volume  in  connection  with  other  dedicatory 
services  to  be  published  by  the  state,  and  will  therefore  be  matters 
of  history,"  I  was  more  than  surprised.  The  secretary  knew  full 
well  that  I  was  not  in  sympathy  Avith  the  project  of  placing- tomb- 
stones or  markers  as  monuments  for  the  Reserve  regiments,  and 
I  concluded  that  his  kind  invitation  was  a  trap  iu  which  to  catch 
a  fellow  who  would  not  otherwise  Avork  well  in  harness.  I  hesi- 
tated about  accepting-  the  trust,  and  can  explain  in  a  very  few- 
sentences  Avhy  I  did  not  show  my  usual  alacrity  whenever  any- 
thing- pertaining  to  the  old  Reserves  was  on  the  tapis. 

The  grand  idea  of  a  "  Memorial  Hall "  on  the  battle-field  origi- 
nated in  the  mind  of  the  great  and  glorious  War  Governor,  An- 
drew G.  Curtin,  and  he  presented  the  idea  so  strongl}^  to  the 
different  committees  of  the  different  regiments,  that  they  followed 
him  almost  unanimously.  They  ol)e3^ed  his  call  in  1861  and  never 
regretted  that  they  had  him  for  their  god-father :  they  fell  in  with 
his  idea  of  a  "Memorial  Hall,"  and  it  became  part  of  then- nature. 
The  glorious  "old  man"  met  the  boys  in  different  sections  of  the 
state,  always  carrying  with  him  the  plans  and  specifications  for 
his  cherished  "Memorial  Hall."  Shortly  after  the  assembling-  of 
6 


82  Pennsylvania  at  Getfysbiuy. 

the  Legislature  in  1889,  he  again  met  representatives  of  the  regi- 
ments in  the  Adjutant  General's  office,  at  Hanisburg,  and  then 
and  there  was  drafted  a  bill  that,  if  passed  and  approved,  would 
give  us  a  "Pennsylvania  Memorial  Hall"  that  would  be  a  credit 
to  the  state,  and  overshadow  any  and  everything  erected  by  other 
states  on  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg.  In  that  bill  w^e  were  not 
selfish,  but  had  a  genuine  feeling  of  comradeship  for  our  brother 
soldiers  of  Pennsylvania,  as  it  contained  a  provision  that  "each 
and  every  regiment  from  oui'  glorious  old  state,  engaged  in  the 
battle,  should  have  a  tablet  in  the  wall  to  recount  its  services, 
and  relate  its  history."  When  the  bill  was  finished  and  presented 
to  the  Legislature  we  went  home  feeling  happy.  Under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  KaujBfman  bill  providing  for  the  erection  of  monu- 
ments on  the  battle-field,  the  Reserves  were  entitled  to  a  lump 
sum  of  $13,500,  and  the  amount  asked  for  in  the  Memorial  Hall 
bill  was  but  $25,000,  and  in  asking  for  the  additional  $1 1,500  we 
purposed,  as  I  have  before  stated,  taking  care  of  the  other  regi- 
ments from  our  state.  The  Legislature  kindly  passed  the  bill, 
and  again  we  were  in  high  feather,  for  now  our  "Memorial  Hall" 
was  regarded  as  a  certainty.  Kind  friends  flocked  to  our  aid. 
One  party  offered  us  the  ground,  another  the  granite,  another  the 
glass,  and  a  fourth  one  came  in  with  an  offer  of  all  the  iron  neces- 
sary for  its  erection.  The  building  was  to  have  been  built  of 
granite,  iron  and  glass,  and  with  the  generous  tenders  of  all  the 
articles  needed,  we  saw  our  way  clear  to  erect  with  the  $25,000 
granted  us  by  the  Legislature,  a  soldiers'  monument  or  memo- 
rial hall  worthy  of  the  memory  of  the  dead  who  surrendered 
their  lives  in  repelling  Rebel  invasion  of  the  old  Keystone. 

But  on  a  bright  May  morning  the  papers  of  the  state  sent  a 
cold  chill  down  the  backs  of  every  Reserve  soldier.  There,  in  cold 
type,  was  spread  out  the  fact  that  our  soldier  comrade,  Governor 
Beaver,  had  vetoed  the  bill  giving  us  our  Memorial  Hall  "  for 
constitutional  reasons."  We  were  displeased,  disgruntled,  and 
some  of  us  condemned  him  in  severe  terms.  We  were  probably 
wrong,  for  he  was  too  good  a  soldier  to  do  us  an  injustice,  and 
we  must  be  content  in  believing  that  he  was  doing  his  duty  as  he 
saw  it,  in  vetoing  the  measure.  We  regret  that  he  found  it  nec- 
essary to  dash  to  the  ground  our  fondest  hopes.  We  have  every 
reason  to  believe  that  he  was,  personally,  in  sympathy  with  <mr 
project,  for  "he  himself  hath  said  it." 

That  veto  dampened  our  ardor  but  did  not  entirely  submerge 
us.  We  met  again  and  again  and  made  several  attempts  to  de- 
vise ways  and  means  to  get  our  Memorial  Hall,  but  in  the  end  the 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyslmry.  83 

veto  was  victorious.  The  law  authorizing  the  erection  of  the 
monuments  and  the  appointment  of  a  Commission,  g-ave  the  Com 
mission  appointed  under  that  law  no  alternative  but  to  go  ahead 
and  execute  it.  They  exceeded  their  authority  in  g-ranting-  us  time 
to  appeal  to  the  Legislature,  and  patiently  awaited  our  venture 
in  that  direction.  While  some  have  been  disposed,  your  speaker 
among  the  number,  to  censure  the  Commission  for  what  they 
deemed  an  attempt  not  to  give  proper  recognition  to  the  Keserves, 
we  now  feel  like  saying  that  it  was  merely  a  case  of  diamond  cut 
diamond.  The  Reserve  committee  did  not  like  the  Commission, 
or  some  parts  of  it,  and  to  a  certain  extent  ignored  it,  and  received 
the  same  treatment  in  return  when  the  plans  for  the  monuments 
of  some  of  the  regiments  were  ready  for  the  chisel  of  the  sculp- 
tor. We  never  saw  the  designs,  and  we  suppose  it  was  because 
we  had  no  business  with  them. 

But  to-day  we  are  here  to  dedicate  the  monuments.  We  have 
them  in  place  of  the  Memorial  Hall,  and  we  are  indebted  to  the 
Commission  for  them.  It  is  our  duty  to  thank  them  for  their 
work,  for  it  was  a  labor  of  love,  and  not  of  emoluments,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  vexation  of  spirit  was  often  their  portion.  Their 
work  has  been  completed  and  they  can  rest  content  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  fact  that  they  performed  their  whole  duty  under  the 
law. 

The  "  services  of  the  Third  Brigade  "  in  this  battle  can  be  told 
in  a  few  sentences.  On  many  another  hard-fought  field  the 
"  Third  Brigade  "  performed  greater  work  and  lost  many  more  brave 
men  than  it  did  at  Gettysburg,  but  that  was  not  the  fault  of  the 
brigade.  It  was  because  the  opportunity  for  actual  conflict  was 
not  presented  us,  although  the  places  occupied  by  the  different 
regiments  were  positions  of  importance  and  were  held  and  would 
have  been  held  against  all  comers.  The  brigade  was  under  the 
command  of  General  Joseph  W.  Fishei',  and  was  composed  of  the 
Fifth,  Ninth,  Tenth,  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Regiments.  The  first 
day's  fight  found  us  on  the  road,  having  left  Uniontown,  Md.,  at 
5  o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  were  on  the  extreme  right  of  the 
army,  and  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  were  within  five  miles  of 
Hanover.  Here  we  exchanged  our  cartridges  and  prepared  for 
an  emergency,  and  then  started  again  and  marchtMl  until  1  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  second,  and  encamped  five  miles  this  side 
of  Hanover.  Here  we  learned  of  the  death  of  the  lamented  Rey- 
nolds. On  the  morning  of  the  second  we  broke  camp  at  5  a.  m., 
and  marched  two  miles  and  halted  for  breakfast.  We  then  moved 
and  arrived  near  Gettysburg  at  noon.     Rested  until  5  p.  m.,  when 


84  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

we  were  ordered  forward,  and  just  at  the  time  the  First  Brig-ade 
made  its  memorable  cliarg-e.  At  this  time,  and  the  place  being 
to  the  right  of  Little  Round  Top,  our  brig-ade  was  separated.  The 
Fifth  and  Twelfth  Reg-iments  were  sent  to  Big  Round  Top,  and 
in  connection  with  a  skirmish  line  from  the  Twentieth  Maine,  oc- 
cupied the  hill  from  the  summit  to  the  ravine  at  its  foot,  the  Fifth 
being  at  the  top  of  the  hill  and  the  Twelfth  on  its  right.  In  those 
places  they  remained  until  the  morning-  of  the  4th  of  July  when 
their  positions  were  reversed.  Our  friend  Bachelder  has  the  po- 
sitions on  his  map  as  they  were  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  but 
not  as  they  were  during  the  battle. 

Right  here  I  think  it  proper  to  challenge  the  location  of  the 
Twelfth  Reserves'  monument.  If  it  is  intended  to  mark  the  spot 
occupied  by  the  regiment  on  the  4th  of  July,  or  after  the  battle, 
then  it  is  correct,  but  if  it  is  intended  to  mark  its  location  during 
the  engagement,  then  it  is  a  fraud  on  the  regiment,  and  falsifies 
history.  It  agrees  with  Bachelder's  map,*  but  that  is  not  correct, 
as  far  as  regards  the  Fiftli  and  Twelfth  Regiments.  I  do  not 
make  this  assertion  from  memory,  but  evidence  written  at  the  time, 
in  my  diary,  and  which  is  yet  in  my  possession,  and  I  stand  ready 
to  prove  the  truth  of  my  assertion. 

The  Ninth  and  Tenth  Regiments  occupied  the  valley  between 
Big  and  Little  Round  Top,  and  the  Eleventh  was  between  the 
Trostle  House  and  the  wheat-field  along  with  the  First  Brigade. 

Our  work  was  mainly  one  of  watching  the  movements  of  the 
enemy  and  holding  the  keys  of  the  field.  While  the  Third  Bri- 
gade, as  well  as  the  First  and  Second,  was  always  ready  to  obey 
orders,  it  was  the  luck  of  chance  or  tlie  luck  of  war  that  prevented 
us  from  accompanying  the  First  Brigade  down  into  the  valley  of 
death.  We  saw  them  starting  and  knew  that  it  meant  death  to 
many — and  when  we  started  in  another  direction  we  knew  not 
whither  Ave  were  going,  but  like  good  soldiers  followed  our  leader, 
trusting  to  a  kind  and  over-ruling  Providence  to  give  us  victory 
over  death  and  the  enemy. 

And  here  to-day  we  stand  rendering  homage  to  our  comrades 
who  fell  in  the  f  ore-front  of  battle  twenty -seven  years  ago.  The 
nation  yet  mourns  their  loss,  but  it  will  take  another  generation 
before  their  familiar  faces  will  be  missed  at  their  home  firesides. 


*TI)e  positions  as  sliowu  upon  the  map  were  marked  by  tlie  commander  of 
the  brigade,  Brigadier-General  J.  W.  Fisher,  in  the  fall  of  1863. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  85 


WHEN  VICrORY   BEGAN. 


By  Majok  G.   B.   Hotchkins,  Surgeon,   Fikst  I'ennsylvania 
Reserve  Cavalry. 


High  above  our  field  of  glory 

Round  Top's  boulders,  once  so  gory, 

Shall  record  the  sacred  story, 

Tell  of  Pennsylvania's  bleeding. 

While  for  place  of  danger  pleading, 

Sight  of  peril  never  heeding. 

With  the  Nation's  heroes  blended, 

Brave,  her  sons  her  .soil  defended. 

Heeding  naught  as  they  contended, 

Naught  but  thought  of  homes  in  danger. 

Spoiled  by  armed  vagrant  ranger, 

Ravaged  by  the  vengeful  stranger  ; 

When  the  Union's  arch  sustaining. 

Firm  the  Keystone  bore  the  straining. 

Every  stone  in  place  retaining. 

Every  stone  in  blood  cemented, 

Blood  a  Nation's  sons  presented. 

Sons  who  met  their  death  contented. 

On  their  country's  love  relying. 

Other  wishes  all  denying, 

Glad,  their  country'  saved  by  dying  ; 

Let  those  archives  tell  it  clearly, 

How  the  day  was  lost  so  nearij% 

How  the  hill  was  .saved  .so  dearly, 

Our  Reserves  to  rescue  rushing 

Met  that  host  so  dread  and  crushing. 

Battled  while  their  blood  was  gushing 

From  defeat  the  triumph  bringing. 

From  the  battle's  crisis  winging. 

Over  hill  and  valley  ringing. 

Shouts  with  battle's  thunder  bb'uded. 

Shouts  that  end  of  war  portended. 

Echoed  on  till  war  was  ended  ; 

Then  Rebellion's  hoj)e  was  broken  : 

Bravely  .still  its  words  were  spoken  . 

Hands  were  nerved  and  hearts  were  oakeu  : 

Battling  on,  like  watch  dog  wounded. 

Brave  defiance  still  it  sounded. 

Backward  still  it  must  be  pounded  : 

Never  smiling,  hopeless  tolling. 

Serpent-like,  forever  coiling, 

Stubborn,  every  onset  foiling. 

Sorely,  sadly,  ever  rcnded. 

Every  blow  it  tearless  fended  ; 

Broken  died,  but  never  bended. 


86  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


TRANSFER  OF  THE  MONUMENTS  TO  THE  BATTLE-FIELD 

MEMORIAL  ASSOCIATION. 


Hon.  James  A.  Beaver,  Governor  ok  the  Commonwealth. 


1i  TR.  PRESIDENT:  After  what  you  have  told  us  of  the  or- 
\ /I  g-anization  of  the  Reserves,  after  what  we  have  heard 
1  T  X  from  those  well  able  to  tell  it,  of  the  story  of  its  com- 
manders, and  of  the  part  taken  in  the  battle  by  those  regimental 
organizations  which  were  present,  it  is  certainly  not  necessary, 
and  would  scarcely  be  becoming  in  me  to  attempt  to  say  any- 
thing in  regard  to  that  famous  organization. 

It  seems  to  me,  however,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  it  is  en- 
tirely proper  for  me  to  speak  very  briefly,  before  the  formal  pre- 
sentation of  the  monuments  which  mark  the  part  taken  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Reserve  reg-iments  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  to 
the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Memorial  Association,  of  the  wise 
forethought  and  patriotic  impulse  which  sugg-ested  the  organi- 
zation of  that  famous  corps. 

No  sing"le  act  of  any  individual  executive  .of  any  of  the  several 
states  which  supported  the  government  in  the  war  of  secession 
displayed  more  of  wisdom  and  more  of  patriotism,  or  exerted  a 
more  decided  influence  upon  the  immediate  and  final  results  of 
that  war,  than  the  proclamation  of  our  distinguished  chairman — 
then  the  Chief  Executive  of  this  Commonwealth — convening  the 
Leg-islature  of  Pennsylvania  in  special  session  for  the  pui-pose  of 
providing  for  the  defense  of  the  state  and  the  future  exigencies 
of  the  government. 

The  prescience  of  the  needs  of  the  state,  and  the  necessities  of 
the  nation  therein  exhibited,  were  remarkable,  and,  in  view  of 
subsequent  events,  almost  prophetic.  The  g-rasp  of  the  situa- 
tion, as  thus  shoAvn  by  the  Governor,  and  the  subsequent  adop- 
tion and  embodiment  of  his  recommendations  in  appropriate  form 
by  the  leg-islative  branch  of  the  government  of  Pennsylvania, 
had  a  controlling  influence  in  determining-  the  status  of  Pennsyl- 
vania as  ouv3  of,  if  not  the  foremost,  defender  of  the  Union,  and 
in  saving  the  country  from  disaster  and  her  arms  from  disg-race- 
ful  defeat. 

1  do  not  undervalue  the  service  of  the   distinguished  men  who 


Pennsylvania  at  Oettyshurg.  87 

filled,  and  filled  worthily,  the  place  of  chief  executive  of  our 
loyal  states.  Their  patriotic  purpose,  wise  plans  and  energetic 
efforts,  are  well  known  and  fully  appreciated.  It  is  nevertheless 
true,  however,  that  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  seemed  to 
grasp  more  fully  and  to  recommend  more  clearly,  the  things 
which  were  absolutely  necessary  in  order  that  the  Avar  might  be 
as  brief,  and  its  inevitable  results  as  little  hurtful  to  our  people 
as  possible.  When  it  is  remembertid  that  the  proclamation  of 
the  Governor  convening  the  Legislature  in  extraordinary  session, 
for  the  purposes  therein  set  forth,  was  issued  at  a  time  when 
Pennsylvania's  quota  of  troops  under  the  first  call  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  had 
scarcely  more  than  been  filled,  the  extraordinary  character  of  his 
plans  and  purposes  became  more  fully  apparent.  The  "long 
line  of  border  on  states  seriously  disaffected  and  which  must  be 
protected,"  was  clearly  set  forth;  and,  "the  necessity  for  furnish- 
ing ready  support  to  those  who  have  gone  out  to  protect  our 
borders,"  was  duly  emphasized.  The  recommendation  for  "  the 
immediate  organization,  disciplining  and  arming  of  at  least  fifteen 
regiments  of  infantry,  exclusive  of  those  called  into  the  service 
of  the  United  States,"  almost  necessarily  followed  and  was 
quickly  consummated. 

It  is  needless  to  speculate  upon  the  results  which  must  have 
followed  if  Pennsylvania  had  been  permitted  to  employ  this 
magnificent  body  of  citizen  soldiery  upon  her  southern  border, 
as  was  contemplated  in  its  original  organization.  In  its  incep- 
tion, designed  primarily  and  specially  for  that  purpose,  this  com- 
pact and  thoroughly  well-trained  division  would  have  afforded 
ample  protection  to  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  from  the  incur- 
sions made  from  time  to  time  by  those  who  were  in  armed  rebel- 
lion against  the  authority  of  the  general  government,  and  would 
have  prevented  the  enormous  losses  which  were  necessarily  en- 
tailed upon  our  people  by  the  temporary  invasion  of  hostile 
armies  and  predatory  raids  of  hungry  cavalry.  It  is  almost  cer- 
tain that  if  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Division  had  been  em- 
ployed in  the  service  for  which  it  was  originally  designed,  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  would  not  have  been  fought.  Chambers- 
burg  would  not  have  been  burned,  and  no  organization  of  insur- 
gent forces  would  ever  have  looked  upon  the  capital  of  our 
state. 

The  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  were  in  advance  of  those  of 
the  general  government,  however,  and  when  the  necessity  arose, 
true  to  her  loyal  instincts  and  resolves,  our  Reserve  Corps  was 


88  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

trausferred  to  the  general  service,  and  oiir  border  left  to  be  cared 
for  as  the  exig-encies  of  war  might  dictate.  This  first  experience 
was  sufficient  to  deuionstrate  the  futility  of  the  organization  of 
any  body  of  troops  to  be  employed  and  maintained  under  state 
control,  and  subsequent  events  made  this  more  painfully  appar- 
ent. Even  the  large  bodies  of  militia,  organized  and  equipped 
during  the  several  (emergencies  when  Pennsylvania's  border  was 
threatened,  her  territory  invaded,  and  her  citizens  temporarily 
driven  from  their  homes  and  subjected  to  great  loss,  were  trans- 
ferred as  soon  as  placed  in  the  field  to  the  direction  and  control 
of  officers  of  the  general  government. 

The  protection  of  our  bordei-  was  not  the  only  object  of  the  or- 
ganization of  our  Reserve  Corps,  however.  The  necessities  of 
the  general  government,  occasioned  by  the  retirement  of  men 
from  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere,  who  had  been  mustered  into 
the  military  service  for  three  months,  demanded  its  transfer  to  a 
broader  and  more  immediate  sphere  of  operations,  and  when  that 
demand  was  formally  made  the  whole  force,  organized  and  equip- 
ped under  the  foresight  and  energy  of  the  Pennsylvania  author- 
ities, was  transferred  to  and  become  a  part,  although  a  very  dis- 
tinctive part,  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States.  In  conse- 
quence of  that  transfer,  a  portion  of  the  regiments  of  the  corps 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  as  you  have  already  heard, 
and  Ave  are  here  and  now  assembled  to  transfer  to  the  Gettysburg 
Battle-field  Memorial  Association  the  artistic  monuments  which 
mark  that  service,  and  which  will  testify  to  the  on-coming  genera- 
tions the  faithfulness  and  the  heroism  with  which  it  was  rendered. 
These  monuments  stand  upon  a  conspicuous  portion  of  the  bat- 
tle-field. They  have  already  attracted  much  attention,  and  will 
make  still  more  prominent  and  interesting  that  portion  of  the 
field. 

Pennsylvania  has  a  right  to  be  proud  of  the  part  taken  by  her 
citizen  soldiery  in  the  great  battle  fought  upon  her  soil,  and  ac- 
knowledges the  services  thus  rendered  with  gratitude.  At  every 
critical  period  of  the  conflict  Pennsylvania  seems  to  have  been 
prominent,  but  at  no  time,  perhaps,  did  her  sons  render  more 
faithful  S(^rvice,  and  secure  more  abiding  and  satisfactory  results 
than  when  i\w,  two  brigades  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  in  the 
Third  Division  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  made  th<3  famous  charge  which 
saved  our  left  flank,  and  gave  full  and  final  possession  of  Round 
Top  and  Little  Round  Top  and  their  approaches  to  the  Federal 
Army.  This  service,  and  that  which  was  rendered  by  the  cavalry 
and  artillery  of  the  Reserve  Corps,  ai-e  commemorated  by  these 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  89 

monuments.     We  formally  transfer  them  to  the  care  and  custody 
of  the  Gettysburg-  Battle-field  Memorial  Association. 

As  the  representative  of  the  commonwealth,  ac^ting-  under  the 
instructions  of  the  Commissioners  api)ointed  foi-  the  erection  of 
Pennsylvania's  monuments  upon  this  field,  I  have  the  honor  to 
make  this  formal  transfer,  assured  that  no  similar  monuments 
commemorate  more  distinguished  and  heroic  service. 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  MONUMENTS. 


By  Brevet  Major  Chill.  W.   Hazzakd, 

Oy  the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Memorial  Association. 


What  Mean  These  Stones? 

We  read  in  the  Bible  of  Joshua:  How  that  g-reat  General,  in 
his  campaign  against  Jericho,  when  he  came  to  the  Jordan,  the 
river  parted,  and  the  children  of  Israel  passed  over  dry  shod. 

And  they  called  the  place  Gilgal. 

In  commemoration  of  this  event  the  Lord  directed  Joshua  to 
have  one  man  from  each  tribe  tak<5  up  a  stone,  and  having  come 
to  the  other  side,  build  there  a  monument. 

And  the  reason  of  it  was  this:  So  that,  when  your  children 
ask,  in  time  to  come,  "What  mean  these  stones?"  it  shall  be  told 
them  that  the  Lord  showed  his  favor  to  the  children  of  Israel. 

The  monument  set  up  at  Gilgal  was  to  "  tell  the  story  "  to  the 
children  in  time  to  come. 

You  are  here  to-day  to  set  up  a  pile  of  stones,  as  did  Israel  at 
Gilg"al,  to  tell  the  story  to  those  who  may  come  after  you,  and 
who  will  ask,  "What  mean  these  stones?" 

Before  we  answer  the  question  let  us  journey  upon  the  earth, 
and  make  the  same  inquiry  of  other  monuments  that  have  been 
builded  by  the  children  of  men. 

Let  us  start  at  Gilgal  and  go  over  by  the  Nile.  There  stand  the 
pyramids.  What  mean  these  stones  ?  They  mean  that  Ramesis, 
in  his  ambition  to  be  remembered  forever,  built  the  pyi-amids  as 
monuments  for  himself  and  his  \vives  that  his  name  should 
never  be  forg-otten.  It  was  human  endeavor  to  buy  with  riches 
eternal  fame.  How  absolutely  it  failed.  Not  only  has  his  name 
faded  from  the  memory  of  men,  but  he  himself  was  not  even 


90  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

buried  tliere.  When,  forty  centuries  later,  the  tomb  is  forced, 
the  sepulcher  is  empty. 

We  stand  beside  the  Grecian  AcropoHs  at  Athens  and  ask, 
■'  What  mean  these  stones'?"  The  answer  comes,  "This  was  once 
a  pile  of  beauty — tlie  most  famous  of  its  kind  in  all  history — set 
up  to  perpetuate  the  greatness  of  the  land  of  art  and  philosophy ; 
the  intellectual  leader  of  the  classic  world. 

The  Acropolis  is  in  ruins.     Greece  is  a  power  no  more. 

We  stand  beside  the  CoHseum  at  Rome,  and  ask,  "  What  mean 
these  stones?"  They  mean  that  Rome  was  once  the  mistress  of 
the  world,  her  emperors  all  powerful,  her  armies  invincible ;  they 
mean  that  this  power,  unchecked  by  Christian  influences,  became 
cruel,  and  thatwdthin  the  walls  of  the  great  amphitheatre.  Christian 
martyrs  were  "butchered  to  make  a  Roman  holiday." 

"When  the  children  of  men  stand  beside  the  foundation  stones 
of  the  Obelisks  along-  the  Nile,  they  ask,  "What  mean  these 
stones?"  The  story  is  soon  told.  An  Egyptian  princess  carved 
the  record  of  her  beauty  and  her  riches  upon  the  Cleopatrian 
Needles,  and  set  them  up  to  remain  for  all  time.  Now  one  stands 
by  the  Thames  the  other  by  the  Hudson,  and  they  tell  no  story 
to  anyone,  save  that  personal  greatness,  even  though  writ  on 
granite,  will  not  live  forever. 

We  go  to  Waterloo,  stand  beside  the  lion's  mound,  and  ask, 
"What  mean  these  stones?"  The  answer  comes,  they  mean  the 
end  of  ambition,  the  end  of  a  conqueror's  thirst  for  blood.  They 
mean  that  there  is  a  Waterloo  for  every  mere  personal  thirst  for 
fame  alone,  and  that  France  and  freedom  were  to  live  for  each 
other. 

We  stand  before  the  German  monument  of  "Victory"  on  the 
Konigsplatz  and  ask,  "What  mean  these  stones?"  They  mean 
the  re-unification  of  G<Tmany  and  thci  foundation  of  a  new  empire. 
They  tell  to  Germany  the  daring  deeds  of  a  long-gone  past, 
when  the  tribes  slew  the  forces  of  Varus  in  the  defiles,  and  sent 
him  back  to  Rome  to  meet  the  sorrowful  greeting  of  Augustus, 
"Oh,  Varus,  Varus !  give  me  back  mj^  legions."  But  they  tell  of 
no  slave  set  free,  no  bonds  broken,  no  enlargement  of  human  lib- 
erty ;  they  tell  that  the  dynasty  of  Hohenzollern  is  established. 
And  while  Eni])eror  William  died  the  oldest  sovereign  in  the 
world,  and  the  most  striking  figure  of  the  nineteenth  century,  yet 
the  pile  by  the  Konigsplatz  tells  only  of  the  divine  right  of  kings, 
the  aristocracy  of  the  Kaiser,  and  the  servitude  of  subjects.  By 
tliat  pile  of  st()U(!S  we  catch  no  glimpse  of  the  inalienable  right 
to  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty sbury.  91 

We  come  to  Bunker  Hill  monunient  and  ask,  "What  mean 
these  stones?"  They  mean  that  there  is  to  be  no  government  on 
this  soil  with  taxation  without  re}3resentation ;  they  mean  that 
our  forefathers  "  brought  forth  on  this  eontinent  a  nation  conceived 
in  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created 
equal." 

We  stand  beside  Bartholdi's  statue  of  Liberty  Enlig-htening-  the 
World,  and,  with  our  hands  upon  its  broad  foundation,  ask, 
"What  mean  these  stones?"  They  mean  that  Columbia  stands 
with  beacon  light  to  welcome  the  oppressed  of  every  land  and 
every  clime ;  welcome  them  to  our  hearts  and  our  homes ;  welcome 
them  to  the  legacy  of  our  freedom  and  our  glory — to  an  undivided 
country  and  an  unsullied  flag. 

And  now  we  have  come  to-day  to  stand  beside  these  monuments, 
these  granite  markers,  set  up  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania for  the  flower  of  its  soldiery,  for  its  gallant  Reserve  Corps.  * 
And  when  the  children  of  men  come  and  ask,  "  Wliat  mean  these 
stones  ?  "  the  answer  will  not  be — they  tell  us  of  Curtin,  of  McCall, 
of  Meade,  and  Reynolds,  and  Ord,  and  Crawford;  of  Biddle, 
Roberts,  and  McCandless,  and  Gallagher;  of  Sickel's  and  Talley, 
Mann  and  Woodward,  and  Simmons  and  Fisher;  of  Ent,  and  Sin- 
clair, and  Henderson  and  Baily ;  of  Jackson,  and  McCalmont,  and 
McCoy  ;  of  Taggart,  and  Hardin,  and  Hartshorne ;  of  Bayard,  and 
Taylor,  Easton,  Cooper  and  Ricketts,  nor  of  a  hundred  othez's  as 
daring  and  as  noble. 

The  answer  will  not  be — they  will  not  tell  us  of  Dranesville 
where  the  Reserve  Corps  fought  and  won  a  victory  all  its  own, 
nor  of  Mechanicsville.  nor  of  Gaines'  Mill,  nor  New  Market,  nor 
Malvern,  nor  Bull  Run,  nor  South  Mountain ;  they  tell  no  story 
of  Antietam,  nor  Fredericksburg,  nor  Bristoe ;  no  storj^  of  Mine 
Run,  nor  the  Wilderness,  nor  Spotsylvania,  nothing  of  the  North 
Anna,  nor  of  Bethesda  Church.  These  stones  will  not  even  tell 
to  the  children  of  men  how  the  Reserves  fought  here  at  Gettys- 
burg. 

No — the  deeds  of  men,  though  writ  in  granite,  fade  away. 

For  ages  the  school  children  of  Greece  were  taught  to  repeat 
from  memory  the  names  of  the  three  hundred  who  fell  at  Ther- 
mopylae.    Who  can  tell  them  now? 

What,  then,  tvill  these  stones  tell  to  the  children  of  men  ?  The 
answer  has  been  given  by  immortal  lips.  They  will  tell  of  Penn- 
sylvanians  who  died  here  that  this  Government  of  the  people 
shall  not  perish  forever  from  the  earth.  These  stones,  these 
monuments,  will  say  to  the  children  of  men,  as  Abraham  Lincoln 


92  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

said  when  he  dedicated  yonder  monument :  "  Gather  ye  here  in- 
creased devotion  to  the  cause  for  which  they  g-ave  their  lives." 

And  now,  in  the  name  of  the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Memorial 
Association,  we  accept  these  monuments,  and  will  give  them  our 
tenderest  care. 


SERVICES  OF  THE   PENNSYLVANIA  RESERVES  AT 
GETTYSBURG. 


A  T  a  meeting  of  the  survivors  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves, 
/\       held  at  Reading,  Penna.,  June  7,  1886,  the  following  reso- 
X    jL    lution  was  offered  by  Colonel  P.  McDonough,  Second  Re- 
serves, and  unanimously  adopted : 

Wherean,  On  the  second  day  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  the  Pennsylvania 
Reserves,  then  forming  part  of  Meade's  reserve,  were  ordered  to  Little 
Round  Top  to  save  that  position,  the  key  of  the  line  of  battle,  from  the  then 
victorious  enemy  who  had  driven  back  the  Third  Corps  under  General 
Sickles  and  the  regulars  of  their  own,  the  Fifth  Corps,  under  General  Sykes ; 
and. 

Whereas,  By  a  counter-charge  of  the  Reserves  they  met  and  drove  the 
enemj^  from  said  position  and  across  the  meadow  beyond  the  stone  wall, 
which  they  wrested  from  them,  and  thus  saved  the  day,  if  notthe  battle;  and, 
Whereas,  In  many  of  the  accounts  of  tiiat  day's  fighting  great  injustice 
has  been  done  the  services  of  the  Reserves,  they  being  in  said  accounts  rep- 
resented as  occupyinga  position  farther  to  the  right  and  not  on  Little  Round 
Top,  and  taking  but  little  part  in  said  action  ;  now  that  justice  be  done  to 
the  memory  of  the  grand  old  division, 

Resolved,  By  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Association,  that  a  committee  of 
seven  be  appointed  by  the  president  to  prepare  a  full  and  truthful  account 
of  the  part  taken  by  the  division  in  said  battle  and  submit  the  same  to  tlie 
association  at  its  next  annual  meeting. 
The  president  appointed  the  following-named  as  tlie  committee  : 
Ma.ior  E.  M.  Woodward,  Second  Reserves,  Chairman. 
Colonel  W.  Ross  Haktshorne,  Bucktails. 
Colonel  Robert  A.  McCoy,  Eleventh  Reserves. 
Major  .1.  A.  McPherran,  Fifth  Reserves. 
Colonel  R.  Bruce  Ricketts,  First  Reserves,  Artillery. 

Wallace  W.  Johnson,  Sixth  Reserves. 
Colonel  P.  McD<jnouou,  Second  Reserves. 

.John  Taylor,  Secretary. 


V 


.l.Tiii,hi.Ts\  ,  ; 


J.Slvfjr; 


LITTLE  ROUND  TOP 


83  PA^  /g '"  MASS    ^ 

BIG    ROUND    TOP 


♦  J 


POSITIONS  AND  LINESOFCHARGESOr 
THE    PENNSYLVANIA  RESERVES. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  93 


REPORT  OF    THE  COMMITTEE. 


THE  committee,  recog-nizing-  the  importance  of  the  trust  con- 
fided to  them,  the  many  years  that  liad  elapsed  since  tlie  bat- 
tle, and  that  the  best  memory  is  apt  to  be  covered  with  the 
dust  of  time,  at  once  determined  to  exhaust  all  sources  of  informa- 
tion within  their  reach,  and  that,  while  getting-  at  the  facts  as  near 
as  possible,  to  admit  no  statement  that  could  not  be  clearly  estab- 
lished. For  this  purpose  a  portion  of  the  committee  met  on 
Little  Round  Top  on  the  following  2d  of  July,  and,  accompanied 
by  General  Crawford,  Major  Chill  Hazzard,  and  others,  they  had 
no  trouble  in  locating  the  position  of  the  First  Brigade,  from 
which  it  started  upon  its  charge  twenty-three  years  before,  or  in 
tracing  its  steps  through  all  its  movements  on  the  field.  A  por- 
tion of  the  committee  remained  upon  the  ground  several  days, 
and  others  of  it  have  since  examined  the  field,  in  company  with 
many  comrades  gathered  there  during  the  encampment  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  reported  the  information  gained 
to  the  chairman.  It  was  also  deemed  of  importance  that  a  meas- 
urement of  the  distances  of  the  charges  made  and  other  impor- 
tant parts  of  the  field  should  be  made,  for  which  purpose  one  of 
the  committee,  during  the  winter,  visited  the  field,  and,  with  chain 
and  compass,  accomplished  the  work,  the  results  of  which  have 
been  embodied  in  the  report. 

In  regard  to  the  misstatements  that  have  appeared  in  print 
from  time  to  time,  and  the  injustice  done  our  division,  the  com- 
mittee deem  it  unnecessary  to  refer,  believing  the  true  history  of 
that  great  battle  is  yet  to  be  written,  and  trusting  with  full  con- 
fidence to  the  ultimate  prevailment  of  truth.  They,  however, 
deem  it  proper  to  refer,  to  some  extent,  to  the  articles  published 
in  the  Philadelphia  Press  of  August  4,  1886,  entitled  "The  Fed- 
eral Disaster  on  the  Left,"  and  on  October  20,  1886,  entitled 
"  McLaws'  Division  and  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  on  the  Second 
Day  at  Gettysburg,"  by  "  Lafayette  McLaws,  Major-General  com- 
manding McLaws'  Division,  Lougstreet's  Corps."  The  first  article 
was  a  reply  to  Major-General  Sickles'  Gettysburg  address,  de- 
livered in  that  town  July  2,  1886.  In  it  Sickles  says,  "When  the 
battle  of  the  2d  ended  *  *  *  Crawford's  division  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Reserves  held  the  advanced  ground  I  had  occupied  as  far 


94  Pemifiylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

as  the  stone  feuee  beyond  the  wheat-field  (itaUcs  the  com.) ;  and 
this  ground,  so  g-allantly  won  by  Crawford  and  his  splendid  divi- 
sion, he  held  all  ni^ht  and  next  day,  and  until  the  retreat  of  Lee." 
(Crawford's  official  report).  One  of  the  maps,  prepared  by 
Brevet  Major-General  Charles  K.  Graham,  accompanying  Sickles' 
speech,  as  printed  in  the  National  Tribune  July  22,  1886,  also 
places  Crawford's  Division  on  the  loest  side  of  the  wheat-field, 
which  doubtlessly  was  an  unintentional  mistake,  as  we  will  show 
we  occupied  the  stone  wall  on  the  east  side  of  the  wheat-field. 
This  error  must  be  kept  in  mind  in  reading-  both  articles  of 
McLaws'.  General  McLaws,  after  quoting  the  above  in  his 
article  of  August  4,  utterly  denies  the  charge  of  the  Reserves  and 
the  capture  of  the  stone  wall.  Quoting  from  him,  he  says,  "  I  saw 
Wofibrd's  Brigade  *  *  *  emerge  from  the  woods  (evidently 
Rose's  on  the  west  side  of  the  wheat-field)  through  which  it  had 
charged,  and  I  halted  it,  and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  He 
said  that  he  had  been  ordered  back  by  General  Longstreet ;  that 
he  had  driven  everything  in  his  front  and  was  resting  under  shelter 
of  a  stone  wall  at  foot  of  Round  Top  when  ordered  back ;  that 
there  was  no  necessity  for  his  coming."  Further  on  he  says,  "  Up 
to  11  p.  m.  there  was  no  advance  made  against  Semmes'  Brigade 
(evidently  at  the  Devil's  Den),  and  as  that  command  could  see  all 
over  the  ground  from  which  General  Wofford  retired,  they  could 
tell  if  any  Pennsylvania  Reserves  or  any  other  body  of  men  ad- 
vanced on  that  day,  the  2d,  to  re-occupj'^  the  ground  left  vacant 
by  Woflbrd.  I  feel  warranted  in  saying-  that  there  was  no  ad- 
vance on  the  2d  by  the  Federals  to  re-take  the  positions  won  from 
them  on  that  day." 

This  article  was  ably  replied  to  by  General  Crawford,  in  the 
Press,  in  which  he  gave  the  movements  of  our  division  on  both 
days  with  accuracy.  His  reply  evoked  from  General  McLaws 
his  second  article  of  October  20,  in  which  he  substantiates,  in  his 
own  opinion,  his  statements  in  his  first  article.  The  general 
says,  "I  accordingly  formulated  a  series  of  questions  which  would 
cover  the  claim  made  by  General  Crawford,  and  sent  a  copy  to 
General  Wofford,  whose  reply  was  never  received ;  to  General 
Humphreys,  who  commanded  the  Twenty-first  Mississippi,  in 
Barksdale's  Brigade;  to  General  Bryan,  who  commanded  a  regi 
mentin General  Wofford'sBrigadeinthechargeofthe2d;  *  *  * 
to  Colonel  McGlosking,  [McGlashan],  colonel  in  Semmes' Brigade 
oil  the  2d,  and  others." 

General  Humphnjys  is  quoted  as  saying,  "  Wofibrd's  Brigade 
was  not  driven  back,  nor  did  they  go  back  because  they  were 


Pennsylvania  at  GtUyshunj.  95 

afraid  to  fight.  Wofford  must  have  gone  back  by  order  from 
some  superior  authority.  *  *  *  j  ^[^  jjot  know  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Reserves  under  Crawford." 

General  Goode  Bryan  says,  "I  can  and  do  most  positively 
assert  that  my  command  was  not  driven  back,  *  *  *  and  I 
further  assert  that  T  received  the  order  to  fall  back  fropa  a  courier 
of  General  Longstreet.  *  *  *  j  also  positively  assert  that 
there  was  no  enemy  on  our  right  or  front  to  cause  us  to  fall  back." 
(Italics  McLaws'.) 

Colonel  McGlosking-,  or  McGlashan,  who  evidently  was  at  the 
Devil's  Den,  or  to  their  right  of  it,  says,  "  It  was  now  dark,  but 
we  could  distinctly  hear  great  confusion  on  Little  Round  Top, — 
the  men  hastily  throwing  up  rock  intrenchments,  the  officers 
cursing     *     *     *." 

He  mistook  Little  for  Big  Round  Top,  where  ho  heard  the 
tumult  of  Fisher's  assault.  Further  on  he  says,  "  At  no  time  after 
the  first  struggle  were  our  lines  attacked  by  any  fresh  troops  of 
the  enemy.  *  *  *  j  positively  assert  that  no  attack  was  made 
by  General  Crawford's  Division  on  any  portion  of  the  line. 

"I  am  aware  that  Wofford,  at  the  extreme  line  of  his  advance, 
received  by  some  mistake  (?)  an  order  from  General  Longstreet  to 
retire.  *  *  *  General  Crawford  may  have  made  such  advance, 
but  there  was  no  serious  fighting  at  the  stone  fence.  Wotford's 
retreat  was  by  order,  and  executed  without  fighting  or  being  pur- 
sued, as  far  as  I  could  see,  and  was  stopped  by  General  McLaws 
in  person,  as  soon  as  the  mistake  was  discovered,  *  *  *  but 
it  left  me  powerless  to  continue  the  advance." 

McLaws.  says,  "On  our  left  was  Wofford,  but  separated  from 
us  by  the  'wheat-field,'  which  was  thinly  covered  by  straggling 
men  from  Wofford  and  Semmes,  and  possibly  a  few  of  Kershaw's." 

We  have  quoted  in  full  to  give  General  McLaws  the  advantage 
of  his  own  statements,  but  the  committee  can  hardly  comprehend 
how  honorable  gentlemen,  who  doubtless  sincerely  beheved  in 
the  correctness  of  their  statements,  could  have  allowed  the  dust 
of  time  to  so  completely  settle  on  their  memory.  The  committee 
recognizes  that  in  weighing  the  conflicting  statements,  fair- 
minded  people  will  consider  the  evidence  of  General  McLaws  as 
entitled  to  as  much  credence  as  that  of  General  Crawford ;  that 
the  Confederate  officer's  statements  equals  that  of  your  commit- 
tee. Therefore,  the  scales  being  thus  equally  balanced  in  the 
minds  of  impartial  readers,  the  committee  had  to  seek  other  testi- 
mony to  substantiate  their  position,  and  they  ai-e  happy  to  say 
that  it  is  of  such  a  nature  that  the  positive  assertions  of  General 


96  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

McLaws  will  be  laid  out  as  flat  as  the  Reserves  laid  out  his  reg-i- 
ments  and  brigades  on  those  memorable  days. 

Captain  George  AV.  H.  Stouch,  Third  Regiment,  U.  S.  Infantry, 
now  stationed  at  Fort  Shaw,  Montana  Territory,  who,  at  Gettys- 
burg, was  Sergeant-Major  of  the  Eleventh  IT.  S.  Infantry,  writes 
to  the  committee  :  "  On  the  2d  of  July  our  reg-iment,  then  be- 
longing to  the  Second  Brigade,  Second  Division,  Fifth  Corps, 
moved  from  the  northwest  slope  of  Little  Round  Top  nearly  to 
the  wheat-field,  when  it  changed  direction  to  the  left  and  was  ad- 
vancing in  this  new  direction,  when  our  right  flank  was  turned 
by  the  Confederates.  We  fell  back  in  g-reat  confusion,  and  were 
driven  to  Little  Round  Top,  followed  by  the  enemy  that  had  been 
in  our  front,  and  also  by  those  on  our  flank.  While  falling-  back, 
I,  with  Lieutenants  Petee  and  Elder,  and  others,  were  captured 
by  Woflbrd's  Brigade  and  ordered  behind  a  larg-e  rock  for  shelter 
I  could  see  distinctly  over  the  wheat-field,  and  am  certain  there 
was  no  organized  bodies  of  Confederates  in  support  of  those  who 
had  charged  past  us,  nor  were  there  any  considerable  bodies  of 
stragglers.  Some  twenty  of  the  enemy  were  with  us  behind  the 
rock  for  some  ten  minutes,  when  they  were  ordered  to  advance. 
Some  of  them  said  they  belonged  to  the  Tenth  Georgia,  Semmes' 
Brigade.  Some  twenty  minutes  after  our  capture  I  heard  the 
cheers  of  our  men  as  they  charged  from  Little  Round  Top,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  rebs  ran  i)ast  us,  and  in  such  haste  as  not  to 
take  us  Avith  them.  A  sharp-shooter,  posted  behind  a  rock,  im- 
mediately opened  fire  on  us,  killing  one  and  wounding  myself 
and  Sergeant  Price.  In  a  few  minutes,  however,  we  were  recap- 
tured by  the  Bucktails.  Seeing-  that  this  man  loaded,  aimed  and 
fired  as  rapidl^^  as  possible,  and  conceding-  even  that  it  took  two 
minutes  for  him  to  fire  the  three  shots  mentioned,  viz.,  from  the 
time  we  Avere  uncovered  by  the  enemy  until  we  were  re-captured, 
it  would  hardly  be  conceived  that  a  body  of  organized  troops, 
falling-  back  in  obedience  to  orders,  and  in  regular  formation, 
would  be  followed  by  the  enemy  at  such  a  close  interval  of  time. 
General  Crawford's  forces  at  this  time  charged  beyond  the  stone 
wall  and  re-occupied  the  ground  from  which  the  Second  Division, 
Fifth  Corps,  had  been  driven." 

Professor  M.  Jacobs,  of  the  Pennsylvania  College,  Gettysbui-g-, 
who  was  within  the  Confederate  lines  during  the  battle,  and  who 
pul)lished  "Notes  of  the  Rebel  Invasion,"  J.  B.  Lippincott  Com- 
pany, Philadelphia,  18G4,  p.  47,  in  speaking-  of  that  day,  says,  on 
page  37,  "To  us,  however,  who  were  at  the  time  Avithin  the  rebel 
lines,  the  result  seemed  doubtful.      *     *      *     At  about  G  p.  m.. 


Pennsylvania  at  Getiyshunj.  97 

it  is  true,  we  heard  '  cheeriug-'  different  from  tliat  wliich  liad  so 
often  fallen  dolefully  upon  our  ears,  and  some  of  the  rebels  said 
to  each  other,  'Listen!  the  Yankees  are  cheering-.'  But  whilst 
this — which  we  afterwards  found  to  be  the  cheering-  of  General 
Crawford's  men,  as  they  charg-ed  and  drove  the  rebels  down  the 
face  of  Little  Kound  Top — afforded  us  a  temporary  encourag-e- 
raent."     *     *     * 

We  will  now  see  what  General  McLaws  says  of  July  3d.  In 
his  article  of  Aug-ust  4th  we  find: 

"  As  for  the  assertions  that  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  drove 
Hood's  Division  back  on  the  3d,  I  know  that  no  such  thing  was 
done,  as  up  to  the  time  the  order  was  g-iven  to  retire  there  was 
no  firing-,  neither  by  Hood's  Division  nor  by  mine,  nor  was  there 
any  infantry  firing- from  the  other  side.  -^  ^  *  Hood's  Division 
retired  because  ordered  back,  and  perhaps  receded  in  more  haste 
than  mine  did,  because  the  order  for  it  to  g-o  Avas  not  g-iven,  so 
the  commander  told  me,  until  after  my  division  had  g-one ;  and, 
as  the  positions  I  abandoned  were  filled  by  the  enemy  (perhaps 
by  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves),  they  came  in  on  thefiank  of  Hood, 
and  his  left  brig-ade  had  to  g-o  in  double-quick.  That  the  Penn- 
sylvania Reserves  there  took  after  them  perhaps  is  true.  *  * 
My  division  and  Hood's  most  certainly  occupied  the  ground  from 
which  they  drove  General  Sickles'  Corps  on  the  2d  of  July  until 
after  Pickett's  charge  on  the  3d,  and  this  was  done  without  any 
attempt  being-  made  to  recover  it  by  any  opposing-  forces;  and 
the  several  Confederate  commanders  were  resting-  quietly  in  their 
occupancy  when  *  *  *  -^ve  were  ordered  back  to  the  main 
line     *     *     *." 

In  McLaws'  article  of  October  20,  he  quotes  Colonel  McGlos- 
kiug-  [McGlashan]  as  follows  : 

"On  the  3d,  about  2  p.  m.,  we  were  ordered  to  retire  to  our 
original  position,  and  did  so  quietly  and  unmolested  by  the  enemy, 
leaving-  behind  us  the  stacks  of  arms  above  mentioned." 

Further  on,  the  colonel,  speaking  of  Semmes'  and  Kershaw's 
Brig-ades,  then, stationed  in  Hose's  woods,  says  :  "  They  remained 
unmolested  in  their  positions  gained  on  the  2d  until  ordered  to 
retire  on  the  Cd  of  July.  After  they  retired,  the  enemy  advanced 
and  occupied  the  g-rounds  vacated,  but  not  entirely.  Benning-'s 
and  Anderson's  Brig-ades,  on  being-  notified  of  the  order  to  with- 
draw that  General  McLaws  had  received,  the  enemy,  coming:  on 
the  g-rouuds  vacated  by  McLaws'  Division,  were  thus  full  on  the 
flank  of  Hood's  Division,  and  the  brigades  of  Benning  and  An- 
derson being-  nearest,  had  to  vacate  their  grounds  hurriedly." 
7 


98  Pennsylvania  at  Gefti/.shi(nj. 

General  McLaws  then  says,  "From  the  foregoing-  statements 
you  will  perceive  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  say  that 
my  command  was  driven  back  by  the  advance  of  General  Craw- 
ford's forces  along  any  portion  of  the  line  held  by  me  on  the  2d 
of  July  or  on  the  3d;  but,  on  the  contrary,  whatever  retrograde 
movement  was  made  was  done  by  order  of  authority  superior  to 
those  immediately  commanding  the  troops  which  retired." 

In  refutation,  to  all  these  denials  of  General  McLaws  and  his 
officers,  the  committee  states  that,  in  answer  to  their  inquiry, 
Brigadier-General  R.  C.  Drum,  Adjutant-General  U.  S.  A.,  under 
date  of  November  29,  1887,  informs  them  that  the  flag  of  the 
Fifteenth  Georgia  Infantry  was  captured  at  Gettysburg,  July  3, 
1863,  by  Sergeant  James  B.  Thompson,  company  "  G,"  First 
Bifles  (Bucktails),  and  wsls  then  in  custody  of  his  office ;  that  a 
medal  of  honor  was  awarded  to  Sergeant  Thompson ;  and  that 
the  records  show  that  over  two  hundi'ed  prisoners  and  many  arms 
were  captured  by  Crawford's  Division  on  said  day. 

Though  this  does  not  seem  to  confirm  the  statement  of  McLaws 
that  "  they  remained  unmolested  and  in  their  position,"  it  seems 
to  corroborate  his  remark  that  they  "  had  to  vacate  their  ground 
hurriedly." 

This  rather  remarkable  statement,  taken  in  connection  with 
what  follows  it,  we  also  find  in  General  McLaws'  article  of  Octo- 
ber 20 :  "  General  Longstreet  informs  me  that  General  Crawford 
sought  an  interview  with  him  *  *  *  and  asked  him  'what 
troops  of  his  (Longstreet's)  he  (Crawford)  had  driven  back  at 
Gettysburg,'  and  that  he  (Longstreet)  replied  that  he  could  not 
tell  him,  as  he  was  not  aware  that  any  one  had  attacked  him  at 
Gettysburg." 

On  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  third  day's  fight,  at 
Gettysburg,  Generals  Longstreet,  Sickles  and  Crawford  rode  in  a 
carriage  together  over  the  battle-field. 

"Tli(^  carriage  drove  on  to  the  foot  of  Little  Bound  Top,  and 
the  talk  turned  on  the  attack  by  the  Pennsylvania  Beserves,  after 
the  failure  of  Pickett's  charge,  upon  that  portion  of  Longstreet's 
forces,  which  were  in  the  woods  opposite  the  Bound  Tops.  Gene- 
ral Crawford  described,  at  the  request  of  the  others,  the  move- 
ment of  his  force,  and  recalled  a  statement  that  has  been  made  in 
answer  to  a  published  account  of  his,  that  all  of  Longstreet's  men 
had  bejni  withdrawn  from  those  woods  before  the  attack  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Beserv(!s  Avas  made.  He  asked  General  Longstreet 
to  explain  how  this  could  be,  when  the  Pennsylvania  Beserves,  in 
recovering  the  ground  lost  on  the  second  day,  had  captured  a 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshunj.  99 

laxge  number  of  prisoners  as  well  as  the  battle-fla^  of  the  Fif- 
teenth Georg-ia. 

"'I  can  explain  that  at  once,'  replied  General  Longstreet. 
'After  Pickett's  repulse  and  the  subsequent  modilication  of  our 
lines,  it  was  determined  to  withdraw  McLaws'  and  Law's  Divi- 
sions from  those  woods  in  front  of  the  liound  Tops.  McLaws 
understood  the  order  and  complied  with  it,  but  Law  misunder- 
stood and  remained,  and  you  struck  Beuning^'s  Bi-igade  of  his 
division,  which  contained  the  Georgia reg-iments.'" — Philadelphia 
Sunday  Press,  July  8,  1888. 

The  committee,  while  submitting"  their  report,  and  believing- 
that  every  man  of  the  Reserves  who  was  in  the  battle  will  freely 
bear  testimony  to  its  correctness,  know  that  it  must  stand  the  test 
of  criticism  of  future  historians.  They  have  no  fear  of  that  criti- 
cism, but  submit  it  with  confidence  to  the  impartial. 


THE   RESERVES  AT  GETTYSBURG. 


A  BOUT  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  July  1, 1863,  the  Penn- 

/  \       sylvania  Reserves  crossed  the  line,  and  entering  the  State 

i.    A.     laid  down  in  a  wood.     The  division  was  commanded  by 

Brigadier-General  S.  Wylie   Crawford,  IT.  S.  Volunteers,  Major 

U.  S.  Ai-my.     His  staff  consisted  of, — 

Major  James  P.  Speer,  Acting-  Assistant  Inspector-General. 

Captain  R.  T.  Auchmuty,  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

Captain  Louis  Livingston,  Additional  Aide-de-Camp. 

Lieutenant  Richard  P.  Henderson,  Aide-de-Camp. 

Lieutenant  William  Harding,  Ordnance  Officer. 

Captain  Philip  L.  Fox,  Assistant  Quartermaster. 

Major  Louis  W.  Read,  Surgeon  and  Medical  Director. 

The  brigades  were  : 

The  First,  Colonel  William  McCandless,  Second  Reserve,  with 
staff  as  follows : 

Captain  Joseph  R.  T.  Coates,  First  Reserve,  Acting  Assistant 
Inspector-General. 

Lieutenant  William  A.  Hoy  t.  Second  Reserve,  Acting  Assistant 
Adjutant-General. 

Lieutenant  John  Taylor,  Second  Reserve,  Aide-de-Camp. 

Lieutenant  James  B.  Goodman,  Sixth  Reserve,  Aide-de-Camp. 

Lieutenant  John  A.  Waggoner,  First  Reserve,  Brigade  Quarter- 
master. 


100  Pennsylvania  at  Gcff)/sbur(j. 

Lieutenaut  A.  A.  Scudder,  Sixth  Reserve,  Brig-ade  Commisoary. 

The  res'imeuts  were  as  follows : 

First  Iliries,  "  Bucktails,"  Colonel  Charles  Frederick  Taylor. 

First  Infantry,  Colonel  William  Cooper  Talley 

Second  Infantry,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Georg-e  A.  Woodward. 

Sixth  Infantry,  Colonel  Wellincfton  H.  Ent. 

The  Third,*  Colonel  Joseph  AY.  Fisher,  Fifth  Reserve,  with 
staff  as  follows : 

Captain  Hartley  Howard,  Acting-  Assistant  Inspector-General. 

Lieutenant  John  L.  W'rig-ht,  Acting- Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

Lieutenant  Charles  K.  Chamberlain,  Aide-de-Camp. 

Lieutenant  AVilliam  H.  H.  Kern,  Aide  de-Camp. 

Captain  Georg-e  Norris,  Brigade  Quartermaster. 

Lieutenant  Samuel  Eajius,  Brigade  Commissary. 

Major  Joseph  A.  Phillips,  Brig-ade  Surg-eon. 

The  regiments  were  as  follows : 

Fifth  Infantry,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Georg-e  Dare. 

Ninth  Infantry,  Lieutenant-Colonel  James  McK.  Snodg-rass 

Tenth  Infantry,  Colonel  Adoniram  J.  Warner. 

Eleventh  Infantry,  Colonel  Samuel  M.  Jackson. 

Twelfth  lufanti-y.  Colonel  Martin  D.  Hardin,  U.  S.  Ai-my. 

At  dark  that  night  the  division  was  put  in  motion,  and  after  a 
rapid  and  fatig-uing-  march,  near  daylig-ht  Avere  laid  to  rest,  but 
hardly  an  eye  closed  ere  the  drums  of  reveille  beat.  While  in 
motion  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  the  First  Corps  and  the  death 
of  General  Reynolds  f  was  received,  depressing-  the  spirits  of  the 
men,  but  strengthening-  their  resolutions  for  the  fight.  At  noon, 
after  marching  forty  miles  with  but  two  hours'  sleep,  we  reached 
Rock  Creek,  and,  filing  to  the  left  from  the  Baltimore  pike,  joined 
our  corps,  the  Fifth,  Major-General  Sykes,  in  rear  and  in  support 
of  the  right  of  the  line  of  battle. 

*Tlio  Second  Brijrafle,  Colonel  Horatio  Ci.  Sickel,  Third  Reserve,  was  de- 
tained by  the  authorities  within  the  defenses  of  Washington.  It  participated 
with  lienor  in  General  George  Crook's  remarkable  campaign  in  West  Vir- 
ginia. Colonel  Sickel  was  promoted  Brevet  Major-General  U.  S.  V.,  and 
was  severely  wounded  near  tiie  close  of  the  war. 

]  In  the  ami)ulance-wagon  of  the  First  Brigade  was  secretly  stored  a  mag- 
nificent sword  for  presentation  to  General  Reynolds.  The  General  had  con- 
sented to  receive  it  upon  being  assured  it  was  from  the  enlisted  men 
only  of  that  brigade,  and  that  noodicer  would  be  connected  witli  it.  A  note 
was  addressed  asking  him,  in  the  lull  of  the  coining  battle,  to  receive  the 
gift  direct  from  the  boys,  one  being  chosen  from  each  regiment  to  await  an 
opportuniiy  to  i»rcsent  it  to  him  on  the  field.  Subsequently  it  was  presented 
by  Sergeant  W.  Mayes  Grier,  Fiftii  Regiment,  to  the  general's  sister,  the 
wife  of  Captain  Henry  Landis. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysbmrj.  101 

A-bout  4  o'clock,  General  Crawford,  seeing-  the  First  and  Second 
Divisions  of  our  corps  moving-  to  tlie  left,  followed  thi'ougli  the 
woods  to  the  cross-road  leading  to  the  Emmitsburg  road.  Here 
the  division  was  massed  in  the  right  rear  of  Little  Round  Top, 
in  and  near  the  old  brier  patch.  Soon  after  General  Crawford, 
by  order,  sent  the  Third  Brigade,  Colonel  Fisher's,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Eleventh  Reserve,  to  Big  Round  Top  to  succor 
General  Vincent,  they  marching-  by  the  left  flank.  At  the  same 
time  the  First  Brigade,  Colonel  McCandless,  was  moved  to  the 
western  slope  of  Little  Round  Top  and  massed  in  column  of  regi- 
ment, left  in  front,  the  Eleventh  Reserve  being  the  head  of  the 
column. 

Little  Round  Top,  rising  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet  above 
the.  general  water-level  of  the  streams  Avliich  drain  the  valley  at 
its  base,  like  Big  Round  Top,  nearly  south  of  it  and  four  hundred 
feet  high,  is  of  volcanic  orig-in,  crowned  Avith  wood  growing  amid 
bowlders  of  syenite.  The  two  hills,  seven  hundred  yards  from 
crest  to  crest,  are  separated  by  a  deep  rocky  depression,  and  form 
perfect  forts  covering  our  left  flank,  they  being  the  key-points  of 
the  whole  battle-field.  The  western  slope  of  Little  Round  Top 
sinks  to  a  little  stream  called  Plum  Run,  which  drains  a  swam[)y 
meadow.  This  run  g-radually  assumes  the  character  of  a  rivulet 
as  it  enters  the  precincts  of  the  Devil's  Den,  another  chaotic  dis- 
tribution of  bowlders.  The  "Den,"  in  an  angle  of  this  and  a  con- 
tributor3'^  stream  that  flows  from  Seminary  Ridge,  is  one  hundred 
and  eighty  feet  above  the  water-level  and  five  hundred  j^ards  due 
west  of  Little  Round  Top.  Its  eastern  slope  is  steep;  its  Avost- 
ern,  prolonged  as  a  ridge.  Its  northern  extremity  is  composed  of 
huge  rocks  and  bowlders,  forming  innumerable  crevices  and  holes, 
from  the  largest  of  which  it  derives  its  name.  Plum  Run  Valley, 
thi'ee  hundred  and  fifty  yards  broad,  is  marshy  but  strewed  with 
bowlders,  as  is  also  the  slopes  of  the  Round  Tops.  These  afford 
lurking-places  for  a  multitude  of  sharp-shooters,  Avhom,  from  the 
difficulties  of  the  ground,  it  Avas  impossible  to  dislodge,  so  that 
at  the  close  of  the  battle  these  hiding-places,  and  especially  the 
"Den,"  were  filled  with  dead  and  wounded  men  of  the  contending 
armies.  Extending  northward  from  the  "Den,"  beyond  and  on 
the  western  side  of  Plum  Run  Valley  and  partially  between  the 
valley  and  the  wheat-field,  is  a  low  ridge  terminating  in  "  Houck's 
Hill."  From  near  the  "Den"  a  stone  Avall  runs  over  the  "hill,' 
through  the  level  and  beyond  the  "cross-road,"  it  bordering  on 
the  then  eastern  edge  of  Trostle's  woods.  This  wall,  which  runs 
nearly  northeast  on  the  wheat-field  side,  was  fringed  witli  heavy 


102  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

timber  from  the  "Den"  to  the  woods  at  the  "cross-road."  The 
<listance  from  the  "  Den  "  to  the  "  cross-road  "  is  five  hundred  and 
eighty -three  yards.  This  "  cross-road,"  skirting-  the  northern  slope 
of  Little  Round  Top,  extends  northwesterly  to  the  Emmitsburg 
road,  in  the  southeasterly  intersection  of  which  is  the  peach-orchard, 
fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  Little  Round  Top.  This 
"  cross-road  "  separates  the  wheat-field  from  Trostle's  woods.  This 
woods,  four  hundred  yards  long,  is  separated  at  its  western  end 
by  the  "cross-road"  and  a  brief  interval  from  Rose's  woods,  which 
sweeps  to  the  southerly  and  to  the  easterly  back  to  Devil's  Den, 
enclosing  the  wheat-field  on  the  westerly  and  southerly  sides.  The 
wheat-field  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  yards  along  the  stone 
wall,  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  yards  next  to  Trostle's  woods, 
four  hundred  and  forty-four  yards  along  Rose's  woods,  and  five 
hundred  yards  on  the  southwesterly  side,  containing  about  twenty- 
five  acres. 

Into  the  depression  between  the  Round  Tops,  Law's  Brigade  of 
Alabamians,  supported  by  Robertson's  Texans,  had  forced  them- 
selves, and  were  advancing  to  the  possession  of  the  Tops,  when 
they  were  met  by  Vincent's  Brigade  of  Barnes'  Division  of  our 
corps,  that  had  been  posted  there  by  General  Warren,  where  the 
struggle  became  severe  and  protracted. 

As  before  stated,  the  Third  Brigade  had  gone  to  the  assistance 
of  Vincent,  and  the  First  was  massed  on  Little  Round  Top ;  but 
a  very  short  time  after  these  movements  were  made  the  situa- 
tion in  our  front  changed  rapidly.  Sickles,  who  had  been  severely 
wounded,  and  avIio  had  been  struggling  for  hours  on  his  line, 
extending  from  the  Devil's  Den  around  to  the  wheat-field  and  be- 
yond the  peach-orchard,  was  at  last  overpowered  and  swept  away. 
Ayres'  Division  of  regulars  of  our  corps,  which  had  been  sent  to 
his  aid,  had  gallantly  held  the  stone  wall,  but  was  driven  from  it 
and  forced  over  the  valley.  All  the  Union  lines  in  our  front  were 
irrevocably  broken.  The  valley  was  covered  with  fugitives  from 
all  divisions,  who  rushed  through  our  lines  and  along  the  road  to 
the  rear.  Fragments  of  regiments  came  back  in  disorder  and  with- 
<^ut  arms.  A  section  of  a  German  battery,  whose  horses  had  all 
been  killed,  was  abandoned  by  tlid  gunners  immediately  in  front 
of  the  right  and  left  of  the  Eleventh  and  Sixth  Reserves,  and  for 
a  time  all  seemed  lost  Close  on  these  fugitives  came  the  enemy, 
liis  lines  irregular  but  massed  here  and  there  and  his  colors  flying. 

While  this  scene  was  passing  before  our  eyes,  the  brigade,  Mc- 
Candless',  with  the  Eleventh  Reserve  of  Fisher's  Brigade,  formed 
into  two  lines,  the  first  being  composed  of  the  Sixth  on  the  right, 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  103 

with  their  left  resting-  on  the  "cross-road,"  the  Eleventh  in  the 
center,  and  the  First  on  the  left.  The  second  line  was  massed  on 
the  first;  the  Second  Reserve  on  the  rig-ht,  and  the  Bucktails  on 
the  left.  Before  this  movement  could  be  fully  executed,  our  front 
was  practically  uncovered  by  the  fug-itives,  and  the  enemy,  recog- 
nizing the  unexpected  obstacle,  came  direct  for  us.  The  first  line 
opened  a  destructive  fire  at  short  range,  the  Eleventh  using  "buck 
and  ball,"  some  of  their  muskets  having  the  buckshot  of  several 
cartridges  in  them. 

The  brigade  was  still  left  in  front,  facing  by  the  rear  ranks. 
In  fact,  so  sudden  had  been  the  change  in  our  front,  we  had  not 
time  to  assume  our  proper  formation.  There  cannot  be  the  least 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  those  who  knew  the  exact  state  of  affairs 
upon  the  field  at  that  time,  that  a  few  moments  delay  in  our  arrival 
on  Little  Round  Top,  the  key  of  the  field  would  have  been  lost, 
and  very  probably  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  would  have  closed 
that  nig-ht.  On  the  left  of  the  second  line.  Colonel  Taylor,  not 
realizing  the  position,  undertook  to  countermarch  the  Bucktails, 
which  movement  was  also  attempted  by  the  Second,  but  in  the 
confusion  of  the  movement  they  suddenly  found  themselves  con- 
fronted and  mixed  up  with  the  charging  enemy.  In  the  short 
but  desperate  melee  that  followed,  the  g-reater  part  of  these  two 
reg"iments  charged  without  firing  a  shot.  So  far  up  the  slope  were 
the  enemy,  that  the  gunners  of  Hazlett's  Battery  on  the  crest 
were  preparing  to  spike  their  guns,  but  this  movement  encour- 
aged them  not  to  do  so.  The  rig-ht  of  the  line  had  fired  three  or 
four  rounds,  when  Crawford  called  on  the  men,  "in  the  name  of 
Pennsylvania,"  to  charge.  A  loud  cheer  broke  from  the  boys  as 
down  the  slope  they  moved,  and  breaking-  into  a  double-quick 
they  swept  all  before  them  over  the  valley  and  up  to  the  stone 
wall,  where  a  short  but  desperate  struggle  ensued.  But  soon  thek 
banners  mounted  over  it  and  into  the  wheat-field,  where,  by  orders, 
they  halted.  On  the  slope  and  in  crossing  the  valley  the  Buck- 
tails  and  Second  inclined  to  the  left  to  meet  a  heavy  fire  coming 
from  that  direction,  thus  extending  our  line  to  the  full  brigade 
front.  So  heavy  was  this  fire,  and  so  threatening  were  the  enemy 
on  our  left,  that  four  companiesof  the  Bucktails,  under  their  major, 
dropped  behind  some  rocks  which  afforded  some  protection  to  that 
flank.  The  other  six  companies  advanced  over  "Houck's  Hill" 
in  line  with  the  brigade,  until  they  took  and  crossed  the  stone 
wall  where  Colonel  Taylor  fell,  shot  through  the  heart.  Colonel 
Taylor  and  several  officers,  Avith  fifteen  or  twenty  men,  were  on 
the  extreme  left  at  the  time,  and  had  just  discovered  some  two 


104  Pennsylvania  at  Getty sbiirg. 

or  three  hundred  of  the  enemy  but  a  short  distance  away.  He 
promptly'  demanded  tlieir  surrender,  when  nearly  every  man  threw 
down  his  arms.  Just  then  a  Confederate  in  the  rear  cried  out, 
with  an  oath,  "I'll  never  surrender  to  a  corporal's  guard."  Most 
of  them  a.g-ain  grasped  their  arms,  and  it  was  by  this  fire  the  colo- 
nel was  killed.  The  quick  fire  of  the  breech-loading-  rifles  induced 
some  thirty  or  forty  to  surrender,  the  others  retreating  to  the 
Devil's  Den. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Niles  being  severely  Avounded,  Major  Harts- 
horne  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  "Bucktails,"  and  sent 
Captain  Kinsey  with  his  company  to  the  left  to  throw  out  skir- 
mishers at  right  angles  with  the  regiment.  As  they  approached 
the  "  Den  "  they  were  met  with  a  heavy  fire,  and  the  men  taking 
cover,  a  lively  skirmish  ensued.  Soon  after  several  shells  ex- 
ploded in  their  midst,  followed  by  a  volley  from  the  enemy.  Cap- 
tain Kinsey  was  severely  wounded  by  a  shell,  and  several  men 
were  killed  and  wounded.  It  now  being  dark  the  line  was  Avith- 
drawn  a  considerable  distance,  and  a  strong  picket  established  on 
the  left  flank  and  rear.  A  brisk  fire  Avas  kept  up  along  the  left 
of  the  line  until  about  ten  o'clock,  Avlien  it  ceased,  seemingly  by 
mutual  consent. 

We  Avere  then  far  in  advance  of  our  main  line,  Avithout  imme- 
diate support,  Avith  the  enemy  in  force  on  our  left  rear,  and  a 
heavy  Avood  on  our  right  front,  extending  up  to  the  enemy's  line, 
affording-  a  covered  approach.  A  strong  line  of  pickets  were 
throAvn  out  into  the  Avheat-field  and  Avood  in  front,  and  on  both 
right  and  left  fianks,  Avell  to  the  rear.  Colonel  Jackson,  of  the 
Eleventh,  sent  Captain  Mills  Avitli  a  portion  of  his  company  to 
prevent  the  enemy  removing  an  abandoned  battery  through  the 
night.  The  Avhole  line  lay  doAvn  behind  the  stone  Avail  and  took 
such  rest  as  they  could  under  the  circumstances.  General  CraAv- 
ford  and  stuff  slept  that  night  with  the  brigade.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  AVoodAvard,  on  account  of  Avounds  received  at  Glendah;, 
Avas  unal^le  to  accompany  his  regiment  from  Little  Eound  Top, 
but  slept  that  night  at  the  stone  Avail.  The  regiment  in  its  charges 
Avas  led  by  Major  P.  McDonough. 

Nearly  one-half  our  loss  during  the  engagement  Avas  from  the 
severity  of  the  enemy's  fire  before  Ave  charged.  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Porter  and  Lieutenant  Fulton  and  a  number  of  men  were 
Avounded,  and  Lieutenant  John  O'Harra  Wood  and  scA'cral  men 
oi  tli(!  EUncaith  Avere  killed  before  they  delivered  tlunr  first  volley. 
The  same  to  a  less  extent  occurred  in  all  the  regiments.  AVh<m 
the  section  of  the  battery  Avas  abandoned  on  our  right-front  the 


PennsT/lvania  at  GeHysburg.  105 

officer  in  command  ordered  the  i?nns  to  be  spiked.  This  was  pre- 
vented by  Lieutenant  John  Mc Williams,  of  the  Sixth.  Early  the 
next  morning-  the  captaiu  of  the  battery  came  over  to  the  stone 
wall  and  said,  "The  Pennsylvania  Reserves  saved  mine  pattery, 

py .     I  g-ets  yoii  fellers  all  drunk."     His  good  intentions  were 

duly  applauded. 

About  the  time  Fisher  was  sent  to  the  left,  Strong-  Vincent,  the 
g-eneral  commanding  at  that  point,  Avas  mortally  wounded,  and 
General  Stej^hen  H.  Weed,  commanding-  a  brigade,  and  Captain 
Hazlett,  the  battery  on  Little  liound  Top,  were  killed.  Colonel 
liice  had  succeeded  to  the  command.  The  left  of  his  line  was 
resting-  just  at  the  eastern  edg-e  of  the  valley  or  depression  be- 
tween the  Round  Tops.  Fisher  placed  the  Fifth  and  Twelfth 
Reserves  immediately  in  the  rear  of  this  line,  and  the  Eighth, 
Ninth  and  Tenth  across  the  depression,  covering-  Rice's  left  flank. 
The  severe  fig-hiug-  at  this  point  Avas  over,  the  enemy  repulsed, 
appearing-  to  shift  to  their  left,  on  to  Little  Round  Top.  Colonel 
Fisher,  in  a  communication  to  the  committee,  says :  "  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  Big-  Round  Top  was  in  possession  of  the  enemy's 
sharp-shooters,  and  seeing-  the  annoyance  they  Avere  to  us,  and 
the  g-reat  importance  of  the  position,  as  a  key  of  our  position,  I 
said  to  Colonel  Rice,  '  I  will  take  that  hill  to-uig-ht.'  To  this  propo- 
sition he  assented,  and  proposed  joining  in  the  undertaking. 
Seeing  that  three  regiments  were  all  that  could  be  conveniently 
employed,  and  having  but  two  regiments  that  I  could  use  without 
weakening  Rice's  support.  Colonel  Rice  directed  Colonel  Cham- 
berlain, Avith  the  Twentieth  Maine,  to  report  to  me.  Learning 
that  this  regiment  Avas  armed  Avitli  Springfield  rifies,  I  directed 
Chamberlain  to  deploy  it  as  skirmishers,  as  my  regiments,  the 
Fifth,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dare,  and  the  Twelfth,  Colonel  Hardin, 
Avere  armed  Avith  altered  Harper's  Ferry  muskets.  In  the  m^au- 
time  I  had  sent  staff  officers  to  report  to  Generals  Sykes  and 
CraAvford  my  proposed  movements.  General  CraAvford,  hoAvever^ 
arriving  upon  the  grounds  and  approving  my  plan,  directed  me 
to  'move  up  at  once.'  The  line  advanced  as  best  it  could  in  the 
dark,  up  the  rough  side,  driving  the  enemy  before  it  and  captur- 
ing over  thirty  prisoners,  from  some  of  Avhom  they  learned  that 
'they  Avere  just  in  time,'  as  the  Confederates  had  sent  them  Avord 
to  hold  the  hill,  as  they  Avere  organizing  a  force  to  occupy  it." 
Colonel  Fisher  remained  in  this  position  until  the  morning  of  the 
4th,  Avhen  he  Avas  relieved  by  General  Wright,  of  the  Sixth  Corps. 

At  the  first  daAVnof  light  the  next  morning,  the  3d,  skirmishing 
commenced  in  our  front  and  Avas  continued  throughout  the  day, 


106  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyslnirg. 

^ve  remainiuo-  behind  the  stoue  wall  and  the  trees  fring-ing  its 
front,  whilst  the  rebs,  concealed  in  the  thick  foliag-e  of  the  branches 
upon  their  line,  annoyed  us  considerably.  On  our  extreme  left, 
fronting  the  Devil's  Den,  things  were  not  so  quiet.  Captains 
Bell  and  Wolft'  were  sent  out  to  develop  the  enemy's  strength^ 
and  when  deployed  as  skirmishers,  as  they  approached  the  edge 
of  the  "  Den,"  the  fire  became  severe,  indicating  a  heavj'  force, 
strong-ly  posted.  Taking  cover,  a  rapid  fire  was  opened  in  the 
hope  of  driving  the  enemy  from  his  ]30sition,  or  forcing  him  to 
come  out  from  his  stronghold  to  drive  them  off.  Armed  with  breech- 
loaders and  Spencer  repeating-rifles,  any  object  that  will  cover 
the  body  is  all  the  protection  a  man  needs,  as  he  is  not  exposed 
in  loading,  and  this  superiority  in  the  Bucktails'  arms  soon  g-ave 
them  a  decided  advantag-e.  The  enemy  were  not  long-  in  discov- 
ering this,  and  in  superior  force  made  a  dash  from  the  "Den,'' 
and  forced  the  boys  to  make  a  rapid  retreat  to  prevent  the  cap- 
ture of  the  entire  party.  In  this  charge  the  loss  was  heavy,  and 
Captain  Bell  received  a  wound  in  the  hip  which  caused  the  loss 
of  a  leg.  The  enemy,  strang-e  to  say,  did  not  follow  up  their  ad- 
vantage. Thrust  out,  as  we  were,  far  in  advance  of  our  line  of 
battle,  with  both  flanks  exposed,  tliej^  should,  during  the  night, 
have  attempted  to  flank  us  out  and  drive  us  down  the  wall. 
Whether  they  would  have  succeeded  or  not  is  problematic,  yet 
it  seems  strange  they  should  have  allowed  our  little  brigade  to 
occupy  that  advanced  position  without  attempting-  our  dislodge- 
ment.  Lieutenant  Kratzer  was  then  sent  out  with  thirty  volun- 
teers. Starting-  on  a  run,  they  pressed  up  close  to  the  "Den," 
when  a  volley  killed  and  wounded  one  third  of  them.  The  enemy 
called  upon  them  to  surrender,  but  the  men  took  cover  and  fired 
at  every  mark  that  presented  itself,  until  the  brigade  moved. 

The  battle-field  is  not  always  devoid  of  amusing  incidents.  On 
the  right,  two  men  of  the  Sixth  found  a  horse  tied  in  the  wood  in 
front  of  them,  which  they  brought  in.  A  youngster  named  Dan 
Cole,  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  picket-firing,  mounted  the  ani- 
mal and  rode  down  the  front  of  the  brigade  line,  playing  "Buck 
McCandless."  He  appealed  in  the  most  pathetic  tones  to  the 
boys  to  rememl)er  their  "daddies"  and  "mammies"  and  "best 
gal,"  and  nciver  to  desert  the  old  flag  as  long-  as  there  was  a  ration 
left.  He  created  much  amusement  until  the  horse  bounced  him 
oft'  and  scampered  over  to  the  rebels,  when  the  cheers  and  shouts 
of  both  lines  caiised  us  to  forget  for  the  moment  we  were  enemies. 

The  tumult  of  a  c;onflict  on  our  extreme  right  was  heard  from 
early  dawn  until  near  noon,  occasioned  by  the  Union  troops  re- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  107 

g-aining-  their  lost  ground  of  the  evening  before.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  stillness  over  the  whole  field — the  ominous  calm  that 
presages  a  deadly  storm — when  at  one  o'clock  the  signal  guns  of 
the  enemy  fired,  and  then  opened  that  grand  cannonade  in  which 
two  hundred  and  twenty-one  guns*  hurled  their  missiles  through 
the  air.  The  enemy's  front  for  two  miles  was  soon  covered  with 
smoke,  through  which  the  flashes  were  incessant,  whilst  the  air 
seemed  filled  with  bursting  shells  and  their  whirling  fragments. 
The  Union  line  blazed  like  a  volcano,  and  the  tiuindor  of  the  guns 
seemed  like  one  prolonged  sound.  Suddenly  the  fire  on  both 
sides  ceased,  and  then  Pickett's  charge  was  made.  From  the 
position  we  occupied,  in  advance  of  our  line'  of  battle,  we  had  a 
full  view  as  they  swept  by  of  this  the  most  grand  and  thrilling 
sight  the  eye  of  man  could  rest  on.  That  magnificent  mass  of 
living  valor,  so  full  of  hope  and  resolution,  so  soon  to  be  swept 
back,  crushed,  torn  and  bleeding,  awakened  in  us  mingled  feel- 
ings of  admiration  and  apprehension,  for  it  seemed  like  an  irre- 
sistible avalanche.  Those  gallant  lines  never  faltered,  but,  lost 
to  view  in  the  smoke  of  infantry,  they  melted  away,  and  the  glad 
earth  drank  their  blood.  Disorganized  stragglers  and  fragments 
could  only  be  seen  coming  back,  and  they  followed  by  a  relentless 
fire. 

During  this  time  firing  ceased  in  our  front,  all  eyes  awaiting 
the  result  that  was  to  decide  the  fate  of  the  battle.  In  spite  of 
the  watchfulness  of  the  officers,  men  from  every  regiment  slipped 
away  and  soon  formed  a  line  of  sharp-shooters  upon  the  flank  of 
the  charging  column.  Officers  were  sent  to  drive  them  back,  but 
the  boys  resorted  to  ingenious  artifices  to  avoid  or  deceive  them, 
some  throwing  themselves  upon  the  ground  and  imitating  the 
agonies  of  death.  Several  of  them  were  w'ounded,  and  at  least 
one  killed,  but  tlie}^  inflicted  considerable  loss  upon  the  enemy, 
whom  they  shot  down  as  they  marched  so  gallantly  on  or  rushed 
back  in  flight. 

The  defeat  of  Pickett  was  followed  by  a  breathless  lull,  soon  to 
be  broken  by  a  revengeful  fire  from  the  battery  and  sharp-shooters 
in  our  front.  Major-General  Meade,  together  with  Generals  Sykes, 
Warren,  Sedgwick,  Pleasonton  and  Crawford,  soon  gathered  on 
the  summit  of  Little  Round  Top,  and  the  general-in-chief,  becom- 
ing impatient  at  this  fire,  ordered  General  Crawford  to  clean  out 
the  woods  in  his  front.  Crawford  rode  to  the  stone  wall  and  gave 
the  necessary  orders.     During  the  night  a  section  of  a  battery 

*  One  hundred  and  fifty  Confederate  and  seventy-one  Union  guns.  Gen- 
eral H.  J.  Hunt's  article  in  tlie  Century  Magazine,  January,  1887,  p.  452. 


108  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

had  been  posted  near  the  cross-road  iu  the  iuterval  between  the 
Trestle's  aud  Eose's  woods  on  the  west  side  of  tlie  wheat-held, 
four  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  our  immediate  front.  Tlirou<;h 
the  da}'^  our  sharp-sho(jters  had  severely  left  it  alone,  as  we  did 
not  wish  to  provoke  an  unequal  contest,  and  it  only  occasionally 
fired  at  us.  This  battery  it  was  necessary  to  silence ;  McCandless' 
brig-ade  leaped  over  the  stone  wall  and  deliberately  dressed  their 
lines.  The  battery  opened  upon  them  vigorously,  when  they  lay 
down.  Soon  the  g-unners,  becoming-  tired  of  firing  at  the  air, 
ceased.  Then  the  brigade  rose  to  its  feet  and  slowly  moved  to 
the  left  some  twenty  paces.  Again  the  guns  opened  and  Ave  laid 
ourselves  quietly  down.  This  operation  of  see-sawing  to  the  right 
and  left  was  continued,  successfully  drawing  the  harmless  fire  of 
the  guns,  while  the  Sixth  Reserve  crept  \\\)  through  Trostle's  woods 
to  attempt  its  capture.  But  the  enemy  discovered  the  movement, 
and,  hastily  limbering  up,  fled,  the  Sixth  opening  fire  to  give  them 
a  g-ood  start.  Their  infantry  support,  after  a  brisk  skirmish,  was 
also  driven  in.  Upon  hearing"  and  seeing  the  muskets  of  the 
Sixth,  McCandless  marched  the  balance  of  his  brigade  by  the 
right  flank,  and  filing  left,  formed  line  of  battle,  aud  deploying 
skirmishers  to  the  front,  right  and  left,  charged  diagonally  over 
the  wheat  field  to  the  southwest,  receiving  the  enemy's  fire  from 
three  sides.  Striking-  near  the  south  end  of  Rose's  woods,  they 
half-wheeled  to  the  right,  opened  fire,  and  charged  up  and  through 
it  to  the  crest,  striking  and  piercing  their  line,  the  enemy,  aftei  a 
sharp  resistance,  breaking  mostly  towards  the  peach-orchard.  The 
ground  was  strewed  with  the  dead  of  De  Trobriand's  command. 
McCandless,  learning-  the  left  flank  of  the  Bucktails,  which  held 
the  left  of  the  line,  was  being  attacked,  changed  the  direction  of 
that  regiment  by  the  left  flank  to  the  rear,  which  movement  brought 
its  front  facing  the  enemy  moving  upon  them  from  this  direction. 
At  the  same  time,  placing  the  balance  of  the  brigade  in  eolunnis 
of  regiments  in  the  rear,  he  charged  with  his  entire  force  in  this 
new  direction.  Down  through  the  low  land  and  np  throug-li  the 
rising  ground  and  woods  went  the  brigade,  they  striking  tht^  Fif- 
teenth Georgia  Infantry  j^osted  behind  a  temporary  bre;ist-woik 
of  i-ails,  the  Bucktails  capturing-  their  flag  and  many  ])risoners. 
scattering  the  remainder  in  flight. 

The  Reserves  never  liked  charging  in  column  of  regiments,  and 
in  this  case,  as  in  every  similar  one,  the  rear  reg-iments,  Avithout 
orders,  puslunl  to  the  front,  which  soon  changed  into  that  of  bri- 
g-ade  line  of  battle.  The  right  being  thus  extended,  the  whole 
line  swept  upon  their  flank,  doubling  up  aud  throwing-  oue  regi- 


PeyinHylvama  at  Gettysburg.  109 

ment  upon  another,  creating-  utter  confusion  and  demoralization. 
Tiiey  lied  across  a  ravine  at  the  corner  of  a  woods  and  near  Slyder's 
stone  house.  Here  we  discovered  a  brigade  drawn  up  across 
our  front  about  three  hundred  yards  distant.  Our  impetuous 
charge  had  expended  itself,  and  the  men  as  they  came  up  were 
quickly  got  into  line,  and  they  were  g-athering  fast,  but  before 
forty  men  were  in  line,  to  our  surprise,  we  distinctly  heard  the 
orders  pass  down  the  line  of  "Left  face,  march!"  The  rear  of 
their  line,  their  front  facing- westward,  had  not  moved  twenty  paces 
before  they  broke,  by  order,  into  a  '"double-quick,"  carrying-  their 
banners  at  a  trail.  Had  this  brigade  resolutely  charged,  they 
would  have  driven  the  head  of  our  long-,  scattered  column  back 
for  some  distance,  until  we  could  have  got  ourselves  in  shape  to 
properly  resist  them,  but  such  was  our  sudden  appearance,  and 
at  such  disadvantage  to  them,  that  they  naturally  became  de- 
moralized and  supposed  we  were  in  much  heavier  force  than  we 
really  were. 

The  Comte  de  Paris  gives  an  account  of  the  "piking  out"  of 
this  brigade,  which  he  says  was  Kershaw's,  that  Ave  cannot  re- 
frain from  adding  it,  gravely  surmising,  however,  it  was  the 
ingenious  invention  of  some  brilliant  Confederate  writer  wht) 
conceived  the  idea  of  turning-  their  somewhat  laudable  exit  into 
a  dexterous  military  manoeuver.  "Kershaw  finds  himself  iso- 
lated in  his  turn,  and  believing  himself  already  surrounded,  in 
order  to  escape  from  the  enemy  resorts  to  a  manoeuver  Avhich  Ave 
mention  on  account  of,  as  the  count  naively  says,  "  'its  singular- 
ity.' He  sends  the  color-bearers  of  his  regiments  to  plant  their 
flag-s  a  few  hundred  yards  in  the  right-rear,  across  the  tributary 
of  Plum  Run,  subsequently  ordering  his  soldiers  to  break  ranks 
and  reform  in  this  new  position."  So  sudden  Avas  the  charge  that 
we  killed  and  captured  their  butchers  Avhile  engaged  in  skinning 
beeves,  and  also  a  fatigue  party,  avIio  Avere  burying  their  dead. 
We  recaptured  the  greater  part  of  the  battle-field  lost  by  Sickles, 
Avith  its  thousands  of  dead  and  Avounded,  captured  the  colors  of 
the  Fifteenth  Georgia,  Avhicli  are  )iow  in  the  Adjutant-General's 
ofiice  at  Washington,  and  over  two  hundred  prisoners,  among  them 
a  lieutenant-colonel  of  a  Georgia  regiment,  and  captured  and  re- 
covered three  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty -eight  muskets,  one 
brass  twelve-pounder,  and  three  caissons.  AVith  this  charge  ended 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  The  movements  of  both  days  Avere  made 
under  the  personal  direction  and  superA'ision  of  General  Crawford. 

The  distance  charged  over  the  wheat-field  Avas  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  yards,  from  that  point  towards  Slyder's  house  six  hun- 


110  Pninsylcania  at  Geffyshmy. 

di'ed  and  sixty-six  yards — fourteeu  hundred  and  fifteen  yards  in 
all.  Taking-  them,  as  we  did  in  a  measure,  by  surprise,  and  on 
the  fiauk,  theii-  rout  was  no  disg-race  to  them,  nor  was  their  mili- 
tary honor  tarnished.  Such  occurrences  are  not  unknown  in  war. 
Those  landless  resolutes  who  had  g-allantly  performed  their  part 
on  many  hard-fought  fields,  and  who  subsequently  proved  their 
devotion  to  the  end,  cannot  be  judged  as  wanting-  in  spirit  or 
courage. 

Soon  after  we  halted,  Captain  Coates  came  with  orders  from  Gen- 
eral Crawford  for  us  to  proceed  no  farther,  and  at  this  point  we 
were  rejoined  by  the  Sixth  Reserve.  After  dark  we  retraced  our 
steps  to  the  southwestern  edge  of  Rose's  woods  and  bivouacked 
on  the  ground  where  we  first  encountered  the  enemy  and  pierced 
their  line.  Here  we  buried  our  dead,  some  seven  or  eight  in 
number,  our  wounded  having  been  removed  on  stretchers  follow- 
ing the  charge.  Some  distance  in  our  front  was  Rose's  spring- 
house,  in  which  lay  dead  a  Confederate  ofiicer  and  two  men.  From 
this  stream  we  refilled  our  canteens,  and  our  pickets,  being  con- 
cealed near  it,  captured  a  number  of  prisoners,  who  came  there  for 
the  same  purpose.  All  night  long  the  ambulances  and  stretcher- 
men  were  collecting  the  wounded,  who  had  lain  there  from  the 
afternoon  of  the  2d.  During  the  night  a  supply  of  ammunition 
was  received,  Colonel  McCandless  carrying  it  on  his  horse,  one 
hundred  and  four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty  rounds  hav- 
ing been  issued  to  the  division  during  this  battle,  and  at  2  o'clock 
the  next  morning,  the  4th,  we  moved  down  the  eastern  side  of  the 
woods  along  the  wheat-field  to  near  its  northern  border,  where  we 
entered  the  woods,  and,  moving  through  it,  lay  down  on  its  west- 
ern edge  fronting  the  peach-orchard,  with  our  right  resting  near 
the  cross-road.  Soon  after  daylight,  the  enemy's  pickets  called 
to  us  to  come  and  get  our  Avounded  who  lay  between  the  two 
lines.  Volunteers  went  out  for  that  purpose,  but,  being  fired  upon, 
returned.  Several  round-shots  were  fired  from  a  distant  battery, 
but  they  ricochetted  harmlessly  over  the  field.  The  fire  Avas  re- 
turned by  such  of  the  boys  who  felt  inclined  to  do  so;  a  skirmish- 
line  was  sent  out  to  develop  their  position,  but  the  whole  afi'air 
was  sjnritless,  and  after  10  o'clock  Ave  saAV  no  more  of  them  on 
that  field.     These  Avere  the  last  shots  fired  at  Gettysburg. 

There  was  an  abandoned  gun  and  caisson  of  a  Union  battery 
near  Trostle's  Avoods.  During  the  morning  of  tlie  3d  the  Con- 
federates attached  a  long  rope  to  the  gun  and  tried  to  pull  it 
over  the  hill  near  Trostle's  barn-yard,  but  one  of  the  Sixth,  who 
Avas  out  hunting  "  grub  "  from  the  rebels' haversacks,  discovered  the 


Ptnusylvania  at  Gettysburg.  Ill 

manoeuvre  aud,  creeping-  up,  cut  the  rope,  which  created  quite  a 
surprise  to  those  pulling-  on  it.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day, 
when  the  Sixth  attempted  the  capture  of  the  enemy's  battery, 
Company  "I"  was  sent  to  the  extreme  right  to  cover  the  house 
and  barn,  and  when  they  returned  they  brought  them  into  our 
lines. 

Company  K,  First  Reserves,  was  from  the  town  and  n(;ig-hbor- 
hood  of  Gettysburg-,  many  of  the  men  fig-hting-  within  sig-ht  of 
their  homes,  and  some  even  to  drive  the  invaders  from  their  own 
fields.  The  fathers  and  young-er  brothers  of  some  of  the  boys  ac- 
companied them  to  Little  Round  Top,  and  one  went  to  the  stone 
wall  with  us. 

When  we  advanced  across  the  wheat-field,  Brigadier-General 
Bartlett,  at  the  request  of  General  Crawford,  moved  a  reg-iment 
to  the  stone  wall,  and  threw  a  force  to  our  rig-ht  to  protect  that 
flank. 

About  noon,  being  relieved  by  a  brig-ade  of  reg-ulars,  we  moved 
back  to  the  stone  wall,  passing-  an  artillery  horse  seated  on  his 
haunches  Avith  his  front-feet  on  the  ground  and  head  erect,  just  as 
he  had  been  killed.  Against  the  wall  was  resting-  thousands  of 
muskets  picked  up  off  the  field.  Soon  after  other  troops  came 
to  the  wall,  and  we  moved  back  to  Little  Round  Top,  where 
rations  were  distributed,  and  where  we  remained  until  the  after- 
noon of  the  next  day,  the  5th ;  the  rain,  which  commenced  about 
noon  of  the  day  before,  still  continuing.  Then  we  started  on  our 
fifth  tramp  up  and  down  through  Virginia. 


ITINERARY  OF  THE  UNION  FORCES  IN  THE  GETTYSBURG 

CAMPAIGN. 


T  UNE  5. — The  Army  of  the  Potomac,  commanded  by  Major- 
I  General  Joseph  Hooker,  with  headquarters  near  Falmouth, 
I  was  posted  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahannock  River, 
•■  confronting-  the  Confederate  Ai-my  of  Northern  Virg-inia, 
under  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  mainly  concentrated  about  the 
town  of  Fredericksburg,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river.  The  sev 
eral  commands  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were  distributed  as 
follows :  First  Corps  (Reynolds')  in  the  vicinity  of  White  Oak 
Church;  Second  Corps  (Couch's)  near  Falmouth;  Third  Corps 
(Birney's)  at  Boscobel  near  Falmouth  :  Fifth  Corps,  (Meade's)  in 


112  Pcnnsyh'ania  at  Ge/ti/,sburg. 

the  vicinity  of  Banks',  United  States,  and  adjacent  fords  on  the 
Rappahannock;  Sixth  Corps  (Sedg^wick's)  near  White  Oak  Church, 
with  the  Second  Division  (Howe's)  tln'own  forward  to  Fi-anklin's 
Crossing-  of  the  Eappahannock,  a  little  below  Fredericksburg, 
near  the  mouth  of  Deep  Run ;  Eleventh  Corps  (Howard's)  near 
Brooke's  Station,  on  the  Aquia  Creek  railroad;  and  the  Twelfth 
Corps  (Slocum's)  near  Stafford  Court  House  and  Aquia  Landing-. 
The  Cavalry  Corps  (Pleasonton's,  with  headquarters  at  Manassas 
Junction)  had  two  divisions  (Duflie's  and  Gregg's)  and  the  Cav. 
airy  Reserve  Brigade,  all  under  Buford,  in  the  vicinity  of  War- 
rentou  Junction,  and  one  division  (B.  F.  Davis')  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Brooke's  Station.  The  Artillery  Reserve  (R.  O.  Tyler's) 
was  near  Falmouth. 

June  6. — Howe's  (Second)  Division,  Sixth  Army  Corps,  crossed 
the  Rappahannock  at  Franklin's  Crossing,  and,  after  a  skirmish, 
occupied  the  enemy's  rifle-pits.  Wright's  (First)  and  Newton's 
(Third)  Divisions  of  the  same  coi-ps  moved  to  the  same  point  from 
White  Oak  Church,  taking  position  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river. 

June  7. — Wright's  (First)  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  was  sent  across 
the  Rappahannock  at  Franklin's  Crossing,  relieving  Howe's  (Sec- 
ond) Division,  which  returned  to  the  north  side. 

June  S. — The  Cavalry  Corps  (Pleasonton's),  consisting  of  Bu- 
ford's  (First),  D.  McM.  Gregg's  (Third)  and  Duffie's  (Second) 
Divisions,  and  the  Regular  Reserve  Brigade,  supported  by  de- 
tachments of  infantry,  under  Generals  Adelbert  Ames  and  David 
.\.  Russell,  moved  to  Kelly's  and  Beverly  Fords  preparatoiy  to 
crossing  the  Rappahannock  on  a  reconnoissance  toward  Culjieper. 

June  9. — Newton's  (Third)  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  relieved 
Wrights  (First)  Division  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Ra]jpahannock 
at  Franklin's  Crossing.  The  cavalry  corps,  supported  by  Gen- 
erals Ames' and  Russell's  infantry,  cn)ssed  the  Rappa-hannock  at 
Kelly's  and  Beverly  Fords,  fought  the  enemy  at  or  near  Beveily 
Ford,  Brandy  Station,  and  Stevensburg,  and  recrossed  the  river 
at  Rappahannock  Station  and  Beverly  Ford. 

June  10. — The  Cavalry  Corps  took  position  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Warrenton  Junction.  Its  infantry  supports  in  the  recount )is 
sauce  of  the  day  previous  rejoined  their  respective  commauds. 
Howe's  (Second)  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  moved  from  Franklin's 
Crossing  to  Atpiia  Creek. 

June  J  I. — The  Third  Corps  marched  from  Boscobel,  near  Fal- 
mouth, to  Hartwood  Church. 

June  /''^ — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Fitzhugh's  plantation 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  113 

and  White  Oak  Church  to  Deep  Kun ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Hart- 
wood  Church  to  Bealeton,  with  Humphreys'  (Third)  Division,  ad- 
vanced to  the  Rappahannock :  i\\e  Eleventh  Corps  from  the  vicin- 
ity of  Brooke's  Station  to  Hartwood  Church;  and  Headquarters 
Cavalry  Corps  from  Manassas  Junction  to  Warreuton  Junction. 

The  advance  of  the  Confederate  Army  skirmished  with  the  Union 
troops  at  Newtown,  Cedarville  and  Middletown,  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley. 

Jrme  13. — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Deep  Run  to  Bealeton; 
the  Fifth  Corps  from  the  vicinity  of  Banks'  Ford,  via  Grove 
Church,  toward  Morrisville ;  Wright's  (Fust)  and  Newton's  (Third) 
divisions,  Sixth  Corps,  from  Franklin's  Crossing  to  Potomac 
Creek;  the  Eleventh  Corps,  from  Hartwood  Church  to  Catlett's 
Station ;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  near  Stafford  Court  House  and 
Aquia  Creek  Landing  en  route  to  Dumfries ;  Wyndham's  Brigade 
of  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  from  Warrenton  Junction  to  War- 
renton ;  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  near  Falmouth  to  Stafford 
Court  House.  McReynolds'  (Third)  Brigade,  of  Milroy's  Division, 
Eighth  Army  Corps,  marched  from  Berryville  to  Winchester. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  White  Post,  Berr3^ville,  Opequon 
Creek,  and  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  engagement  (first  day)  at  Win- 
chester, Va. 

June  (4-. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  near 
Falmouth  to  Dumfries ;  the  First  and  Third  Corps  marched  from 
Bealeton  to  Manassas  Junction ;  the  Fifth  Corps  arrived  at  Mor- 
risville and  marched  thence,  via  Bristersburg,  to  Catlett's  Station ; 
Wright's  (First)  and  NeAvton's  (Third)  divisions.  Sixth  Corps, 
moved  from  Potomac  Creek  to  Stafford  Court  House ;  the  Eleventh 
Corps  from  Catlett's  Station  to  Manassas  Junction,  and  thence 
toward  Centreville;  the  Twelfth  Corps  reached  Dumfries;  and 
the  Artillerj^  Reserve  moved  from  Stafford  Court  House  to  Wolf 
Run  Shoals.  Daniel  Tyler's  command,  of  the  Eighth  Army  Corps, 
fell  back  from  Martinsburg  to  Maryland  Heights. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  Martinsburg  and  Berryville,  and  en- 
gagement (second  day)  at  Winchester,  Va. 

June  15. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Dumfries  to  Fairfax  Station :  the  Second  Corps  (Hancock's*) 
moved  from  Falmouth  to  near  Aquia ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Cat- 
lett's Station,  via  Bristoe  Station,  to  Manassas  Junction;  the 
Sixth  Corps  from  Aquia  Creek  and  Stafford  Court  House  to  Dum- 

*  General  Hancock  assumed  command  of  the  Second  Corps  June  9,  1863, 
succeeding  General  Uouch,  who  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Susquehanna. 


114  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.    . 

fries;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Dumfries  to  Fairfax  Court  House; 
the  Cavahy  Corps  *  (except  Wyndham's  Brigade,  which  marched 
from  Warrenton  to  Manassas  Junction,  and  thence  on  the  16tii  to 
Union  Mills)  from  AVarrenton  Junction  to  Union  Mills  and  Bris- 
toe  Station;  the  Artillery  Eeserve  from  Wolf  Run  Shoals  to  Fair- 
fax Court  House ;  and  the  Eleventh  Corps  arrived  at  Centreville. 
Milroy's  (Second)  Division  of  the  Eighth  Ai-my  Corps,  evacuated 
Winchester,  and  fell  back  to  Maryland  Heights  and  Hancock,  Md. 

Combats:  Skirmish  near  Williamsport,  Md.,  and  engagement 
(third  day)  at  Winchester,  Ya. 

June  16 — The  Second  Corps  marched  from  near  Aquia,  via 
Dumfries,  to  Wolf  Run  Shoals,  on  the  Occoquan ;  the  Sixth  Corps 
fr'om  Dumfries  to  Fairfax  Station ;  and  the  Cavalry  Corps  from 
Union  Mills  and  Bristoe  Station  to  Manassas  Junction  and  Bull 
Run. 

June  17. — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Manassas  Junction 
to  Herndon  Station ;  the  Second  Corps  from  Wolf  Run  Shoals  to 
Sangster's  Station ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Manassas  Junction  to 
Centreville;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Manassas  Junction  to  Gum 
Springs;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Centre ville to  Cow-Horn  Ford, 
or  Trappe  Rock,  on  Goose  Creek ;  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from 
Fairfax  Court  House  to  near  Dranes\dlle.  The  Cavalry  Corps 
moved  from  Manassas  Junction  and  Bull  Run  to  Aldie. 

Combats:  Action  at  Aldie,  Va.,  and  skirmishes  at  Catoctin 
Creek  and  Point  of  Rocks,  Md.,  and  at  Thoroughfare  Gap  and 
Middleburg,  Va. 

June  18. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Fairfax  Station  to  Fairfax  Court  House ;  the  Sixth  Corps  from 
Fairfax  Station  to  Germantown ;  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  near 
Dranesville  to  Leesburg.  J.  I.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Brigade  advanced 
from  Aldie  to  Middleburg,  and  returned  to  a  point  midway  be- 
tween the  two  places. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  Middleburg  and  Aldie,  Va. 

June  19. — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Herndon  Station  to 
Guilford  Station;  the  Third  Corps  from  Centreville  to  Gum 
Springs;  and  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Gum  Springs  to  Aldie. 
Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  except  Mcintosh's  (late  Wyndham's) 
Brigade,  advanced  to  Middleburg.  Mcintosh's  Brigade  moved 
from  Aldie  to  Hay  Market. 

Combats :  Action  at  Middleburg,  Va. 

June  20. — The  Second  Corps  moved  from  Sangster's  Station  to 

*  By  orders  of  June  13,  1863,  this  corps  was  reduced  from  three  to  two  di- 
visions, commanded  by  Brig.  Gens.  John  Buford  and  D.  McM.  Gregg. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  115 

Centreville,  and  thence  toward  Thoroughfare  Gap;  the  Second 
Division  (Howe's),  Sixth  Corps,  from  Germantown  to  Bristoe 
Station. 

Combats :  Skirmish  at  Middletown,  Md. 

June  21. — The  Second  Corps  arrived  at  Gainesville  and  Thor- 
oughfare Gap.  The  Cavalry  Corps  (except  Mcintosh's  Brigade, 
of  Gregg's  Division),  supported  by  Barnes'  (First)  Division,  Fifth 
Corps,  marched  from  Aldie  and  Middleburg  to  Upperville.  Mc- 
intosh's Cavalry  Brigade  marched  from  Hay  Market  to  Aldie,  and 
thence  to  Upperville.  Stahel's  Division  of  Cavalry,  from  the  De- 
fenses of  Washington,  moved  from  Fairfax  Coui't  House,  via  Cen- 
treville and  Gainesville,  to  Buckland  Mills. 

Combats:  Skirmishes  at  Gaines^alle,  Thoi'oughfare  Gap,  and 
Hay  Market,  Ya.,  Frederick,  Md.,  and  engagement  at  Upper- 
ville, Va. 

June  22. — The  Cavalry  Corps  and  Barnes'  (First)  Division,  of 
the  Fifth  Corps,  returned  from  Upperville  to  Aldie.  Stahel's 
Cavalry  Division  moved  from  Buckland  MiUs,  via  New  Baltimore, 
to  Warren  ton. 

Combats:  Skirmishes  near  Dover  and  Aldie,  Va.,  and  at  Green- 
castle,  Pa. 

June  23. — Stahel's  Cavalry  Division  moved  from  Warrenton, 
via  Gainesville,  to  Fairfax  Court  House. 

June  2If.. — Newton's  (Third)  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  moved  fi'om 
Germantown  to  Centreville,  and  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Cow- 
Horn  Ford,  or  Trappe  Rock,  on  Goose  Creek,  to  the  south  bank 
of  the  Potomac  at  Edwards  Ferr3^  Stahel's  Cavalry  Division 
moved  from  Fairfax  Court  House  to  near  Dranes\411e. 

Combats:  Skirmish  at  Sharpsburg,  Md. 

June  25. — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Guilford  Station,  Va., 
to  Bamesville,  Md. ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Gum  Springs,  Va.,  to 
the  north  side  of  the  Potomac  at  Edwards  Ferry  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Monocacy ;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Edwards  Ferry,  Va., 
to  Jefferson,  Md. ;  and  the  Ai'tillery  Reseiwe  from  Fairfax  Court 
House,  Va.,  to  near  Poolesville,  Md.  These  commands  crossed 
the  Potomac  at  Edwards  Ferry.  The  Second  Corps  marched  from 
Thoroughfare  Gap  and  Gainesville  to  Gum  Springs.  Howe's 
(Second)  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  moved  from  Bristoe  Station  to 
Centreville ;  Crawford's  Division  (two  brigades)  of  Pennsylvania 
Reserves,  from  the  Defenses  of  Washington,  marched  from  Fair- 
fax Station  and  Upton's  Hill  to  Vienna.  Stannard's  Vermont 
Brigade,  from  the  Defenses  of  Washington,  left  the  mouth  of  the 
Occoquan  en  route  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.     Stahel's 


116  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Cavaliy  Division  moved  from  near  Dranesville,  Va.,  via  Young's 
Island  Ford,  on  the  Potomac,  en  route  to  Frederick,  Md. 

Combats:  Skirmishes  at  Thoroughfare  Gap  and  Hay  Market, 
Va.,  and  near  McConnellsburg-,  Pa. 

June  26. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Fairfax  Court  House,  Ya.,  via  Dranesville  and  Edwards  Ferry,  to 
Poolesville,  Md. ;  the  First  Corps  from  Barnesville  to  Jefferson, 
Md. ;  the  Second  Corps  from  Gum  Springs,  Ya.,  to  the  north  side 
of  the  Potomac  at  Edwards  Ferry;  the  Third  Corps  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Monocacy  to  Point  of  Rocks,  Md. ;  the  Fifth  Corps 
from  Aldie,  Ya.,  via  Carter's  Mills,  Leesburg-  and  Edwards  Ferry, 
to  within  four  miles  of  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy,  Md. ;  the 
Sixth  Corps  from  Germantown  and  Centreville  to  Dranesville, 
Ya. ;  the  Eleventli  Corps  from  Jefferson  to  Middletown,  Md. ;  the 
Twelfth  Corps  from  Leesburg,  Ya.,  via  Edwards  Ferry,  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Monocacy,  Md. :  and  the  Cavalry  Corps  (Buford's 
and  Gregg's  Division)  from  Aldie  to  Leesburg,  Ya.  Stahel's 
Cavalry  Division  was  en  route  between  the  Potomac  and  Fred- 
erick, Md.  Crawford's  Pennsy lyania  Reserves  moved  from  Yienna 
to  Goose  Creek,  Ya. 

Combats :  Skirmish  near  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

June  ,'?7.— Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Pooles\alle  to  Frederick,  Md. ;  the  First  Corps  from  Jefferson  to 
Middletown,  Md. ;  the  Second  Corps  from  near  Edwards  Ferry, 
via  Poolesville  to  Barnesville,  Md. ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Point 
of  Rocks  via  Jefferson,  to  Middletown,  Md.;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  a 
point  between  Edwards  Ferry  and  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy  to 
Ballinger's  Creek,  near  Frederick,  Md. ;  the  Sixth  Corps  from 
Dranesville,  Ya.,  via  Edwards  Ferry,  to  near  Poolesville,  Md. ;  the 
Twelfth  Corps  from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy,  via  Point 
of  Rocks  to  Knoxville,  Md. ;  Buford's  Cavalry  Division  from  Lees- 
burg, Ya.,  via  Edwards  Ferry  to  near  Jefferson,  Md. ;  Gregg's 
Cavalry  Division  from  Leesburg,  Ya.,  via  Edwards  Ferry  toward 
Frederick,  Md. ;  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  Poolesville  to 
Frederick,  Md.  Stahel's  Cavalry  Division  reached  Frederick,  Md. 
Crawford's  Pennsylvania  Reserves  moved  from  Goose  Creek,  Ya., 
via  Edwards  Ferry,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy,  Md. 

Combats :  Skirmish  near  Fairfax  Court  House,  Ya. 

June  28. — The  First  Corjjs  marched  from  Middletown  to  Fred- 
erick ;  the  Second  Corps  from  Burnes\dlle  to  Monocacy  Junction ; 
the  Third  Corps*  from  Middletown  to  near  Woodsborough  ;  the 

*Major-General  D.  E.  Sickles  resumed  command  of  the  Third  Corps,  re- 
lieving Major-General  D.  B.  Birney,  who  had  been  temporarily  in  command. 


Pennsylvania  af  Gettysburg.  117 

Sixth  Corps  from  near  Poolesville  to  Hyattstown  ;  the  Eleventh 
Corps  from  Middletovvu  to  near  Frederick,  and  the  Twelfth  Corps 
from  Knoxville  to  Frederick.  Buford's  Cavalry  Division  moved 
from  near  Jefferson  to  Middletown ;  Greg-g's  Cavalry  Division 
reached  Frederick  and  marched  thence  to  New  Market  and  Ridge- 
ville.  Crawford's  Pennsylvania  Reserves  marched  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Monocacy  and  joined  the  Fifth  Corps*  at  Balling-er's  Creek. 
Stahel's  Cavalry  Division  was  assigned  to  the  Cavalry  Corps,  as 
the  Third  Division,  under  Brigadier-General  Judson  Kilpatrick, 
with  Brigadier-General  Elon  J.  Farnsworth  commanding  the  First 
Brigade  and  Brigadier-General  George  A.  Custer  commanding 
the  Second  Brigade. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  between  Offutt's  Cross-Roads  and  Seneca, 
and  near  Rockville,  Md.,  and  at  Fountain  Dale,  Wrightsville,  and 
near  Oyster  Point,  Pa. 

June  29. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Frederick  to  Middleburg ;  the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps  from 
Frederick  to  Emmitsburg;  the  Second  Corps  from  Monocacy 
Junction  via  Liberty  and  Johnsville,  to  Uniontown ;  the  Third 
Corps  from  near  Woodsborough  to  Taneytown;  the  Fifth  Corps 
from  Ballinger's  Creek,  via  Frederick  and  Mount  Pleasant,  to 
Liberty ;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  Hyattstown,  via  New  Market  and 
Ridgeville,  to  New  Windsor ;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Frederick 
to  Taneytown  and  Bruceville;  Gamble's  (First)  and  Devin's 
(Second)  Brigades,  of  Buford's  (First)  Cavalry  Division,  from 
Middletown,  via  Boonsborough,  Cavetown  and  Monterey  Springs, 
to  near  Fairfield ;  Merritt's  Reserve  Cavalry  Brigade,  of  the  same 
division,  from  Middletown  to  Mechanicstown ;  Gregg's  (Second) 
Cavalry  Division  from  New  Market  and  Ridgeville  to  New  Wind- 
sor; Kilpatrick's  (Third)  Cavalry  Division  from  Frederick  to 
Littlestown,  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  Frederick  to  Bruce- 
ville 

Combats:  Skirmishes  at  Muddy  Branch  and  Westminster,  Md., 
and  at  McConnellsburg  and  near  Oyster  Point,  Pa. 

June  J^*.— Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Middleburg  to  Taneytown;  the  First  Corps  from  Emmitsburg  to 
Marsh  Run;  the  Third  Corps  from  Taneytown  to  Bridgeport; 
the  Fifth  Corps  from  Liberty,  via  Johnsville,  Union  Bridge 
and  Union,  to  Union  Mills;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  New  Windsor 
to  Manchester;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Taneytown  and  Bruce- 

*  Major-General  George  G.  Meade  relinquished  command  of  the  Fifth 
Corps  to  Major-General  George  Sykes,  and  assumed  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  relieving  Major-General  Joseph  Hooker. 


118  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

ville  to  Littlesto^ATi ;  Gamble's  and  Devin's  Brig-ades,  of  Buford's 
Cavalry  Divisiou,  from  near  Fairfield,  via  Emmitsburg-,  to  Gettys- 
burg ;  Greg-g-'s  Cavalry  Division  from  New  Windsor  to  Westmin- 
ster, and  thence  to  Manchester;  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  DiAdsiou 
from  Littlestown  to  Hanover,  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from 
Bruceville  to  TaneytoAATi;  Kenly's  and  Morris'  Brigades,  of 
French's  Division,  left  Maryland  Heights  for  Frederick,  and  El- 
liott's and  Smith's  Brigades,  of  the  same  division,  moved  from 
the  Heights,  by  way  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,  for  Wash- 
ington. 

Combats :  Action  at  Hanover,  Pa.,  and  skirmishes  at  Westmin- 
ster, Md.,  and  at  Fairfield  and  Sporting  Hill,  near  Harrisburg, 
Pa. 

July  1. — The  First  Corps  moved  from  Marsh  Run  and  the  Elev- 
enth Corps  from  Emmitsburg  to  Gettysburg ;  the  Second  Corps 
from  Uniontown,  via  Taneytown,  to  near  Gettysburg;  the  Third 
Corps  from  Bridgeport,  via  Emmitsburg,  to  the  field  of  Gettys- 
burg ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Union  Mills,  via  Hanover  and 
McSherrytown,  to  Bonaughtown;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  Man- 
chester en  route  to  Gettysburg,  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Lit- 
tlestown, via  Two  Taverns,  to  the  field  of  Gettysburg.  Gregg's 
Cavalry  Division  marched  from  Manchester  to  Hanover  Junction, 
whence  Mcintosh's  and  J.  I.  Gregg's  Brigades  proceeded  to  Han- 
over, while  Huey's  Brigade  returned  to  Manchester.  Kilpatrick's 
Cavalry  Division  moved  from  Hanover,  via  Abbottsville,  to  Ber- 
lin, and  the  Artillery  Reserve  (Ransom's  and  Fitzhugh's  Brigades) 
from  Taneytown  to  near  Gettysburg.  Stannard's  Vermont  Bri- 
gade from  the  Defenses  of  Washington,  joined  the  First  Corps  on 
the  field  of  Gettysburg.  W.  F.  Smith's  (First)  Di^dsion  of  the 
Department  of  the  Susquehanna,  marched  from  the  vicinity  of 
Harrisburg  to  Carlisle.  Kenly's  and  Morris'  Brigades  of  French's 
Division  reached  Frederick. 

Combats:  Battle  of  Gettysburg  (first  day),  and  skirmish  at 
Carlisle,  Pa. 

July  2. — The  Second,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Corps,  Lockwood's  Bri- 
gade, from  the  Middle  Department,  Mcintosh's  and  J.  I.  Gregg's 
Brigades,  of  D.  McM.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  Kilpatrick's 
Cavalry  Division,  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  reached  the  field  of 
Gettysburg.  Gamble's  and  Devin's  Brigades,  of  Buford's  Cav- 
alry Division,  marched  from  Gettysburg  to  Taneytown,  and  Mer- 
ritt's  Reserve  Brigade  from  Mechanicstown  to  Emmitsburg. 

Combats :  Battle  of  Gettysburg  (second  day),  and  skirmishes 
at  Huuterstown  and  near  Chambersburg,  Pa. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  119 

Jidy  3-. — Gamble's  aud  Devin's  Brig-ades,  of  Buford's  Cavaliy 
Division,  moved  from  Taneytowu  to  Westminster;  Merritt's  Re- 
serve Brig:ade  from  Emmitsburg-  to  the  field  of  Gettysburg,  and 
Huey's  Brig-ade,  of  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  from  Manchester 
to  Westminster. 

Combats :  Battle  of  Gettysburg  (third  day),  and  action  at  Fair- 
field, Pa. 

July  4- — Gamble's  and  Devin's  Brigades,  of  Buford's  Cavalry 
Division,  marched  from  Westminster,  and  Merritt's  Reserve  Bri- 
gade from  Gettysburg-,  en  route  to  Frederick ;  Huey's  Bi-igade,  of 
Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  from  Westminster,  via  Emmitsburg,  to 
Monterey ;  J.  I.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Brigade  from  Gettysburg  to 
Hunterstown,  and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Division  from  Gettysburg, 
via  Emmitsburg-,  to  Monterey.  Smith's  Division,  of  Couch's 
command,  moved  from  Carlisle,  via  Mount  Holly,  to  Pine  Grove, 
and  the  remainder  of  Couch's  troops  from  the  vicinity  of  Harris- 
burg-  toward  Shippensburg-  and  Chambersburg.  Elliott's  and 
Smith's  Brigades,  of  French's  Division,  arrived  at  Washington 
from  Maryland  Heights,  and  moved  to  Tennallytown.  Morris' 
Brigade,  of  French's  Division,  marched  from  Frederick  to  Tur- 
ner's Gap,  in  South  Mountain. 

Combats :  Action  at  Monterey  Gap,  Pa.,  and  skirmishes  at  Fair- 
field Gap,  Pa.,  and  near  Emmitsburg,  Md. 

July  5. — Leaving-  Gettysburg,  the  Second  Corps  marched  to 
Two  Taverns  ;  the  Fifth  Corps  to  Marsh  Run ;  the  Sixth  Corps 
to  Fairfield;  the  Eleventh  Corps  to  Rock  Creek;  the  Twelfth 
Corps  to  LittlestoAvn ;  Mcintosh's  Brigade,  of  Gregg's  Cavalry 
Division  to  Emmitsburg,  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  to  Littles- 
town.  Buford's  Cavalry  Division  reached  Frederick.  J.  I.  Gregg-'s 
Cavalry  Brigade  moved  from  Hunterstown  to  Greenwood.  Kil- 
patrick's  Cavalry  Division  and  Huey's  Brigade,  of  Gregg-'s  Cav- 
alry Division,  marched  from  Monterey,  ^aa  Smithsburg,  to  Boons- 
borough. 

Combats:  Skirmishes  at  or  near  Smithsbui-g,  Md.,  and  Green 
Oak,  Mercersburg,  Fairfield,  Grecncastle,  Cunningham's  Cross 
Roads,  and  Stevens'  Furnace  (or  Caledonia  Iron  Works),  Pa. 

July  6. — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Gettysburg  to  Emmits- 
burg-; the  Fifth  Corps  from  Marsh  Run  to  Moritz's  Cross  Roads; 
the  Sixth  Corps  from  Fairfield  to  Emmitsburg,  except  Neill's 
(Third)  Brigade,  of  Howe's  (Second)  Division,  which,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Mcintosh's  Brigade  of  Cavalry,  was  left  at  Fairfeld  to 
pursue  the  enemy;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Rock  Creek  to  Em- 
mitsburg-; Buford's  Cavalry  Division  from  Frederick  to  Williams- 


120  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

port  and  tlieuee  back  to  Jones'  Cross  Reads;  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry 
Division  and  Huey's  Brig-ade,  of  Greg-g-'s  Cavalry  Division,  from 
Boonsboroug"h,  via  Hag^erstown  *  and  Williamsport,  to  Jones'  Cross 
Roads;  Mcintosh's  Brig-ade,  of  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  from 
Emmitsburg  to  Fairfield;  and  J.  I.  Greg-g-'s  Brigade,  of  Gregg-'s 
Cavalry  Di^dsion,  from  Greenwood  to  Marion;  Smith's  Division, 
of  Couch's  command,  moved  from  Pine  Grove  to  Newman's  Pass; 
Kenly's  Brigade,  of  French's  Division,  marched  from  Frederick 
en  route  to  Maryland  Heights;  Elliott's  and  Smith's  Brigades,  of 
French's  Division,  left  Tennallytown,  via  Washington  and  the  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  railroad,  en  route  to  Frederick. 

Comhats :  Actions  at  Hagerstown  and  Williamsport,  Md. 

July  7. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Gettys- 
burg to  Frederick;  the  First  Corps  from  Emmitsburg  to  Ham- 
burg; the  Second  Corps  from  Two  Taverns  to  Taney  town;  the 
Third  Corps  from  Gettysburg,  via  Emmitsburg,  to  Mechanics- 
town;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Moritz's  Cross  Roads,  \da  Emmits- 
burg, to  Utica;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  Emmitsbm-g  to  Mountain 
Pass,  near  Hamburg;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Emmitsburg  to 
Middletowm ;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Littlestown  to  Walkersvile ; 
and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  Littlestown  to  Woodsborough ; 
Buford's  and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Divisions  and  Huey's  Brigade, 
of  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  moved  from  Jones'  Cross  Roads  to 
Boonsborough ;  J.  I.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Brigade  Avas  moving  en  route 
from  Chambersburg  to  Middletown ;  Mcintosh's  Brigade  of  Cav- 
alry and  Neill's  Brigade  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  moved  from  Fair- 
field to  Waynesborough ;  Smith's  Division,  of  Couch's  command, 
marched  from  Newman's  Pass  to  Altodale;  Kenly's  Brigade,  of 
French's  Division,  with  other  troops  forwarded  by  Schenck  from 
Baltimore,  reoccupied  Maryland  Heights;  Elliott's  and  Smith's 
Brigades,  of  French's  Division,  reached  Frederick  from  Washing- 
ton. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  DoAvnsville  and  Funkstown,  Md.,  and 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  W.  Va. 

July  8.- — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Fred- 
erick to  Middletown ;  the  First  Corps  from  Haml)urg  to  Turner's 
Gap,  in  South  Mountain;  the  Second  Corps  from  Taney  town  to 
Frederick ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Mechanicstown  to  a  point  three 
miles  southwest  of  Frederick ;  the  Fifth  Corj^s  from  Utica  to  Mid- 
dletown; the  Sixth  Corps  from  near  Hamburg  to  Middletown; 
the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Middletown  to  Turner's  Gap,  in  South 

♦Richmond's  Brigade  of  Kilpatrick's  Division,  remained  at  Hagerstown, 
whence  it  retired  toward  Boonsborough. 


Pennsylvania  at  Oettysburg.  121 

Mountain,  Schurz's  (Third)  Division  being-  advanced  to  Boons- 
boroug-h ;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Walkersville  to  Jefferson ;  and 
the  Ai'tillery  Reserve  from  Woodsboroug-h  to  Frederick;  J.  I. 
Gregg-'s  Cavah'v  Brigade  was  moving-  ennndeirom.  Chambersburg 
to  Middletown;  Smith's  Division,  of  Couch's  command,  moved  from 
Altodale  to  Waynesboroug-h ;  Campbell's  and  Mulligan's  Brigades, 
of  Kelley's  command.  Department  of  West  Virginia,  were  concen- 
trated at  Hancock,  whence  they  moved  to  Fairview,  on  North 
Mountain. 

Combats :  Action  at  Boonsborough  and  skirmish  near  Williams- 
port,  Md. 

July  9. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Mid- 
dletown to  Turner's  Gap;  the  Second  Corps  from  Frederick  to 
Rohrersville ;  the  Third  Corps  from  near  Frederick  to  Fox's  Gap, 
in  South  Mountain;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Middletown,  via  Fox's 
Gap,  to  near  Boonsborough;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  Middletown 
to  Boonsborough;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Jefferson  to  Rohrers- 
ville ;  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  Frederick  to  Boonsborough  ; 
J.  I.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Brigade  reached  Middletown  from  Cham- 
bersburg;  Elliott's  and  Smith's  Brigades,  of  French's  Divisiou, 
marched  from  Frederick  to  Middletown. 

Combats :  Skirmish  at  Benevola  (or  Beaver  Creek),  Md. 

July  10. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Turn- 
er's Gap  to  Beaver  Creek,  beyond  Boonsborough;  the  First  Corps 
from  Turner's  Gap  to  Beaver  Creek,  where  it  was  joined  by  Ken- 
ly's  Brigade,  of  French's  Division,  from  Maryland  Heights;  the 
Second  Corps  from  Rohrersville  to  near  Tilghmanton ;  the  Third 
Corps  from  Fox's  Gap,  through  Boonsborough,  to  Antietam  Creek, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Jones'  Cross  Roads,  where  it  was  joined  by  El- 
liott's and  Smith's  Brigades,  of  French's  Division,  which  marched 
from  Middletown,  and  Morris'  Brigade,  of  the  same  Division,  which 
marched  from  Turner's  Gap ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  near  Boonsbor- 
ough to  Delaware  Mills, on  Antietam  Creek;  the  Sixth  Corps  from 
Boonsborough  to  Beaver  Creek ;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Turner's 
Gap  to  Beaver  Creek ;  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Rohrers-ville  to 
Bakersville;  Buford's  and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Divisions  moved 
from  Boonsborough  to  Funkstown ;  Huey's  Brigade,  of  Gregg's 
Cavalry  Division,  from  Boonsborough  to  Jones'  Cross  Roads,  and 
Mcintosh's  Cavalry  Brigade  from  Waynesborough  via  Smiths- 
burg  and  Leitersburg,  to  Old  Antietam  Forge,  and  back  to  Waynes- 
borough. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  or  near  Old  Antietam  Forge  (near  Lei- 
tersbm^g),  Clear  Spring,  Hagerstown,  Jones'  Cross  Roads  (near 
Williamsport),  and  Funkstown,  Md. 


122  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

July  11. — The  Second  Corps  moved  from  near  Tilg-limanton  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Jones'  Cross  Roads ;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from 
Bakersville  to  Fair  Plaj^  and  Jones'  Cross  Eoads;  Gamble's  and 
Devin's  Brigades,  of  Buford's  Cavalry  Division,  from  Fimkstown 
to  Bakersville;  J.  I.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Brigade  from  Middletown 
to  Boonsborougli ;  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Division  from  Funkstown 
to  near  Hagerstown ;  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  Boousborough 
to  Benevola;  Neill's  Brigade,  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  and  Smith's 
Di%asion,  of  Couch's  command,  from  Waynesborough  to  Leiters- 
burg. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  or  near  Hagerstown,  Jones'  Cross 
Roads  (near  Williamsport)  and  Fimkstown,  Md. 

July  1^. — The  First,  Sixth  and  Eleventh  Corps  moved  from 
Beaver  Creek  to  Funkstown ;  Mcintosh's  Cavalry  Brigade  from 
Waynesborough,  via  Leitersburg,  to  Boonsborough ;  Kilpatrick's 
Cavalry  Division  and  Ames'  (First)  Division,  Eleventh  Corps,  oc- 
cupied Hagersto-wTi ;  Neill's  Brigade,  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  moved 
from  Leitersburg  to  Funkstown,  where  it  rejoined  its  corps; 
Smith's  Division  (except  one  brigade,  left  at  Waynesborough) 
from  Leitersburg  to  Cavetown;  Dana's  (Second)  Division,  of 
Couch's  command,  from  Chambersburg  to  Greencastle;  and 
Averell's  Cavalry  Brigade,  Department  of  West  Virginia,  from 
Cumberland  en  route  to  Fairview. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  or  near  Hagerstown,  Jones'  Cross 
Roads  (near  Williamsport)  and  Funkstown,  Md.,  and  Ashby's 
Gap,  Va. 

July  13. — The  Sixth  Corps  moved  from  Funkstown  to  the 
vicinity  of  Hagerstown ;  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  Benevola  to 
Jones'  Cross  Roads,  two  brigades  remaining  at  the  latter  place 
and  the  others  returning  to  Benevola;  Smith's  Division,  of 
Couch's  command,  from  Waynesborough  and  Cavetown  to  Hag- 
erstown and  Beaver  Creek.  Averell's  Cavalry  Brigade  joined 
Kelley's  infantry  at  Fairview. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  Hagerstown,  Jones'  Cross  Roads  and 
Funkstown,  Md. 

July  lli.. — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Funkstown  to  Wil- 
liamsport ;  the  Second  Corps  from  near  Jones'  Cross  Roads  to 
near  Falling  Waters ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Antietam  Creek, 
near  Jones'  Cross  Roads,  across  Marsh  Creek ;  the  Fifth  Corps 
from  the  vicinity  of  Roxbury  Mills,  on  Antietam  Creek,  to  near 
Williamsport;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  the  neighborhood  of  Hag- 
ersto\vn  to  Williamsport :  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Funkstown, 
via  Hagerstown  to  Williamsport ;  and  Williams'  (First)  Di\asion 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  123 

of  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Jones'  Cross  Roads  to  near  Falling- 
Waters,  and  thence  to  near  Williamsport.  Buford's  Cavalry  Di- 
vision moved  from  Bakersville  to  Falling-  Waters;  Mcintosh's 
and  J.  I.  Greg-g-'s  Brig-ados  of  D.  McM.  Greg-g-'s  Cavalry  Division 
from  Boonsboroug-h  to  Harper "s  Ferry ;  Huey's  Brig-ade  of  same 
division,  from  Jones'  Cross  Eoads,  via  Williamsport  to  Falling: 
Waters ;  and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Division  from  Hag-erstown,  via 
Williamsport  to  Falling-  Waters.  Kellcy  "s  command,  Department 
of  West  Virg-inia,  marched  from  Fairview  to  Williamsport. 

Combats  :  Action  at  Falling-  Waters,  Md.,  and  skirmishes  near 
Williamsport,  Md.,  and  Harper's  Ferry,  W.  Va. 

July  15. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Beaver  Creek  to  Berlin ;  the  First  Corps  from  Williamsport  to 
Rohrersville  ;  the  Second  Corps  from  near  Falling-  Waters  to  near 
Sandy  Hook ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Marsh  Creek  to  near  Burn- 
side's  Bridge,  on  the  Antietam ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  near  Wil- 
liamsport to  Burkittsville ;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  Williamsport  to 
Boonsborough ;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Williamsport,  via  Hag- 
erstown  to  Middletown ;  and  the  Twehth  Corps  from  Fair  Play 
and  near  Williamsport  to  Sandy  Hook.  Two  Brig-ades  of  the 
Artillery  Reserve  moved  from  Jones'  Cross  Roads,  and  joining 
the  remainder  of  the  reserve  at  Beuevola,  the  whole  command 
marched  thence,  via  Middletown  to  Berlin.  Buford's  Cavalry 
Division  moved  from  Falling-  AVaters  to  Berlin  ;  Mcintosh's  and 
J.  I.  Greg-g-'s  Brigades,  of  D.  McM.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division, 
from  Harpers  Ferry,  via  Halltown  to  Shepherdstown ;  Huey's 
Brigade  of  same  division  from  Falling  Waters  to  Boonsborough ; 
and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Division  from  Falling  Waters,  via  Wil- 
liamsport and  Hagerstown  to  Boonsborough.  Kelley 's  command, 
Department  of  West  Virginia,  marched  from  AVilliam sport  to 
Indian  Springs. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  Halltown  and  Shepherdstown,  W.  Ya. 

July  16. — The  First  Corps  marched  from  Rohrersville  to  near 
Berlin  ;  the  Third  Corps  from  Burnside's  Bridge  to  Pleasant  Val- 
ley, near  Sandy  Hook ;  the  Ffth  Corps  from  Burkittsville,  via 
Petersville  to  near  Berlin  ;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  Boonsborough 
to  near  Berlin ;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  MiddletoAvii,  via  Jeffer- 
son to  Berlin ;  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Sandy  Hook  to  Pleas- 
ant Valley.  Buford's  Cavalry  Division  moved  from  Berlin  to 
Petersville;  Huey's  Brigade  of  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  from 
Boonsborough,  via  Harper's  Ferry  to  Shepherdstown ;  and  Kilpat- 
rick's Division  from  Boonsborough  to  Berlin,  whence  De  Forest's 
(First)  Brigade  proceeded  to  Harper's  Ferry. 


124  Pennsylvania  at  Getty shui^g. 

Combut.s :  Action  at  Shepberdstown  and  skirmish  at  Shanghai, 
W.  Va. 

Jidy  17 . — The  Third  Corps  moved  from  near  Sandy  Hook, 
crossed  the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  proceeded  to  a  point 
three  miles  south  of  the  Ferry ;  the  Fifth  Corps  moved  from  near 
Berhu  to  Lovettsville,  crossing-  the  Potomac  at  Berlin.  Gregg's 
Cavalry  Division  marched  from  Shepherdstown  to  Harper's  Ferry, 
Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Division  from  Berlin  and  Harper's  Ferry  to 
Pm'cellvalle ;  Custer's  Brigade  crossing  the  Potomac  at  Berlin  and 
De  Forest's  Brigade  the  Shenandoah  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Kelley's 
command,  Department  of  West  Virginia,  moved  from  Indian 
Springs,  Md.,  to  Hedgesville,  W.  Va.,  crossing  the  Potomac  at 
Cherry  Bun. 

Comhais :  Skirmishes  near  North  Mountain  Station,  W.  Va., 
and  near  Snicker's  Gap,  Va. 

July  18. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Ber- 
lin, Md.,  to  Lovettsville,  Va. ;  the  First  Corps  from  near  Berlin 
to  Waterford,  crossing  the  Potomac  at  Berlin ;  the  Second  Corps 
from  near  Sandy  Hook  to  Hillsborough,  crossing  the  Potomac 
and  Shenandoah  Bivers  at  Harper's  Ferry ;  the  Third  Corps  from 
near  Harper's  Ferry  to  Hillsborough ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Lov- 
ettsville to  near  Purcellville ;  the  Artillery  Beserve  from  Berlin 
to  Wheatland ;  and  Buford's  Cavalry  Di^dsion  from  Petersville  to 
Purcellville,  crossing  the  Potomac  at  Berlin. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  and  near  Hedgesville  and  Martins- 
burg,  W.  Va. 

July  19. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Lov- 
ettsville to  Wheatland ;  the  First  Corps  from  Waterford  to  Ham- 
ilton ;  the  Second  and  Third  Corps  from  Hillsborough  to  Wood 
Grove ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  near  Purcellville  to  a  point  on  the 
road  to  Philomont ;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  near  Berlin  to  Wheat- 
land, and  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  Berlin  to  near  Hamilton,  both 
corps  crossing  the  Potomac  at  Berlin  ;  the  Artillery  Beserve  from 
Wheatland  to  Purcellville ;  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  fi-om  Pleasant 
Valley  to  near  Hillsborough,  crossing  the  Potomac  and  Shenan- 
doah Bivers  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Buford's  Cavalry  Division  moved 
from  Purcellville,  via  Philomont,  to  near  Rector's  Cross  Boads. 
Mcintosh's  Brigade,  of  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  moved  from 
Harper's  Ferry  toward  Hillsborough  and  Huey's  and  J.  I.  Gregg's 
Brigades  of  the  same  division,  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Lovettsville. 
Kilpatrick's  Division  of  Cavalry  marched  from  Purcellville  to 
Upperville.  Kelley's  command.  Department  of  West  Virginia, 
fell  back  from  Hedgesville  to  the  Maryland  side  of  the  Potomac 
at  Cherry  Bun. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  125 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  and  near  Hedg-esville  and  Martinsburg, 
W.  Va. 

July  W. — Headquarters  Ai-my  of  the  Potomac  moved  from 
Wheatland  to  Union ;  the  First  Corps  from  Hamilton  to  Middle- 
burgf;  the  Second  and  Third  Corps  from  Wood  Grove,  the  former 
g-oing-  to  Bloomfield  and  the  latter  to  Upperville ;  the  Fifth  Corps 
from  a  point  on  the  Purcellville  and  Philomont  road,  via  Union, 
to  Panther  Skin  Creek ;  the  Sixth  Corps  from  Wheatland  to  near 
Beaver  Dam;  the  Eleventh  Corps  from  near  Hamilton,  via  Mt. 
Gilead,  to  Mountville ;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  near  Hillsboroug-h, 
via  Wood  Grove,  to  Snickersville ;  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from 
Pm'cellville  to  Union ;  Buford's  Cavalry  Division  moved  from  near 
Rector's  Cross  Roads  to  Rectortowu,  Gamble's  Brig-ade  going- 
thence  to  Chester  Gap,  Devin's  Brigade  to  Salem  and  Merritt's 
Brigade  to  Manassas  Gap ;  Mcintosh's  Brigade,  of  Gregg's  Cav- 
alry Division,  reached  Hillsborough  and  marched  thence  toward 
Purcellville;  Huey's  and  J.  I.  Gregg's  brigades,  of  same  Division, 
moved  from  Lovettsville  to  Goose  Creek. 

Combats:  Skirmishes  near  Berry's  Ferry  and  at  Ashby's  Gap, 
Virginia. 

July  21. — Huey's  and  J.  I.  Gregg's  Brigades,  of  D.  McM.  Gregg's 
Cavalry  Division,  moved  from  Goose  Creek  to  Bull  Run ;  Mcin- 
tosh's Brigade  returned  to  Hillsboroug-h ;  Kelley's  command,  De- 
partment of  West  Virginia,  recrossed  the  Potomac  from  Mary- 
land into  Virginia  at  Cherry  Run. 

Combats :  Skirmishes  at  Manassas  and  Chester  Gaps,  Va. 

July '22. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Union 
to  Upperville ;  the  First  Corj^s  from  Middleburg  to  White  Plains ; 
the  Second  Corps  from  Bloomfield  to  Paris ;  the  Third  Corps  from 
Upperville,  via  Piedmont,  to  Linden ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Panther 
Skin  Creek  to  Rectortown ;  and  the  Sixth  Corps  from  near  Beaver 
Dam  to  Rectortown ;  Devin's  Brigade,  of  Buford's  Cavalry  Divi- 
sion, moved  from  Salem  to  Barbee's  Cross  Roads ;  Huey's  and  J. 
I.  Gregg-'s  Brigades,  of  D.  McM.  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  from 
Bull  Run  to  Broad  Run ;  and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Division  from 
Upperville  to  Piedmont. 

Combats:  Shirmishes  at  Manassas  and  Chester  Gaps,  Va. 

July  23. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Up- 
perville to  Linden ;  the  First  Corps  from  White  Plains  to  Warren, 
ton;  the  Second  Corps  from  Paris  to  Linden;  the  Third  Corps 
from  Linden  to  Manassas  Gap ;  the  Fifth  Corps  from  Rectortown, 
via  Markham  Station,  Farrowsville  and  Linden,  to  Manassas  Gap ; 
the  Sixth  Corps  from  Rectortown  to  White  Plains  and  Barbee's 


126  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Cross  Koads ;  the  Eleventh  Crops  from  Mountville  to  New  Balti- 
more; the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Snickersville  to  Ashby's  Gap  and 
thence  to  Markham  Station;  and  the  Artillery  Reserve  from  Union 
to  near  Eoek  Creek;  Buford's  Cavahy  Division  concentrated  at 
Barbee's  Cross  Roads ;  Mcintosh's  Brigade,  of  Greg-g-'s  Cavalry 
Division,  moved  from  Hillsborough  to  Snickersville;  and  Kil- 
patrick's  Cavalry  Division  from  Piedmont  to  Amissville. 

Combats :  Action  at  Wapping  Heights,  Manassas  Gap,  and  skir- 
mishes near  Gaines'  Cross  Roads,  Snicker's  Gap  and  Chester  Gap, 
Virginia. 

July  ^Jf,. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Lin- 
den to  Salem ;  the  Second  Corps  from  Linden  to  Markham  Station ; 
the  First  Division  (Wright's),  Sixth  Corps,  from  White  Plains  to 
New  Baltimore ;  the  Second  Division  (Howe's),  Sixth  Corps,  from 
Barbee's  Cross  Roads  to  Markham  Station  and  thence  to  Orleans ; 
the  Third  Division  (Bartlett's),  Sixth  Corps,  from  Barbee's  Cross 
Roads  to  Thumb  Run;  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Markham 
Station  to  Linden,  countermarching,  via  Markham  Station  to  Pied- 
mont; Huey's  and  J.  L  Gregg's  Brigades,  of  D.  McM.  Gregg's 
Cavalry  Division,  moved  from  Broad  Run  to  Warrenton  Junction ; 
Kelley's  command.  Department  of  West  Virginia,  advanced  from 
Cherry  Run  to  Hedgesville. 

Combats:  Skirmish  at  Battle  Mountain,  near  Newby's  Cross 
Roads,  Va. 

July  25. — Headquarters  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  from  Salem 
to  Warrenton;  the  First  Corps  from  Warrenton  to  Warrenton 
Junction,  the  Second  Division  (Robinson's)  going  on  to  Bealeton ; 
the  Second  Corps  from  Markham  Station  to  White  Plains;  the 
Third  Corps  from  Manassas  Gap  to  near  Salem ;  the  Fifth  Corps 
from  Manassas  Gap,  via  ^arrows^dlle  and  Barbee's  Cross  Roads  to 
Thumb  Run ;  the  Sixth  Corps  concentrated  at  Warrenton,  Wright's 
(First)  Division,  moving  from  New  Baltimore,  Howe's  (Second) 
Division  from  Orleans,  and  Bartlett's  (Third)  Division  from  Thumb 
Run ;  the  Eleventh  Corps  moved  from  New  Baltimore  to  Warrenton 
Junction ;  and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Piedmont,  via  Rectortown 
and  Will  to  Plains,  to  Thoroughfare  Gap;  the  Artillery  Reserve 
readied  Warrenton ;  Kelley's  command.  Department  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, occupied  Martinsburg. 

ComJmts :  Skirmish  at  Barbee's  Cross  Roads,  Va. 

July  20. — The  Second  Corps  marched  from  White  Plains  to  near 
Germantowu  ;  the  Third  Corps  from  near  Salem  to  vicinity  of  War- 
renton; the  Fifth  Corps  from  Thumb  Run  to  vicinity  of  Warren- 
ton, Crawford's  (Third)  Division  taking  position  at  Fayetteville; 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  127 

and  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Thoroug'hfare  Gap,  via  GreenAvich 
and  Catlett's  Station,  to  AVarrenton  Junction;  Buford's  Cavahy 
Division  took  position  at  Warrenton  and  Fayetteville ;  Mcintosh's 
Brig-ade,  of  Gregg's  Cavahy  Division,  marched  from  Bnickersville, 
via  Upperville,  to  Middloburg- ;  Kelley's  command,  Department 
of  West  Virg-inia,  occupied  Winchester. 

July  27. — The  Fifth  Corps  encamped  between  Warrenton  and 
Fayetteville;  Mcintosh's  Brigade,  of  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division, 
marched  from  Middleburg,  via  White  Plains,  New  Baltimore,  and 
Warrenton,  toward  Warrenton  Junction. 

July  '28. — Mcintosh's  Brigade,  of  Gregg-'s  Cavalry  Division, 
moved  via  Warrenton  Junction,  to  Catlett's  Station. 

July  29. — D.  McM.  Gregg's  Cavalry's  Division  moved  from  War- 
renton Junction  and  Catlett's  Station  to  Warrenton. 

July  SO. — Kenly's  (Third)  Division,  First  Corps,  moved  from 
Warrenton  Junction  to  Rappahannock  Station ;  the  Second  Corps 
from  near  Germantown  to  Elk  Run;  D.  McM.  Gregg's  Cavalry 
Division  from  Warrenton  to  Amissville ;  and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry 
Division  from  Amissville  to  Warrenton. 

July  31. — The  Second  Corps  marched  from  Elk  Run  to  Morris- 
ville ;  Howe's  (Second)  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  from  Warrenton  to 
near  Waterloo ;  the  Twelfth  Corps  from  Warrenton  Junction  to 
Kelly's  Ford;  and  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry  Division  from  Warren- 
ton to  Warrenton  Junction. 


128 


Pennsylvaiiia  ai  Gettysburg. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC,  COM- 
MANDED BV  MAJ.-GEN.  GEORGE  G.  MEADE,  U.  S.  ARMY, 
AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG,  PENNSYLVANIA, 
JULY  1-3,  1863. 


GENERAL  HEADQUARTERS. 

COMMAND    OF    THE    PROVOST-MABSHAL-GENERAL. 

Brig.  Gen.  Marsena  R.  Patrick. 
9Hd    New  York,*  Col.  John  S.  Crocker. 

8th  United  States  (eight  companies),*  Capt.  Edwin  W.  H.  Read. 

2d    Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  Col.  R.  Butler  Price. 

6th  Pennslvania  Cavalry,  Companies  E  and  I,  Capt.  James  Starr. 
Regular  cavahy  (detachments  from  1st,  2d,  5th  and  6th  Regiments). 

.SIGNAL   CORPS. 

Capt.  Lemuel,  B.  Norton. 

GUARDS    and    orderlies. 

Oneida  (Ne-w  York)  Cavalry,  Capt.  Daniel  P.  Mann. 

ARTILLERY.! 
Brig.  Gen.  Henry  J.  Hunt. 

ENGINEER  BRIGADE.f 
Brig.  Gen.  Henry  W.  Benham. 
15th  New  York  (three  companies),  Maj.  Walter  L.  Cassin. 
50th  New  York,  Col.  William  H.  Pettes. 
United  States  Battalion,  Capt.  George  H.  Mendell. 

FIRST  ARMY  CORPS.§ 
Maj.  Gen.  Abner  Doubleday. 
Maj   Gen.  John  Newton. 

GENERAL   HEADQUARTERS. 

1st  Maine  Cavalry,  Company  L,  Capt.  Constantine  Taylor. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  James  S.  Wadswobth. 

First  Brigade.  Second  Brigade. 


Brig.  Gen.  Solomon  Meredith. 
Col.  William  W.  Robinson. 

19th  Indiana,  Col.  Sam'l.  J.  Williams. 
24th  Micliigan  : 

Col.  Henry  A.  Morrow. 

Capt.  All)ert  M.  Edwards. 
2d  Wisconsin  : 

Col.  Lucius  Fairchild. 

Maj.  .John  Mansfield. 

Capt.  George  H.  Otis. 
6th  Wis(;onsin,  Lieut.  Col.  Rufus  R. 

Dawes. 
7th  Wisconsin : 

Col.  William  W.  Robinson. 

Maj.  Mark  Finnicum. 


Brig.  Gen.  Lysander  Cutler. 

7tli  Indiana,  Col.  Ira  G.  Grover. 
76th  New  York  : 

Maj.  Andrew  J.  Grover. 

Capt.  .John  E.  Cook. 
84th  New  York  (14th  Militia),  Col. 

Edward  B.  Fow'ler. 
95th  New  York  : 

Col.  George  H.  Biddle. 

Maj.  Edward  Pye. 
147th  New  York  : 

Lieut.  Col.  Francis  C.  Miller. 

Maj .  George  Harney. 
56th   Pennsylvania    (nine     compa- 
nies), Col.  J.  Wm.  Hofmann, 


•Noten«aKed. 

tSee  artillery  brlBiulea  attached  to  array  corps  and  the  reserve. 

;  Not  enKuKt'd.  With  exception  (if  the  regular  l):itt»llon.  It  was,  July  1,  and  while  at  Beaver 
Dam  Creek,  Mil.,  ordi-ri'il  tu  Wn.shlimton,  I).  C. ,  where  It  arrived  July  o. 

5  Maj.  Gen.  .lolin  K.  Kcyridlcls,  ot  this  corps,  was  killed  .luly  1,  while  In  command  of  the  left 
wing  of  the  army  ;  (icneral  Doubleday  commanded  the  corps  July  1,  and  General  Newton, 
who  was  assigned  to  that  command  on  the  1st,  superceded  him  July  2. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysbur'g. 


129 


.SECOND    DIVISION 

Brig.  Geu.  John  C  Robinson. 


First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Gabriel  R.  Paui* 
Col.  Samuel,  H.  Leonakd. 
Col.  Adrian  R.  Root. 
Col.  Richard  Coulter. 
Col.  Peter  Lyle. 
Col.  Richard  Coulter. 

16th  Maine  : 

Col.  Charles  W.  Tilden. 
Maj.  Archibald  D.  Leavitt. 
13th  Massachusetts : 

Col.  Samuel  H.  Leonard. 
Lieut.  Col.  iS.  Walter  Batch- 
elder. 
94th  New  York  : 

Ool.  Adrian  R.  Root. 
Maj.  Samuel  A.  Moffett. 
104th  New  York,  Col.  Gilbert  G.  Prey. 
107th  Pennsylvania : 

Lieut.  Col.  James  MacThom- 

son. 
Capt.  Emanuel  D.  Roath. 


Second  Brir/ade. 
Brig.  Gen.  Henry  Baxter. 

12th  Massachusetts : 

Col.  James  L.  Bates. 

Lieut.  Col.  David  Allen,  Jr. 
83d  New  Yopk  (9th  Militia),  Lieut. 

Col.  Joseph  A.  Moesch. 
97th  New  York  : 

Col.  Charles  Wheelock. 

Maj.  Charles  Northrup. 
11th  Pennsylvania:* 

Col.  Richard  Coulter. 

Capt.  Benjamin  F.  Haines. 

Capt.  John  B.  Overmyer. 
88th  Pennsylvania : 

Maj.  Benezet  F.  Foust. 

Capt.  Henrj"-  Whiteside. 
90th  Pennsylvania  : 

CoL  Peter  Lyle. 

Maj.  Alfred  J.  Sellers. 

Col.  Peter  Lyle. 


third  division. 

Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  A.  Rowley. 
Maj.  Gen.  Abner  Doubleday. 


First  Brigade. 

Col.  Chapman  Biddle. 

Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  A.  Rowley. 

Col.  Chapman  Biddle. 

80th  Mew  York  (20th  Militia),  Col. 

Theodore  B.  Gates. 
121st  Pennsylvania  : 

Maj.  Alexander  Biddle. 

Col.  Chapman  Biddle. 

Maj.  Alexander  Biddle. 
142d  Pennsylvania : 

Col.  Robert  P.  Cummins. 

Lieut.  Col.  Alfred  B.  McCal- 
mont. 
151st  Pennsylvania : 

Lieut.  Col.  George  F.  Mc Far- 
land. 

Capt.  Walter  L.  Owens. 

Col.  Harrison  Allen. 


Second  Brigade. 

Col.  Roy  Stone. 

Col.  Langhorne  Wister. 

Col.  Edmund  L.  Dana. 

143d  Pennsylvania : 

Col.  Edmund  L.  Dana. 

Lieut.  Col.  John  D.  Musser. 
149th  Pennsylvania : 

Lieut.  Col.  Walton  Dwight. 

Capt.  James  Glenn. 
150th  Pennsylvania : 

Col.  Langhorne  Wister. 

Lieut.  Col.  Henry  S.  Huide- 
koper. 

Capt,  Cornelius  C.  Widdis. 


Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  George  J    Stannard. 
Col.  Francis  V.  Randall. 

12th  Vermont,!  *^ol.  Asa  P.  Blunt. 
13th  Vermont : 

Col.  Francis  Y.  Randall. 

Maj.  Josejjh  J.  Boj'iiton. 

Lieut.  Col.  William  D.  Munson. 
14th  Vermont,  Col.  William  T.  Nichols. 
15th  Vermontjf  Col.  Redfield  Proctor. 
16th  Vermont,  Col.  Wheelock  G.  Veazey. 


*Transferred  in  afternoon  of  July  1  to  First  Brigade. 
tGuarding  trains  and  not  engaged  in  the  battle. 


130 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


ARTILLERY    BRIGADE. 


Ool.  Charles  S.  Wainwrioht. 


Maine  Light,  2d  Battery  (B),  Capt.  James  A.  Hall. 
Maine  Light,  5th  Battery  (E): 

Capt.  Greenleaf  T.  Stevens. 

Lieut.  Edward  N.  Whittier. 
1st  New  York  Light,  Battery  L  :* 

Capt.  Gilbert  H.  Reynolds. 

Lieut.  George  Breck. 
1st  Pennsylvania  Light,  Battery  B,  Capt.  James  H.  Cooper. 
4th  United  States,  Battery  B,  Lieut.  James  Stewart. 

SECOND  ARMY  CORPS.  \ 

Maj.  Gen.  Winfield  S.  Hancock. 
Brig.  Gen.  John  Gibbon. 

general  headquarters. 
6th  New  York  Cavalry,  Companies  D  and  K,  Capt.  Riley  Johnson. 

FIRST  DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  John  C.  Caldwell. 


First  Brigade. 

Col.  Edward  E.  Cross. 
Col.  H.  BoYD  McKeen. 


5th 


Col. 


New   Hampshire,   Lieut. 
Charles  E.  Hapgood. 
61st  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.  K.  Oscar 

Broady. 
81st  Pennsylvania : 

Col.  H.  Boyd  McKeen. 
Lieut.  Col.  Amos  Stroh. 
148th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  Rob't 
McFarlane. 

Second  Brigade. 

Col.  Patrick  Kelly. 

28th  Massachusetts,     Col.     Richard 

Byrnes. 
63d  New  York  (two  companies): 

Lieut.  Col.  Rich'dC.  Bentley. 

Capt.  Thomas  Touhy. 
69th  New  York  (two  companies): 

Capt.  Richard  Moroney. 

Lieut.  James  J.  Smith. 
88th  New   York    (two    companies), 

Capt.  Denis  F.  Burke. 
116th  Pennsylvania  (four  companies), 

Maj.  St.  Clair  A.  Mulholland. 


Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Samuel  K.  Zook. 
Lieut.  Col.  John  Eraser. 

52d  New  York  : 

Lieut.  Col.  C.  G.  Freudenberg. 

Capt.  William  Scherrer. 
57th  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.    .^l.ford 

B.  Chapman. 
66th  New  York : 

Col.  Orlando  H.  Morris. 

Lieut.  Col.  John  S.  Hammell. 

Maj.  Peter  Nelson. 
140th  Pennsylvania : 

Col.  Richard  P.  Roberts. 

Lieut.  Col.  John  Fraser. 

Foihrth  Brigade. 
Col.  John  R.  Brooke. 

27th  Connecticut  (two  companies): 

Lieut.  Col.  Henry  C.  Merwln. 

Maj.  James  H.  Coburn. 
2d    Delaware  : 

Col.  William  P.  Baily. 

Capt.  Charles  H.   Christman. 
f>4th  New  York  : 

Col.  Daniel  G.  Bingham. 

Maj.  Ijcman  W.   Bradle3^ 
53d  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  Rich- 
ards McMichael. 
145th  Penns^dvania     (seven     com- 

pauies) : 

Col.  Hiram  L.  Brown. 

Capt.  John  W.  Reynolds. 

Capt.  Moses  W.  Oliver. 


•Battery  E.  1st  New  York  Litiht  Artillery,  nttaclu'tl. 

t  After  the  ilealh  of  (ieneral  Keyni)l<ls,  (ieneriil  Hancock  was  assigned  to  the  corniuand  of  all 
the  troops  (111  tlie  tl(!lfl  of  liultlc.  relievliiK  (ienenii  ll(jwiird.  who  had  succeeded  General  Rey- 
nolds. (JencrnlGililiipii  of  tlic  Second  Division.  a.ssuni("(l  command  oftluM-orpw.  Tliese  assifrn- 
ments  terminated  on  tliccvi'iiirii.' of. Inly  1.  Si  in  ilarcli:in>.'cs  in  ronnnandcis  occurred  during  the 
battle  of  the  2d,  wlicn  (;cncral  ilancock  was  put  in  command  of  tlu'  'I' hi  id  Corps,  in  addition  to 
tbatof  hisown.  He  was  wounded  on  the  ad,  and  Brig.  Gen.  William  Hays  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  corps 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


131 


SECOND  DIVISION. 


Brig.  Gen.  John  Gibbon. 
Brig.  Gen.  William  Harrow. 


First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  William  Harrow. 
Col.  Francis  E.  Heath. 
19th  Maine : 

Col.  Francis  E.  Heath. 
Lieut.  Col.  Henry   W.    Cun- 
ningham. 
15th  Massachusetts : 

Col.  George  H.  Ward. 
Lieut.  Col.  George  C.  Joslin. 
1st  Minnesota:* 

Col.  William  Golvill,  jr. 
Capt.  Nathan  S.  ]Messick. 
Capt.  Henry  C.  Coates. 
82d  New  York  (2d  Militia): 

Lieut.  Col.  James  Huston. 
Capt.  John  Darx-ow. 

Second  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Alexander  .S.  Webb. 

69th  Pennsylvania : 

Col.  Dennis  O'Kane. 
Capt.  William  Davis. 
71st  Pennsylvania,    Col.    Richard 

Penn  Smith. 
72d  Pennsylvania: 

Col.  De  Witt  C.  Baxter. 
Lieut.  Col.  Theodore  Hesser. 
106th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  Wm. 
L.  Curry. 


Third  Brigade. 
Col.  Norman  J.  Hall. 

19th  Massachusetts,    Col.    Arthur   F. 

Devereux. 
20th  Massacihusetts: 

Col.  Paul  J.  Revere. 

Lieut.  Col.  George  N.  Macy. 

Capt.  Henry  L.  Abbott. 
7th  Michigan  : 

Lieut  Col.  Amos  K.  Steele,  jr. 

Maj.  Sylvanus  W.  Curtis. 
42d   New  York,  Col.  Jas.  PL  Mallon. 
59th  New  York  (four  companies); 

Lieut.  Col.  Max  A.  Thoman. 

Capt.  William  McFadden. 


Unattached. 


Massachusetts      Sharpshooters, 
company : 
Capt.  William  Plumer. 
Lieut.  Emerson  L.  BicknelL 


1st 


THIRD  DIVISION. 


Brig.  Gen.  Alexander  Hays. 


First  Brigade. 
Col.  Samuel  S.  Carroll. 

14th  Indiana,  Col.  John  Coons. 

4th  Ohio,  Lieut.  Col.  Leonard  W. 
Carpenter. 

8th  Ohio,  Lieut,  (^ol.  Franklin  Saw- 
yer. 

7th  West  Virginia,  Lieut.  Col.  Jona- 
than H.  Lockwood. 


Second  Brigade. 

Col.  Thomas  A.  Smyth. 

Lieut.  Col.  Francis  E.  Pierce, 

14th  Connecticut,    Maj.  Theodore  G. 

Ellis. 
1st  Delaware : 

Lieut.  Col.  Edward  P.  Harris. 

Capt.  Thomas  B.  Hizar. 

Lieut.  William  Smitli. 

Lieut.  John  T,  Dent. 
12th  New  Jersey,  Maj.  JohnT.  Hill. 
10th  New    York     (battalion)     Maj. 

George  F.  Hopper. 
108th  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.   Francis 

E.  Pierce. 


'  2d  Company  Minnesota  Sharpshooters  attached. 


132 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshurg. 


Tliird  BrigaiU'. 

Col.  George  L.  Wxllakd. 
Col.  Eliakim  Sherrill. 
Lieut.  Col.  James  M.  Bull. 

39th  New  York  (four  companies),  Maj.  Hugo  Hildebrandt. 
111th  New  York  : 

Col.  Clinton  D.  MacDougall. 

Lieut.  Col.  Isaac  M.  Lusk. 

Capt.  Aaron  P.  Seeley. 
125th  New  York : 

Lieut.  Col.  Levin  Crandell. 
]26th  New  York  : 

Col.  Eliakim  Sherrill. 

Lieut.  Col.  James  M.  Bull. 

AKTIIiLERY    BRIGADE. 

Capt.  John  G.  Hazard. 

Ist  New  York  Light,  Battery  B:- 

Lieut.  Albert  S.  Sheldon. 

Captain  James  McKay  Rorty. 

Lieut.  Robert  E.  Rogers. 
Ist  Rhode  Island  Light,  Battery  A,  Capt  William  A.  Arnold. 
1st  Rhode  Island  Light,  Battery  B  : 

Lieut.  T.  Fred.  Brown.' 

Lieut.  Walter  S.  Perrin. 
Ist  United  States,  Battery  I : 

Lieut.  George  A.  Woodruff". 

Lieut.  Tully  McCrea. 
4th  United  States,  Battery  A  : 

Lieut.  Alonzo  H.  Gushing. 

Sergt.  Frederick  Fuger. 

THIRD  ARMY  CORPS.     , 

Maj.  Gen.  Daniel  E.  Sickles. 
Maj.  Gen.  David  B.  Birney. 

FIRST    division. 

Maj.  Gen.  David  B.   Bcrnev. 
Brig.  Gen.  J.  H.  Hobart  Ward. 
First  Briqade.  Second  Brigade. 


Brig.  Gen.  Charles  K.  Graham. 
Col.  Andrew  H.  Tippin. 

57th     Pennsylvania     (eight      com- 
panies) : 
Col.  Peter  Sides. 
Capt.  Alanson  II.  Nelson. 
63d    Pennsylvania,    Maj.    John    A. 

Danks. 
eStil  Pennsylvania: 

Col.  Andrew  H.  Tippen. 
Capt.  Milton  S.  Davis  [?]. 
105th  Pennsylvania,  Col.    Calvin   A. 

Craig. 
114th  Pennsj'lvania : 

Lieut.  Col.   Frederick  F.  Ca- 

vada. 
Capt.  Edward  R.  Bowen. 
141st    Pennsvlvania,    Col.   Henry  J. 
Madill. 


Brig.  Gen.  J.  H.  Hobart  Ward. 
Col.  Hiram  Berdan. 

20th  Indiana : 

Col.  John  Wheeler. 
Lieut.    Col.    William    C.    L. 
Taylor. 
3d   Maine,  Col.  Moses  B.  Lakeman. 
4th  Maine  : 

Col.  Elijah  Walker. 
Capt.  Edwin  Libby. 
86th  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.   Benja- 
min L.  Higgins. 
124th  New  York  : 

Col.  A.  Van  Home  Ellis. 
Lieut.   Col.  Francis  M.  Cum- 
mins. 
99th  Pennsylvania,  Major  John  W. 
Moore. 
1st  United  States  Sharpshooters  : 
Col.  Hiram  Berdan. 
Lieut.  Col.  Casper  Trepp. 
2d  United     States    Sharpshooters 
(eight  companies),  Maj.  Ho- 
mer R.  Stoughton. 


•Triinsferred  from  Arlllleiy  Keserve.  July  1;  14th  New  Vork  Battery  attached. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


133 


Third  Bri(/adc. 

Col.  P.  Recus  de  Trohriand. 

17th  Maine,  Lieut.  Col.  Charles  B.  Merrill. 
3d  Michigan  : 

Col.  Byron  R.   Pierce. 
Lieut.  Col.  Edwin  8.  Pierce. 
5th  Michigan,  Lieut.  Col.  John  Pulford. 
40th  New  York,  Col.  Thomas  \V.  Egan. 
110th  Pennsylvania  (six  companies)  : 
Lieut.  Col.  David  M.  Jones. 
Maj.  Isaac  Rogers. 


SECOND    DIVISION. 


Brig.  Gen.  Andrew  A.  Humphreys. 


First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Joseph  B.  Carr. 

1st  Massachusetts,  Lieut.  Col.  Clark 

B.  Baldwin. 
11th  Massachusetts,  Lieut.  Col.  Porter 

D.  Tripp. 
16th  Massachusetts : 

Lieut.  Col.  Waldo  Merriam. 
Capt.  Matthew  Donovan. 
12th  New  Hampshire,  Capt.  John  F. 

Langley. 
11th  New  Jersey : 

Col.  Robert  McAllister. 
Capt.  Luther  Martin. 
Lieut.  John  Schoonover. 
Capt.  William  H.  Lloyd. 
Capt.  Samuel  T.  Sleeper. 
Lieut.  John  Schoonover. 
26th   Pennsylvania,    Maj.  Robert  L. 

Bod  in  e. 
84th  Pennsylvania,*  Lieut.  Col.  Mil- 
ton 0pp. 


Second  Brigade. 

Col.  William  R.  Brev^^ster. 

70th    New    York,    Col.    J.    Egbert 

Farnum. 
71st    New    York,    Col.     Henry    L. 

Potter. 
72d  New  York : 

Col.  John  S.  Austin. 
Lieut.  Col.  John  Leonard. 
78d    New  York,  Maj.   Michael  W. 

Burns. 
74th  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.  Thomas 

Holt. 
120th  New  York  : 

Lieut.  Col.  Cornelius  D.  West- 
brook. 
Major  John  R.  Tappen. 


Third  Brigadf. 
Col.  George  C.  Burling. 


2d    New  Hampshire,  Col.  Edward  L.  Bailey. 
5th  New  Jersey  : 

Col.  William  J.  Sewell. 

Capt.  Thomas  C.  Godfrey. 

Capt.  Henry  H.  Woolsey. 
6th  New  Jersey,  Lieut.  Col.  Stephen  R.  Gilkyson. 
7th  New  Jersey : 

Col.  Louis  R.  Francine. 

Maj.  Frederick  Cooper. 
8th  New  Jersey  : 

Col.  John  Ramsey. 

Capt.  .John  G.  Langston. 
115th  Pennsylvania,  Maj.  John  P.  Dunne. 


*  Guarding  corps  trains,  and  not  engaged  In  the  battle. 


134 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


ARTILLERY    BRIGADE. 

Capt.  George  E.  Randolph. 
Capt.  A.  JuDsoN  Clakk. 
New  Jersey  Liglit,  2d  Battery : 

Capt  A.  Judson  Clark. 

Lieut.  Robert  Sims. 
1st  New  York  Light,  Battery  D,  Capt.  George  B.  Winslow. 
New  York  Light,  4th  Battery,  Capt.  James  E.  Smith. 
1st  Rhode  Island  Light,  Battery  E  : 

Lieut.  John  K.  Buuklyn. 

Lieutenant  Beniauiin  Freeborn. 
4th  United  States,  Battery  K : 

Lieut.  Francis  W.  Seeley. 

Lieut.  Robert  J  ames. 


FIFTH  ARMY  CORPS. 
Maj.  Gen.  George  Sykes. 

general    HEADQUARTERS. 

12th  New  York  Infantry,  Companies  D  and  E,  Capt.  Henry  W.  Rider. 
17th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  Companies  D  and  H,  Capt.  William  Thompson. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  James  Barnes. 
First  Brioade. 


Col.  William  S.  Tilton. 


/Second  Brigade. 
Col.  Jacob  B.  Sweitzer. 


9th  Massachusetts,    Col.    Patrick   R. 
Guiney. 
32d   Massachusetts,  Col.  G.  L.  Pres- 
cott. 
4th  Michigan  : 

Col.  Harrison  H.  Jeffords. 
Lieut.  Col.  Geo.  W.  Lumbard. 
62d  Pennsvlvania,  Lieut.  Col.  James 
C.  Hull. 


18th  Massachusetts,  Col.  Jos.  Hayes. 
22d    Massachusetts,  Lieut.  Col.Thos. 
Sherwin,  Jr. 
1st  Michigan : 

Col.  Ira  C.  Abbott. 
Lieut.      Col.      William      A. 
Throop. 
118th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  Jas. 
Gwyn. 

Third  Brigade. 

Col.  Strong  Vincent. 
Col.  James  C.  Rice. 
20th  Maine,  Col.  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain. 
16th  Michigan,  Lieut.  Col.  Norval  E.  Welch. 
44th  New  York : 

Col.  James  C.  Rice. 
Lieut.  Col.  Kreeman  Conner. 
83d  Pennsylvania,  Capt.  Orpheus  S.  Woodward. 


SECOND    division. 

Brig.  Gen.  Rombyn  B.  Ayres. 
Fir/it  Brigade. 

Col.  Hannibal  Day. 


3d   United  States  (six  companies): 

Capt.  Henry  W.  Freedley. 

Capt.  Richard  G.  Lay. 
4th  United  States  (four  companies), 

Captain  Julius  W.  Adams.  Jr. 
6th  United  Stsites  (live  companies), 

Capt.  Levi  C.  Bootes. 
12th  United  States  (eightcompanies), 

Capt.  Thomas  S.  Dunn. 
14th  United  States  (eightcompanies), 

Maj.  Grotius  R.  Giddings. 


Second  Brigade. 
Col.  Sidney  Burbank. 


2d    United  States  (six  companies): 
Maj.  Arthur  T.  Lee. 
Capt.  Samuel  A.  McKee. 
7th  United  States  (four  companies), 

Capt.  David  P.  Hancock. 
lOtli  United  States  (threecompauies), 

Captain  William  Clinton. 
11th  United   States  (six  companies), 

Maj.  DeLancey  Floyd-Jones. 
17th  United States(seven companies), 
Lieut.  Col.  J.  Durell  Greene. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


135 


Third  Brir/adr. 

Brig.  Geu.  Stephen  H.  Weed. 
Col.  Kenner  Garrakd. 
140th  New  York  : 

Col.  Patrick  H.  O'Rorke. 
Lieut.  Col.  Louis  Ernst. 
146th  New  York  : 

Col.  Kenuor  (xarrard. 
Lieut.  Col.  David  T.  .Tenkins. 
91st  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  Joseph  H.  Sinex. 
155th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  John  H.  Cain. 

THIRD   DIVISION.* 

Brig.  Gen.  Samuel.  W.  Crawford. 


First  Brignde. 
Col.  WiiiiiiAM  McCandless. 

1st  Pennsylvania    Reserves    (nine 

companies),   Col.   William  C. 

Talley. 
2d    Pennsylvania    Reserves,   Lieut. 

Col.  George  A.  Woodward. 
6th  Pennsylvania    Reserves,   Lieut. 

Col.  Wellington  H.  Ent. 
13th  Pennsylvania  Reserves: 

Col.  Charles  F.  Taylor. 

Maj.  William  R.  Hartshorne. 


Third  Brigade. 
Col.  Joseph  W.  Fisher. 

5th  Pennsylvania    Reserves,   I^ieut. 

Col.  "George  Dare. 
9th  Pennsylvania    Reserves,   Lieut. 

Col.  James  McK.  Snodgrass. 
10th  Pennsj-lvania     Reserves,      Col. 

Adoniram  J.  Warner. 
11th  Pennsj-lvania     Reserves,      Col. 

Samuel  M.  Jackson. 
12th  Pennsylvania     Reserves    (nine 

companies),    Col.    Martin    D. 

Hardin. 


artillery  brigade. 

Capt.  Augustus  P.  Martin. 

Massachusetts  Light,  3d  Battery  (C),  Lieut.  Aaron  F.  Walcott 
1st  New  Y^ork  Light,  Battery  C,  Capt.  Almont  Barnes. 
1st  Ohio  Light,  Battery  L,  Captain  Frank  C.  Gibbs. 
5th  United  States,  Battery  D  :  • 

Lieut.  Charles  E.  Hazlett. 

Lieut.  Benj.  F.  Rittenliouse. 
5th  United  States,  Battery!  : 

Lieut.  Mai  bone  F.  Watson. 

Lieut.  Charles  C.  MacConnell. 

SIXTH  ARMY  CORPS. 
Maj.  Gen.  John  Sedgwick. 

GENERAL    HEADQUARTERS. 

1st  New  Jersey  Cavalry,  Company  L      |  ^     ^  William  S.  Craft. 
1st  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  Companj^  H,  S 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  Horatio  G.  Wright. 

Provost   Guard. 

4th  New  Jersey  (three  companies),  Capt.  William.  R.  Maxwell. 

First  Brigade.  i  Second  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Joseph  J.  BARTLETT.f 

5th  Maine,  Col.  Clark  S.  Edwards. 
121st  New  York,  Col.  Emory  Upton. 
95th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.    Col.  Ed- 
ward Carroll. 
96th  Pennsylvania,  Maj.  William  H. 
Lessig. 


Brig.  Gen.  A.  T.  .\.  Torbert. 

Ist  New  Jersey,  Lieut.  Col.  William 

Henry,  Jr. 
2d   New  Jersey,  Lieut.  Col.  Charles 

Wiebecke. 
3d   New  Jersej',  Lieut.  Col.  Edward 

L.  Campbell. 
15th  New  Jersej',    Col.    William    H. 

Penrose. 


•Joined  corps  June  2S      The  Second  Brigade  left  In  the  Department  of  Washington, 
t  Also  in  command  of  the  Third  Brigade,  Third  Division,  on  July  3. 


136 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Third  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  David  A.  Russell. 
6th  Maine,  Col.  Hiram  Burnham. 

49th  Pennsylvania  (four  companies),  Lieut.  Col.  Thomas  M.  Hulings. 
119th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Peter  C.  Kllmaker. 
5th  Wisconsin,  Col.  Thomas  S.  Allen. 

SECOND  DIVISION.* 

Brig.  Gen.  Albion  P.  Howe. 
Second  Brigade.  Third  Brigade. 


Col.  Lewis  A.  Grant. 

2d    Vermont,   Col.   James    H.    Wal- 

bridge. 
3d    Vermont,  Col.  Thomas  O.  Seaver. 
4th  Vermont,  Col.  Charles  B.  Stough- 

ton. 
5th  Vermont,   Lieut.    Col.    .John    R. 

Lewis. 
6th  Vermont,  Col.  Elisha  L.  Barney. 


Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  H.  Neill. 

7th  Maine  (six  companies),  Lieut, 
Col.  Selden  Connor. 

33d  New  York  (detachment),  Capt. 
Henry  J.  Giflford. 

43d  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.  John 
Wilson. 

49th  New  York,  Col.  Daniel  D.  Bid- 
well. 

77th  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.  Winsor 
B.  French. 

61st  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  CoL  Geo. 
F.  Smith. 


THIRD  DIVISION. 


First  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  Alexander  Shaler. 

65th  New    York,    Col.     Joseph     E. 

Hamblin. 
67th  New  York,  CoL  Nelson  Cross. 
122d    New  York,  Col.  Silas  Titus. 
23d    Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  John 

F.  Glenn. 
82d    Pennsylvania,    Col.     Isaac    C. 

Bassett. 


Maj.  Gen.  John  Newton. 
Brig.  Gen.  Frank  Wheaton. 

Second  Brigade. 


Col.  Henry  L.  Eustis. 


Col. 


7th  Massachusetts,      Lieut. 

Franklin  P.  Harlow. 
10th  Massachusetts,  Lieut   Col.    Jos. 

B.  Parsons. 
37th  Massachusetts,  Col.   Oliver  Ed- 
wards. 
2d    Rhode     Island,     Col.     Horatio 
Rogers,  Jr. 


Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Frank  Wheaton. 
Col.  David  J.  Nevin. 
62d    New  York : 

Col.  David  J.  Nevin. 
Lieut.  Col.  Theodore  B.  Hamilton. 
93d    Pennsylvania,  Maj.  John  I.  Nevin. 
98th  Pennsylvania,  Maj.  John  B.  Kohler. 
102d    Pennsylvania,  f  Col.  John  W.  Patterson. 
139th  Pennsylvania: 

.     Col.  Frederick  H.  Collier. 
Lieut.  Col.  William  H.  Moody. 

artillery  brigade. 
Col.  Charles  H.  Tompkins. 
Massachusetts  Light,  1st  Battery  (.\),  Capt  William  H.  McCartney. 
New  York  Light,  1st  Battery,  Capt.  Andrew  Cowan. 
New  York  Light,  3d  Battery,  Capt.  William  A.  Harn. 
Ist  Rhode  Island  Light,  Battery  C,  Capt.  RicJiard  Waterman 
1st  Rhode  Island  Light,  Battery  G,  Capt.  George  W.  Adams. 
2d  United  States,  Battery  D,  Lieut.  Edward  B.  Williston. 
2d  United  States,  Battery  G,  Lieut  John  H.  Butler. 
5th  United  States,  Battery  F,  Lieut  Leonard  Martin. 


•No  First  BriKude  In  division. 

tOuardlDg  wugon  train  at  Westminster,  and  ni)t  enKaRed  In  the  battle. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


137 


ELEVENTH  ARMY  CORPS.* 
Maj.  Gen.  Oliver  O.  Howard. 

OENEBAL.  HEADQUARTERS. 

1st  Indiana  Cavalry,   Companies  I  and  K,  Capt.  Abram  Sliarra. 
8th  New  York  Infantry  (one  company),  Lieut.  Hermann  Foerster 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  Francis  C.  Barlow. 
Brig.  Gen.  Adelbbrt  Ames. 


First  Brigade. 
Col.  Leopold  von  Gilsa. 

41st  New  York  (nine  companies)? 

Lieut.  Col.  Detleo  von   Ein" 

siedel. 
54th  New  York  : 

Maj.  Stephen  Kovacs. 

Lieut.  Ernest  Both  [?]. 
68tli  New  York,  Col.  Gotthilf  Bourry. 
153d    Pennsylvania,  Maj.    John 

FrueauflF. 


Second  Brifiade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Adelbert  Ames. 
Col.  Andrew  L.  Harris. 

17th  Connecticut : 

Lieut.  Col.  Douglas  Fowler. 
Maj.  Allen  G.  Bradv. 
25th  Ohio : 

Lieut.    Col.     Jeremiah    Wil- 
liams. 
Capt.  Nathaniel  J.  Manning. 
Lieut.  William  Maloney. 
Lieut.  Israel  White. 
75th  Ohio : 

Col.  Andrew  L.  Harris, 
Capt.  George  B.  Fox. 
107th  Ohio  : 

Col.  Seraphim  Meyer. 
Capt.  John  M.  Lutz. 


second  division. 
Brig.  Gen.  Adolph  von  Steinwehr. 


Col. 


First  Brigade. 
Charles  R.  Coster. 


134th  New  York,   Lieut.    Col.   Allan 

XT     T  3,0  k  son 
154th  New  York,    f/ieut.    (^ol.    D.    B. 

Allen. 
27th  Pennsylvania,   Lieut.  Col.    Lo- 

renz  Cantador. 
73d    Pennsylvania,      Capt.     D.     F. 

Kelley. 


Second  Brigade. 

Col.  Orland  Smith. 

33d    Massachusetts,    Col.    Adin    B. 

Underwood. 
136th  New  York,  Col.  James  Wood,  Jr. 
55th  Ohio,  Col.  Charles  B.  Gam  bee. 
73d    Ohio,  Lieut.  Col.  Richard  Long. 


THIRD  division. 

Maj.  Gen.  Carl  Schurz. 


First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Alex.Schimmelfenniq. 
Col.  George  von  Amsberg. 

82d    Illinois,  Lieut.  Col.  Edward  S. 

Salomon. 
45th  New  York : 

Col.  George  von  Ainsberg. 

Lieut.  Col.  Adolphus  Dobke. 
157th  New    York,     Col.     Philip     P. 

Brown,  Jr. 
61st  Ohio,     Col.     Stephen     J.     .Mc- 

Groarty. 
74th  Pennsylvania : 

Col.  Adolph  von  Hartung. 

Lieut.  Col.  Alex,  von  Mitzel. 

Capt.  GustavSchleiter. 

Capt  Henry  Krauseneck. 


Col. 


Second  Brigade. 
W.  Krzyzanowski. 


58th  New  York  : 

Lieut.  Col.  August  Otto. 

Capt.  Emil  Koenig. 
119th  New  York  : 

Col.  John  T.  Lockman. 

Lieut.  Col.  Edward  F.  Llojal. 
82d    Ohio: 

Col.  James  S.  Robinson. 

Lieut.  Col.  David  Thomson. 
75th  Pennsj'lvania  : 

Col.  Francis  Mahler. 

Maj.  August  Ledig. 
26th  Wisconsin  : 

Lieut.  Col.  Hans  Boebel. 

Capt.  John  W.  Fuchs. 


*  During  the  interval  between  thejleath  of  General  Kevnolfls  and  the  arrival  of  General  Han- 
cock, on  the  afternoon  of  July  1.  all  the  troops  on  the  tlelil  of  battle  were  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Howard,  General  Schurz  taking  command  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  and  General  Schimmel- 
fennig  of  the  Third  Division. 


138 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


AHTILLKRY    BRIIJADE. 

Maj.  Thomas  W.  Osborn. 
1st  New  York  Light,  Battery  I,  Capt.  Michael  Wiedrich. 
New  York  Light,  13th  Battery,  Lieut.  William  Wheeler. 
1st  Ohio  Liglit,  Battery  I,  Capt.  Hubert  Dilger. 
1st  Ohio  Light,  Battery  K,  Capt.  Lewis  Heckman. 
4th  United  States,  Battery  G.- 
Lieut  Bayard  Wilkeson. 
Lieut.  Eugene  A.  Bancroft. 

TWELFTH  ARMY  CORPS. 
Maj.  Gen.  Henry  W.  Slocum.* 
Brig.  Gen.  Alpheus  S.  Williams. 

PROVOST    GUARD. 

10th  Maine  (four  companies),  Capt.  John  D.  Beardsley. 

FIRST   DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  Alpheus  S.  Williams. 
Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  H.  Ruger. 


Col. 
5th 

20th 

3d 

123d 

145th 
46th 


(Second  Brigade. \ 
Brig.  Gen.  Henry  H.  Lockwood. 
1st  Maryland,       Potomac,     Home 
Brigade,     Col.     William     P. 
Maulsby. 
1st  Maryland,  Eastern  Shore,  Col. 
James  Wallace. 
150th  New      York,     Col.     John     H, 
Ketcham. 


First  Brigade. 

Archibald  L.  McDougadl. 

Connecticut,   Col.     Warren   W. 
Packer. 

Connecticut,   Lieut.    Col.     Wil- 
liam B.  Wooster. 

Maryland,  Col.  Joseph  M.  Suds- 
burg. 

New  York: 

Lieut.  Col.  James  C.  Rogers.' 
Capt.  Adolphus  H.  Tanner. 

New  York,  Col.  E.  Livingston 
Price. 

Pennsjdvania,    Col.    .James   L. 
Selfridge. 

Third  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  H.  Ruger. 
Col.  Silas  Colgrove. 
27th  Indiana: 

Col.  Silas  Colgrove. 
Lieut.  Col.  John  R.  Fesler. 
2cl   Massachusetts : 

Lieut.  Col.  Charles  R.  Mudge. 
Maj.  Charles  F.  Morse. 
13th  New  Jersey,  Col.  Ezra  A.  Carman 
107th  New  York,  Col.  Nirom  M.  Crane. 
3d    Wisconsin,  Col.  William  Hawley. 
second  division. 
Brig.  Gen.  John  W.  Geary. 


5th 

7th 

29th 


66th 

28th 

147th 


Fir.'il  Brigade. 
Col.  Charles  Candy'. 
Oiiio,  Col.  John  H.  Patrick. 
Ohio,  Col.  William  R.  Creighton. 
Ohio: 

Capt.  Wilbur  F.  Stevens. 
Capt.  Edward  Hayes. 
Oliio,      Lieut.       CoL       Eugene 

Powell. 
Pennsylvania,        Capt.       John 

Flynn. 
Pennsylvania     (eight    compa- 
nies), Lieut  Col.  Ai-io  Par- 
dee, jr. 


Second  Brigade. 

Col.  George  A.  Cob  ham,  Jr. 

Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  L.  Kank. 

Col.  Geouge  a.  Cobham,  Jr. 

29th  Pennsylvania,     Col.      William 

Rickards,  jr. 
109th  Pennsylvania,      Capt.       F.    L. 

Gimber. 
111th  Pennsylvania: 

Lieut.  Col.  Thos.  M.  Walker. 
Col.  George  A.  Cobham,  ir. 
Lieut.  Col.  Thos.  M.  Walker. 


•Exercl?e(J  (■oniniMiid  of  the  ripht  wing  of  the  army  during  a  part  of  the  battle. 

t  UniiMsiKned  (liirlnt;  l)roKress  (if  battle;  uftcrwiird  nitached  to  First  Division  as  Second  Bri- 
gade. The  rommand  tlipretofore  known  as  the  Second  (or  .lackson'si  Brigade  had  previously 
been  coasoliclutud  with  tliu  First  Brigade. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


139 


Third  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  Geokuk  S.  Greenk. 
60th  New  York,  Col.  Abel  Godard. 

78th  New  York,  Lieut.  Col.  Herbert  Von  Hamnier.stein. 
102d    New  York  : 

Col.  James  C.  Lane. 
Capt.  Ijewis  R.  Stegnian. 
137th  New  York,  Col.  David  Ireland. 
149th  Now  York  : 

Col.  Henry  A.  Barnnin. 
Lieut.  Col.  Charles  B.  Randall. 

ARTILLERY    BRIGADE. 

Lieut.  Edward  D.  Muhlenberg. 
1st  New  York  Light,  Battery  M,  Lieut.  Charles  E.  Winegar. 
Pennsylvania  Light,  Battery  E,  Lieut.  Charles  A.  Atwell. 
4th  United  States,  Batterj'  F,  Lieut.  Sylvanus  T.  Rugg. 
5th  United  States,  Battery  K,  Lieut.  David  H.  Kinzie. 
CAVALRY  CORPS. 

Maj.  Gen.  Alfred  Pleasonton. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  John  Buford. 


First  Brif/ade. 

Col.  William  Gamble. 

8th  Illinois,  ^Maj.  John  L.  Beveridge. 

12th  Illinois  (four cos.),  )  Col.  Geo.  H. 

3d   Indiana  (six  COS.),  \     Chapman. 

8th  New  York,  Lieiit.  Col.   William 

L.  Markell. 


Second  Brigade. 
Col.  Thomas  C.  Devin. 
6th  NeAV  York,  Maj.  W.  E.Beardsley. 
9th  New  York,  Col.  William  Sackett. 
17th  Pennsylvania,   Col.    J.    H.  Kel- 
logg. 
3d   West  Virginia  (two companies), 
Capt.  Seymour  B.  Conger. 
Reserve  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  Wesley  Mebritt. 
6th  Pennsylvania,  Maj.  James  H.  Haseltine. 
1st  United  States,  Capt.  Richard  S.  C.  liord. 
2d  United  States,  Capt.  T.  F.  Rodenbough. 
5th  United  States,  Capt.  Julius  W.  Mason. 
6th  United  States : 

Maj.  Samuel  H.  Starr. 
Lieut.  Louis  H.  Carpenter. 
Lieut.  Nicholas  Nolan. 
Capt.  Ira  W.  Claflin. 

SECOND    division. 

Brig.  Gen.  David  McM.  Gregg. 

Headquarters  Guard. 

1st  Ohio,  Company  A,  Capt.  Noah  Jones. 


First  Brigade. 
Col.  John  B.  McIntosh. 

1st  Maryland  (eleven  companies), 
Lieut.    Col.    Jas.    M.   Deems. 

Purnell  (Maryland)  Legion,  Com- 
pany A,  Capt.  Robert  E. 
Duvall. 

1st  Massachusetts,*  Lieut.  Col.  Greely 
S.  Curtis. 

1st  New  Jersey,  Maj.  M.  H.  Beau- 
mont. 

1st  Pennsylvania,  Col.  John  P.Taylor. 

3d  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  E.  S. 
Jones. 

3d  Pennsvlvania  Heavy  Artillery, 
Section  Battery  H,t  Capt.  W. 
D.  Rank. 


Second  Brigade.^ 
Col.  Pennock  Huey. 
2d   New    York,      liieut.     Col.     Otto 

Harhaus. 
4th  New  York,  Lieut.  Col,  Augustus 

Pruyn. 
6tli  Ohio      (ten      companies),     Maj. 

William  Stedman. 
8th  Pennsylvania,  Capt.   William  A. 

Corrie. 


*  Served  witb  the  Sixth  Army  Corps  and  on  the  right  flank. 

t Serving  as  light  artillery 

lAt  Westminster,  etc.,  and  not  engaged  in  the  battle. 


140 


Ptnnsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Third  Brigade. 

Col.  J.  IrVIN    GrREQO. 

1st  Maine  (ten  companies),  Lieut.  Col.  Charles  H.  Smith. 
10th  New  York,  Major  M.  Henry  Avery. 

4th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  VVm.  E.  Doster. 
16th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  Col.  John  K.  Robison. 

THIRD    DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  Judson  Kilpatrick. 

Headquarters  Guard. 

1st  Ohio,  Company  C,  Capt.  Samuel  N.  Stanford. 

J^irst  Brif/ade.  Second  Brigade. 


Brig.  Gen.  Elon  J.  Farnsworth. 
Col.  Nathaxikl  p.  Richmond. 

5th  New  York,     Maj.    John    Ham- 
mond. 
18th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.    Col.    Wil- 
liam P.  Brinton. 

1st  Vermont,   Lieut.    Col.    Addison 
W.  Preston. 

1st  West  Virginia  (ten  companies): 
Col.  Nathaniel  P.  Richmond. 
Maj.  Charles  E.  Capehart. 


Brig.  Gen.  George  A.  Custer. 

1st  Michigan,  Col.  Charles  H.  Town. 
5th  Michigan,  Col.  Russell  A.  Algei-. 
6th  Michigan,  Col.  George  Gray. 
7th  Michigan  (ten  companies),  Col. 
William  D.  Mann. 


HORSE    ARTILLERY. 


First  Brigade. 
Capt.  James  M.  Robertson. 

9th  Michigan  Battery,  Capt.  Jabez  J. 

Daniels. 
6th  New  York  Battery,  Capt.  Joseph 

W.  Martin. 
2(1    United  States,  Batteries  B  and  L, 

Lieut.  Edward  Heaton. 
2d   United  States,  Battery  M,  Lieut. 

A.  C.  M.  Pennington,  jr. 
4th  United  States,  Battery  E,  Lieut. 

Samuel  S.  Elder. 


Second  Brigade. 
Capt.  John  C.  Tidball. 

1st  United  States,  Batteries  E  and  G, 

Capt.  Alanson  M.  Randol. 
1st  United  States,   Battery  K,   Capt. 

William  M.  Graham. 
2d  United  States,  Battery  A,   Lieut. 

John  H.  Calef. 
3d  United  States,  Batterv  C,*  Lieut. 

William  D.  Fuller.  ^ 


ARTILLERY  RESERVE. 

Brig.  Gen.  Robert  O.  Tyler. 
Capt.  James  M.  Robertson. 

Headqiuirters  Guard. 

'Sza  Massachusetts  Infantry,  Company  C,  Capt.  .Tosiah  C.  Fuller. 

First  Regular  Brigade.  First  Volunteer  Brigade. 


Capt.  Dunbar  R.  Ransom. 

Ist  United  States,  Battery  H: 

Lieut.  Chandler  V.  Eakin. 

Lieut.  Philip  D.  Mason. 
3d    United  States,  Batteries  F  and  K, 

Lieut.  John  G.  Turn  bull. 
4th  United  States,  Battery  C,  Lieut. 

Evan  Thomas. 
5th  United  States,  Battery  C,  Lieut. 

Gulian  V.  Weir. 


Lieut.  Col.  Freeman  McGilvery. 

Massachusetts    Light,     5th     Battery 

(E),f  Capt.  Charles  A.  Phillips. 
Massac-luisetts  Light,  9th  Battery: 
Capt.  Jolm  Bigelow. 
Lieut.  Richard  S.  Milton. 
New  York  Light,  15th  Battery,  Capt. 

Patrick  Hart. 
Penns3'lvania  Light,  Batteries  C  and 
F,  Capt.  James  Thompson. 


•with  lluey'8  Cavalry  BrlKude.  nnd  not  engaged  In  biittle 
tlOth  New  York  battery  attached 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


141 


Second  Volunteer  Brigade. 
Capt.  Elijah  D.  Taft. 

1st  Connecticut  Heavy,   Battery   B,* 

Capt.  Albert  F.  Brooker. 
1st  Connecticut  Heavy,  Battery  M,* 

Capt  Franklin  A.  Pratt. 
Connecticut  Light,  2d  Battery,  Capt. 

John  W.  Sterling. 
New  York  Light,  5th  Battery,  Capt. 

Elijah  D.  Taft 


Third  Volunteer  Brigade. 
Capt  James  F.  Huntington. 

New  Hampshire  Light,  1st  Battery, 

Capt  Frederick  M.  Edgell. 
1st  Ohio    Ijight,    Battery    H,    Lieut 

George  W.  Norton. 
1st  Pennsylvania  Light,  Batteries  F 

and  G,  Capt  R.  Bruce  Ricketts. 
West  Virginia  Light,  Battery  C,  Capt. 

Wallace  Hill. 


Fourth  Volunteer  Brigade. 

Capt.  Robert  H.  Fitzhuqh. 

Maine  Light,  6th  Battery  (F),  Lieut  Edwin  B.  Dow. 

Maryland  Light  Battery  A,  Capt  James  H.  Rigby. 

New  Jersey  Light,  1st  Batter3\  Lieut  Augustin  N.  Parsons. 

1st  New  York  Light,  Battery  G,  Capt  Nelson  Ames. 

1st  New  York  Light,  Battery  K,t  Capt  Robert  H.  Fitzhugh. 

Train  Guard. 
4th  New  Jersey  Infantry  (seven  companies),  Maj.  Charles  Ewing. 


•Not  engaged. 

t  Eleventh  New  York  Battery  attached. 


142 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


RETURN  OF  CASUALTIES  IN  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC, 
COMMANDED  BY  MAJ.  GEN.  GEORGE  G.  MEADE,  U.  S. 
ARMY,  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG,  PENNSYL- 
VANIA, JULY  1-3,  1863.* 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 
or  Missing. 

Command. 

£ 
8 

0 

a 

a 

1 

£ 
0 
B 
0 

a 
0 

a 

■a 

<D 

a 

« 

B 
0 

a 
<a 

a 

n 

1 
< 

GENBRAIi  HEADQUARTERS. 
Staff 

2 

2. 

4 

FIRST  ARMY  CORPS. 

Maj.  Gen.  John  F.  Reynolds. 
Maj.  Gen.  AunerDoubleday 
.Maj.  Gen.  John  Newton. 

GENERAL  HEADQUARTERS. 

Staff 

1 

'  "  'l' 

] 

1st  Maine  Cavalry,  Company  L 

2 

3 

FIRST  DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  James  S.  Wahdsworth. 

First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Solo.mon  Meredith. 
Col.  William  W.  Robinson. 

Staff 

1 
12 
13 
11 

7 
10 

1 

19th  Indiana 

2 
S 
1 
2 

25 
59 
25 
28 
21 

121 
197 
144 
109 
95 

4 

3 
5 

'   ■  1 

40 
83 
47 
22 
51 

24th  Michigan ; 

2ci    Wisconsin     

3ti3 

♦ith  Wisconsin 

168 

7th  Wisconsin     

178 

Total  First  Brigade 

13 

158 

54 

666 

13 

249 

1.153 

Second  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  Lysander  Cutler. 

:iO 
''i 

'lii 
1; 
8 
9 
5 

5 

lit; 
99 
54 

185 
at! 

'  r 
' '  1' 

3 
70 
99 
45 
92 
54 

10 

Tt;th  New  York 

•-' 

S4th  New  York  (Mtli  Militia) 

0)7 

tintli  .New  York 

115 

147th  New  \<.rk 

1 

SGth  Pennsylvania 

130 

Total  Second  Brigade 

6 

122 

44 

465 

2 

363 

1,002 

Total  First  Division 

19 

280 

98 

1,131 

15 

612 

2.165 

second  division. 

Brig.  Gen.  John  C.  Robinson. 

Staff 

1 

1 

•  Also  includes  losses  In  skirmishes,  July  i. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


143 


Ktllek. 

W  .M 

.\  1 1 1: 1 ) . 

('A  I-nUKI) 

orMissinu. 

Command. 

§ 
o 

a 
a> 
3 

■a 
o 

a 

■  B 
o 

a 
o 

a 

■a 

01 
Q 

o 
S 

O 

a 
a 
g 

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n 

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U 
< 

First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Gabriel  R.  Paul. 

Col.  Samuel  h.  Leonard. 

Col.  Adrian  R.  Root. 

Col.  Richard  Coulter. 

Col.  PETER  Lyi,e. 

Col.  Richard  Coulter. 

Staff 

1 

5 
4 

0 
10 
2 

8 

1 
54. 
73 
52 
81 
12 
48 

11 
3 
8 

10 

1 
153 

98 
167 

82 

16th  Maine 

2 

7 

12 
11 
1 
11 

13th  Massachusetts 

185 

94th  New  York 

245 

104th  New  York 

194 

11th  Pennsylvania* 

16 

107th  Pennsylvania 

6 

92 

1()5 

Total  First  Brigade 

2 

49 

36 

321 

40 

593 

1.041 

Second  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Henry  Baxter. 

Staff 

1 
3 

'   '3 

'  4 

1 

■  ■    59 
58 
75 
00 
47 
39 

1 

2 

2 

3 
4 

10 
5 
4 

3 

y 

6 
3 
3 

45 
15 
27 
46 
62 
42 

119 

82 
126 
117 

83d    New  York  (9th  Militia)     

97th  New  York 

110 

1 

93 

Total  Second  Brigade 

7 

33 

31 

227 

12 

338 

648 

Total  Second  Division 

9 

82 

68 

548 

52 

931 

1,690 

third  division. 

Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  A.  Rowley. 
Maj.  Gen.  Abner  Doubleday. 

Staff 

1 

1 

First  Brigade. 

Col.  CHAPMAN  BIDDLE. 

Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  a.  Rowley. 

1 
15 

5 
11 

9 

1 

80th  New  York  (20th  Militia)     

3 

32 
12 
10 

49 

'.(6 
101 
117 
202 

1 
1 
2 
4 

23 
00 
68 
71 

170 
179 

142d    Pennsylvania 

3 
.     2 

211 
337 

Total  First  Brigade 

8 

103 

41 

516 

8 

222 

898 

Second  Brigade. 

Col.  ROY  Stone. 

Col.  Langhorne  Wister. 

Col.  Edmund  L.  Dana. 

1 
1 

20 
o2 
33 

11 
14 
10 

130 
158 
142 

4 

4 

91 
107 
73 

2,53 

;i36 

264 

Total  Second  Brigade 

4 

105 

35 

430 

8 

271 

863 

•Transferred  on  afternoon  of  July  1  from  the  Second  to  the  First  Brigade. 
July  1  are  reported  with  the  latter  fjrigade. 


Its  louses  after 


144 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 
or  Missing. 

Command. 

0) 

e 
o 

B 

a 
1 

a 

c 

a 

•a 
1 
c 

£ 

c 

a 
1 

a 

be 
< 

Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Geokge  J.  Staxnaru. 
Col.  Francis  V.  Randall. 

Staff 

2 
4 
1 
5 

2 

13th  Vermont 

10 
18 
16 

99 
66 
97 

10 
21 

1 

1 

lOT 
119 

Itith  Vermont 

Total  Third  Brigade 

1 

44 

12 

262 

32 

351 

Total  Third  Division 

13 

252 

89 

1,208 

16 

525 

2,103 

ARTILLERY  BRIGADE. 

Col.  Charles  S.  Wainwright. 
Maine  Light,  2d  Battery  (B) 

18 
11 
14 
8 
29 

18 

Maine  Light.  5tb  Battery  ;K)i 

3 
1 
3 
2 

2 

1 
1 
2 

1 

23 

l.st  New  York  Light    Battery  L   ' 

17 

1st  Pennsylvania  Light.  Battery  B 

12 

4th  United  States,  Battery  B 

-^^ 

3 
11 

36 

Tot|p,l  Artillery  Brigade 

9 

6 

80 

106 

Total  First  Army  Corps 

42 

624 

262 

2,969 

83 

2,0T9 

6,059 

SECOND  ARMY  CORPS. 

Maj.  Gen.  Winfielu  S.  Hancock. 
Brig.  Gen.  John  Gibbon. 

general  headquarters. 

Staff 

3 

3 

1 

3 

4 

FIRST   DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  John  C.  Caldwell 

First  Brigade. 

Col,  EDWARD  E.  Cross. 
Col.  H.  Boyd  McKeen. 

Staff 

1 
4 
6 
5 
6 

] 

r>tli  New  Hampshire 

1 

26 
6 
5 

18 

49 
50 
44 
95 

80 

Cist  New  York 

62 

81st  Pennsylvania 

8 
5 

62 

148th  Pennsylvania 

1 

125 

Total  First  Brigade 

2 

55 

22 

238 

13 

330 

Second  Brigade. 
Col.  Patrick  Kelly. 
28th  Massachusetts 

8 

5 
6 
2 

9 

16 
11 

'  l" 
'  l' 

36 

6 
4 

8 

luo 

63d    New  York 

23 

69th  New  York 

25 

88th  New  York 

1 

28 

llr.th  I'ennsylvania 

22 

Total  Second  Brigade 

1 

26 

105          2  i          60 

198 

•Battery  E,  Ist  New  York  Light  Artillery,  attached. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


145 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 
or  Missing. 

CO.MMAXI). 

d 

Hi 

S 
1 

u 

o 

B 

3 
•a 

o 

a 
I 

1 

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2 
S 

01 

< 

Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Samuel  K.  Zook. 
Lieut.  Col.  John  Fraser. 

Staff 

1 

1 

1 

52d    New  York 

1 
4 
3 

U 

3 
2 
5 
8 

23 
26 
24 
136 

'  l' 

3 

10 
2 
9 

57 

38 

57th  New  York    ... 

B6th  New  York 

2 
3 

140th  Pennsylvania 

241 

Total  Third  Brigade     

7 

42 

18 

209 

4 

78 

358 

Fourth  Brigade. 
Col.  John  R.  Bkookk. 

2 
2 
4 

8 
9 
11 

7 
11 

4 
7 
7 
11 
9 

19 
54 

67 
56 
60 

4 

12 
19 
6 
10 

37 

84 

ti4th  New  York                 

-  t8 

80 
•10 

Total  Fourth  Brigade 

8 

46 

38 

246 

61 

389 

Total  First  Division 

18 

169 

82 

798 

6 

202 

1.275 

SECOND    DIVISIO.N-. 

Brig.  Gen.  Johx  Gibbon. 
Brig.  Gen.  WILLIAM  HARROW. 

Staff 

3 

First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  William  Harrow. 
Col.  FRANCIS  E.  Heath. 

Staff 

1 
11 

8 
14 
12 

1 

19th  Maine  .   .          

1 

3 
3 
3 

28 
20 
47 
42 

159 

89 
169 
120 

'  l' 

4 

28 
I 
14 

20^i 

15th  Massachusetts 

1st  Minnesota* 

82d    New  York  (2d  Militia^ 

148 
224 
192 

Total  First  Brigade 

10 

4 
2 
2 
1 

137 

46 

527 

1 

47 

768 

Second  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  ALEXANDER  i?.  Webh. 

36 
19 
42 

8 

8 
3 

7 
9 

72 
55 
139 
46 

2 
3 

15 
16 
2 
1 

137 

98 

192 

64 

Total  Second  Brigade 

9 

105 

27 

311 

5 

34 

491 

Third  Brigade. 
Col.  Norman  J.  Hall. 

2 
2 
2 

38 
19 
15 
6 

75 

9 
8 
3 
6 
3 

29 

52 
86 
41 
49 
25 

253 

3 

20th  Massachusetts 

127 

42d    Niw  York 

4 

74 

M 

14 

Total    Third  Brigade 

6 

377 

'2d  (Company  Minnesota  Sharpshooters  attached 

10 


146 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Killed. 

WOU.VDED. 

Captured 
OR  Missing. 

COMMANn. 

u 

o 

1 

O 

a 

a 

a 

Hi 

a 

1 

n 

u 

e 
o 

a 
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a 

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1 
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c 

IE 
< 

Vnattacheil . 
Ist  Company  Maasaohusetts  Sharpshooters 

2 

6 

8 

Total  Second  Division     

25 

319 

105 

1,097 

6 

95 

1.647 

THIKI)    DIVISION. 

BriK.  Gen.  Alexander  Ha  vs. 

Fir.sf   Rrifinfie. 

Col.  Samitel  S.  Cakkoli.. 

6 
7 

17 
5 

3 
1 
10 

1 

22 
16 

73 
40 

31 

4th  Ohio 

2 

1 

5 
1 
1 

31 

8th  Ohio 

102 

Total  First  Brigade 

3 

35 

15 

151 

7 

211 

Second  Brigade. 

Col.  Tho.mas  a.  S.mvth. 
Lieut.  Col.  Francis  E.  Pierce. 

10 
9 

21 
2 

13 

10 
10 
4 

"  'lO 

42 
44 
79 
4 

76 

'  l' 

4 

12 
9 

66 

1 

12th  New  Jersey 

115 

10th  New  York  (battalion  i 

108th  New  York 

3 

102 

Total  Second  Brigade 

6 

55 

34 

245 

1 

25 

366 

Third  Brigade. 

Col.  GEORGE  L.  Willaud. 
Col.  Eliakim  Sheurill. 
Lieut.  Col.  James  M.  Bri.i,. 

39th  New  York 

1 

3 
2 
5 

14 
55 
24 
35 

128 

3 
8 
6 
9 

26 

169 
98 
172 

516 

llIthNew  York 

12.'>th  New  York 

14 
9 
10 

33 

249 
139 

12t!th  New  York 

231 

Total  Third  Brigade 

11 

714 

Total  Third  Division 

20 

218 

75 

912 

1 

65 



1,291 

artillery  brigade. 

Capt.  John  G.  Hazard. 

1st  New  York  Light,  Battery  B* 

1 
'  '  l" 

9 
3 
(> 
1 
5 

24 

i 

15 
27 
18 
23 
31 

114 

26 

1st   Khode  Island  Light.  Battery  A     .   .   .   . 
l.tt   Rhode  Island  Light.  Battery  B     .   .   .   . 
Ibt   United  States.  Battery  1 

1 
2 

32 
28 
25 

4th  irnited  States,  Battery  A 

1 

38 

3 

3 

5 

149 

Total  Second  Army  Corps      .... 

66 

731 

270 

2,924 

13 

365 

4,369 

•TranHlerred  from  Artillery  Keservo,  July  1,  14th  New  York  Battery  attached 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


147 


Killed. 

WOUNDBD. 

Captured 
or  missing. 

Command. 

s 

o 

a 

u 

a 

1 

Enlisted  men. 

u 

Q 
c 

c 

S 

.2 
a 

6 

1 

< 

THIRD  ARMY  CORPS. 

Maj.  Gen.  Daniel  E.  Sickles. 
Maj.  Gen.  David  B.  Birney. 

Stan 

2 

2 

FIKST   division. 

Maj.  Gen.  David  B.  Bikney. 
Brig.  Gen.  J.  H.  Hobart  Ward. 

First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  CHARLES  K.Graham. 
Col.  ANDREW  H.    TIPPIN. 

Staff                         

3 
9 
3 
9 
U 
1 

3' 

2 

1 
10 

0 
25 

61 

37 
26 
117 
101 
■  85 
97 

463 

3 

'  3 

55 
4 

13 
i) 

57 

21 

159 

115 

34 

3 
1 

152 

132 

155 

149 

Total  First  Brigade 

6 

45 

6 

740 

Seeond  Briyude. 

Brig.  Gen.  J.  H.  Hobart  Ward. 
Col.  HIRAM  Berdan. 

1 

9 
2 
3 
3 
3 
4 
4 
4 

1 

30 
17 
9 
10 
24 
17 
5 
5 

105 
57 
56 
48 
54 
77 
33 
19 

4 

1 

'  l' 

10 
45 
70 
3 
5 
11 
6 
14 

156 

3(3    Maine           

122 

4tli  Maine                           

144 

86th  New  York 

124th  New  York          

66 
90 

110 

1st  United  States  Sharpshooters 

49 

43 

Total  Second  Brigade 

12 

IIT 

33 

449 

6 

164 

781 

Third  Brigade. 
Col.  P.  Regis  de  Trobhiand. 

I 

17 

17 
22 

8 

7 
3 
8 
4 

(i 

105 

28 
78 
116 
39 

3 

4 

7 

133 

45 

2 
1 

109 

150 

5.J 

4 
22 

71 

28 

366 

21 

490 

Total  First  Division 

249 

106 

1.278 

12 

344 

2.011 

SECOND    DIVISION. 

Brig.   Gen.  ANDREW  A.  HUMPHREYS. 

Staff 

2 

2 

7 

....  1               11 

148 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 
OR  Missing. 

Command. 

£ 

o 

o 

c 

a 

2 

o 

o 

B 
V 

S 
•o 

0) 

a 

01 

o 

a 
3 

1 
a 

1 

zi 
SI 

2: 

< 

Fir.sf  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Joseph  B.  Cark. 
Staff 

2 
8 
7 
4 
5 
9 
10 

1 
1 

3 

1 
3 

1 

15 
22 
12 

19 
14 
29 

75 
89 
49 
65 
115 
166 

'  i 

21 
8 

13 
2 

12 
7 

120 

129 

81 

92 

nth  New  Jersey 

158 
213 

Total  First  Brigade 

10 

111 

45 

559 

2 

63 

790 

Seconii  Brigade. 
Col.  WiLLiA.M  R  Brewster. 

2 

8 

11 
6 
10 

0 

70th  New  York 

20 

9 

47 
12 
25 

85 
62 
72 
92 
68 
144 

4 
13 

28 
8 
3 

17 

117 

1 

91 

72d    New  York 

114 

4 

162 

89 

120th  New  York 

7 

203 

Total  Second  Brigade 

12 

120 

50 

523 

73 

778 

Third  Brigade. 

Col.   GEORGE   C.    BITRLINO. 

2d    New  Hampshire 

5th  New  Jersey 

3 
2 

17 
11 
1 
14 
7 
3 

18 
6 
3 

10 

.     119 
60 
29 
76 
31 
18 

36 
16 
8 
13 
2 
3 

193 
94 
41 

1 

114 

47 

24 

Total  Third  Brigade 

6 

53 

43 

333^ 

1,422 

78 

513 

Total  i^ecoDd  Division     

28 

286 

140 

2 

214 

2,092 

ARTILLERY    BRIGADE. 

Capt.  George  E.  Randolph. 
Capt.  A.  JUDSON  Clark. 

New  Jersey  Light.  2d  Battery 

1 

16 

10 
10 
24 
18 

3 
8 
I 
1 
4 

20 

iHt  New  York  Light.  Battery  D 

IS 

New  York  Mglil,  4th  Battery 

2 
3 
2 

'  i 
1 

IS 

Ist  Rhode  Island  Light,  Battery  K 

4th  L'nlted  States.  Battery  K 

30 
25 

Total  Artillery  Brigade 

8^ 

543 

3 

78_ 

2,778 

17 

106 

'i'olal  'I'lilrd  Army  Corps 

50 

251 

U 

575 

4,211 

Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


149 


FIFTH  ARMY  CORPS. 
Maj.  Gen   Geor<;e  Sykes. 

FIKST  J)IVISION. 

Brig.  Gen,  James  Barnes. 

First  Brifiailr. 
Col.  William  S.  Tilton. 


18th  Massachusetts, 

22d    Massachusetts, 

1st  Michigan.    .   .   . 

118th  Pennsylvania,  . 


Total  First  Brigade, 


Second  Briyade. 
Col.  Jacob  B.  Swettzeb. 


9lh  Massachusetts. 
82d    Massachusetts, 

4th  Michigan,  .  . 
62d    Pennsylvania. 


Total  Second  Brigade. 


Third  Brigade. 


Col.  Strong  Vincent. 
Col.  James  C.  Rice. 


Staff 

20th  Maine 

16th  Michigan,  .  . 
44th  New  York,  .  . 
83d    Pennsylvania, 


Total  Third  Brigade, 


Total  First  Division 

SECOND  DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  Ro.meyn  B.  Aybes. 

First  Br i (jade. 
Col.  Hannibal  Hay 


Staff 

3d  Unlived  States, 
4th  United  States, 
6th  United  States, 

12th  United  States. 

14th  United  States, 


Total  First  Brigade, 


Captured 
OR  Missing. 


1 
62 
28 
39 
67 
108 


80 
165 
175 


1 
125 
60 
111 


1 

73 
40 
44 
92 
132 


150 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Killed. 

WorXDED. 

Captured 
OR  Missing. 

Command. 

£ 
a) 
o 

o 

d 

B 

■a 
a 

a 

B 

o 

d 

© 

a 

■a 

0  ■ 

a 

i 

a 
0 

B 
0 

13 

41 

a 
0 

2 

a 

£ 

in 

< 

Seconii  liriijdite. 

Col.  Sidney  Bukbank. 

2fl    United  States 

1 
1 

1 

3 

1 

5 
11 
15 
16 
24 

4 
3 
5 

13 

51 
42 

27 
85 
105 

6 
2 
3 
9 

7 

67 

7th  United  States 

10th  United  Stute.s 

59 
51 
120 

ITth  United  States 

150 

Total  Second  Brigade 

7 

71 

32 

310 

27 

447 

Tlilrd  Brigade. 

Brig.  (ien.  Stephen  U.  Weed. 
Col.  Kenneu  Gaubakd. 

Staff. 

1 

UUth  New  York 

25 
4 

3 

6 

2 
2 

2 

84 
22 
14 
11 

18 

183 

l4Hth  New  Yorli 

28 

19 

19 

Total  Third  Brigade 

2 

38 

11 

131 

18 

200 

Total  Second  Division 

10 

154 

56 

746 

63 

1,029 

THIKD     DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  Samuel  W.  Crawford. 

First  Briyade. 

Col.  William  McCandless. 

8 
3 
2 
5 

3 
2 

1 
8 

35 

46 

31 
21 
31 

1 

'    37 

2 

24 

13th  Pennsylvania  Keseives  (Ist  Rifles), 

2 

48 

Total  First  Brigade 

2 

18 

14 

118 

3 

155 

TJiirii  Brvjade. 
Col.  .Joseph  W.  Fisheu. 

2 
5 
3 

2 

3 

1 

'3 

5 

llth  Pennsylvania  Ileserves 

1 

35 
1 

41 

2 

Total  Third  Brigade 

1 
3 

5 

3 

46 

55 

Total  Third  Division 

23 

17 

164 

3 

210 

artillery  buigade. 

Capt.  AUGUSTUS  p.  Martin. 

Massachusetts  IJght.  M  Battery  (0),     .  .    . 

<; 
2 

6 
18 

<> 

1st  Ohl'i  Light.  Battery  L 

2 

1 

1 

'  1' 

13 

uth  United  states,  Battery  I 

2 

22 

Total  Artillery  Hrlga<le 

1 

7 

1 

32 

2 

43 

Aruliulance  Corps 

1 

1 

Total  Filth  Army  Corps 

28 

337 

120 

1.482 

1 

210 

2.187 

Pennsylvania  at  Oettysburg. 


151 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 
OR  Missing. 

COMMAXD. 

d 

(V 

a 

a 

a 

B 

a) 

a 

a> 

B 
o 

•o 
a 

E 
O 

p 

2 
a) 
u 

Q 
O 

.2 

a 

< 

SIXTH  ARMY  COUPS. 

Maj.  Gen.  John  SEDti WICK. 

FIRST   DIVISID.N'. 

Brig.  Gen.  Houatio  G.  Whight. 

Firat  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Alfueu  T.  A.  Ti>rbebt. 

2d   New  Jersey, 

6 
2 
3 

2 

Total  First  Brigade 

11 

11 

Second  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Joseph  J.  Barti.ett. 

21st  New  Yorlj 

2 
1 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

Total  Second  Brigade 

1 

4 

5 

Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen   David  a.  Russell. 

3 

2 

Total  Third  Brigade, 

. 

2 

2 

Total  First  Division, 

1 

17 

18 

SECOND  DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  Albion  P.  Howe. 

Second  Brigade. 

Col.  Lewis  a.  Grant. 

1 

1 

Total  Second  Brigade 

1 

1 

Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  H.  Neill. 

6 
2 
2 

I 

a 

43d   New  York 

1 

1 

1 

5 

49th  New  York 

2 

1 

2 

Total  Third  Brigade 

1 

1 

11 

.  .   . 

2 

15 

Total  Second  Division 

1 

1 

12 

2 

16 

152 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 

ORMlSSING. 

CO.1l.MAXl). 

9 

1 

a 
a 
B 
■a 
i> 
*^ 

a 
4 

2 

o 

B 

o 

a 
o 

n 

•o 
31 
r. 

c 

'A 

c 

a) 

B 
o 

Enlisted  men. 

1 

< 

THIRD  DIVISION. 

Maj.  Gen.  John  Newton. 
Brig.  Gen.  Fkank  Wheaton. 

First  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Alexander  Shaler. 

tioth  Xew  Vork 

5 

9 

erth  New  York 

1 
2 

]22d    New  York 

10 

i 

30 
12 
6 

44 

14 

23d    Penn.svlvania 

1 

82d    Pennsylvania 

g 

1 

Total  First  Brigade 

14 

3 

53 

3 

74 

Second  Brigade . 
Col.   HENRY  L.    ETSTIS. 

7th  Massachusetts 

1 
1 

5 
19 

1 

9 
47 

7 

2 

1 

25 
5 

2d    Hhode  Island 

Total  Second  Brigade 

3 

2 

39 

25 

69 

Third  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Frank  Wheaton. 
Col.  David  .1.  Nevin. 

f!2d    New  York 

1 

1 
1 

2 
3 

10 
9 
9 

16 

12 
10 
11 
20 

HSth  Pennsylvania 

1 

Total  Third  Brigade 

2 

7 

44 

53 

Total  Third  Division, 

1 

19 

12 

136 

28 

196 

ARTII.LKRV   BRIGADE. 

Col.  Charles  H.  Tompkins. 
New  York  Light,  IstBatterv 

4 

2 

6 

Total  Artillery  Brigade 

4 

2 

6 

12 

Total  Sixth  Army  Corps 

2 

25 

14 

171 

30 

242 

ELEVENTH  ARMY  CORPS. 
MaJ.  Gen.  Oliver  O.  Howard. 

GENERAL  HEADQUAUTEH8. 

Staff 

1 

1 

l8t  Indiana  Cavalry.  Companies  I  and  K,    . 

■3 

3 

KIRST    division. 

Brig.  Gen.  Francis  C.  Baulow. 
Brig.  Gen.  Adelbkrt  Ames. 

Staff 

1 

1 

Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


153 


Killed. 

Wodnded. 

Captured 
OK  Missing. 

COMMA.VD. 

a 
g 

1 
1 

c 

a 

■a 
S 

a 

a 

u 

E 
o 

Enlisted  men. 

1 

£ 

a 
£ 
O 

d 

o 

a 

■c 
1> 

a 

6 
u 
u 

<: 

First  Brigade. 

Col.  Leopold  von  Gilsa. 
Staff 

1 

14 

7 
7 
22 

8 
2 
4 

7 

50 
45 

59 
135 

289 

4 
2 

44 
65 
46 

157 

75 
10' 

54th  New  York.         .             

68th  New  York, 

1 
1 

153d    Pennsylvania 

211 

Total  First  Brigade 

4 

60 

21 

6 

527 

Second  Briyade. 

Brig.  Gen.  adelbert  Ames. 
Col.  ANDREW  L.  Harris. 

2 

1 

18 
8 
14 
23 

4 
5 

7 
8 

77 
95 
67 
103 

2 

3 
4 

94 
72 
92 
77 

n2oth  Ohio 

184 

75th  Ohio,     

lUTth  Ohio,     ...             

211 

Total  Second  Brigade 

5 

63 

24 

342 

9 

335 

778 

Total  First  Division 

9 

113 

46 

631 

15 

492 

1.306 

SECOND  DIVISION. 

Brig    Gen.  Adolph  vox  Steinwehr. 
Staff 

1 

1 

First  Brigade. 

Col.  CHARLES  R.  Coster. 

134th  New  York 

1 

41 

1 
4 

4 

1 
3 

147 
20 
26 
27 

2 
9 
1 

57 
169 
75 

154th  New  York 

200 

2 

111 

34 

Total  First  Brigade 

3 

53 

8 

220 

12 

301 

.597 

Second  Brigade. 
Col.  Orland  Smith. 

7 
17 

6 
21 

'  '  1 
1 
3 

38 
88 
30 
117 

45 

1 

1 

2 
11 
4 

109 

55th  Ohio 

49 

73d   Ohio                              

145 

Total  Second  Brigade 

51 

6 

273 

2 

17 

348 

'             Total  Second  Division, 

3 

104 

14 

493 

14 

318 

946 

THIRD    DIVISION. 

MaJ.  Gen.  Carl  Schurz. 

First  Brigade. 

Brig. -Gen.  A.  SchimmelfenNIG. 
Col.  George  von  a.msberg. 

82d    Illinois 

4 
11 
23 

4 

8 

1 

1 
8 
6 
4 

18 
34 
158 
30 
36 

4 

14 
6 
2 
2 

85 
164 
108 
10 
68 

112 

45th  New  York 

224 

4 
2 
2 

307 

54 

110 

Total  First  Brigade 

S 

50 

20 

276 

28 

425 

807 

154 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Killed. 

WOUNDED. 

Captured 
OR  Missing. 

Command. 

o 

a 
a 

a 
I 

0 

o 

E 

o 

2 
4 
14 

11 

d 
a) 

a 

■a 
a 

0) 

e 

o 

■  l' 

2 
'  '  2 

S 

a 

1 

c 

6 
9 

< 

Second  Brigade. 
Col.  W.  Kkzyzaxowski. 

1 

1 
9 
13 
10 
24 

13 
66 
71 
84 
118 

3 
58 
77 

3 
60 

20 

ll'lth  New  York 

2 

140 

82d    Ohio 

4 
3 
2 

181 
III 

217 

Total  Second  Brigade 

12 

63 

36 

352 

5 

201 

669 

Total  Third  Division 

20 

113 

56 

628 

33 

626 

1,476 

ARTILLERY   BRIGADE. 

Maj.  Thomas  W.  Osborn. 

3 

2 

8 
8 
13 
10 
11 

13 

New  York  Light,  13th  Batterr 

■^ 

11 

1st  Ohio  Lifiht    Batterv  1 

13 

1st  Ohio  Liglit.  Battery  K 

2 

1 

1 

i 

15 

4th  United  States,  Battery  G.     

1 

17 

Total  Artillery  Brigade,     

1 

(i 

3 

50 

9 

69 

Total  Eleventh  Army  Corps,  .   .   . 

33 

336 

120 

1,802 

62 

1.448 

5 
1 

3.801 

TWELFTH  ARMY  CORPS. 

Maj.  Gen.  Henry  W.  Slocum. 
Brig.  Gen.  Alpheus  S.  Williams. 

FIRST  DnnsioN. 
Brig.  Gen.  alpiieus  S.  Williams. 
Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  U.  Rugbr. 

Firs*  Brigade. 

Col.    AUCUIBALD  L.  McDOUGALL. 

2 
22 
6 
9 
8 
9 

.5 

"   '   "  3 
1 
2 

r 
1 

1 
1 

28 

1 

8 

1 

14 

10 

1 

13 

Total  First  Brigade,     

1 

11 

4 

56 

1 

7 

80 

Second  Brigiidi'. 

Brig.  Gen.  Henry  H.  Lock  wood. 

1st  Maryland.  Potomac  Home  Brigade,  . 

3 

20 
6 

7 

3 

77 
18 
23 

1 
15 

104 

45 

Total  Second  Brigade 

3 

32 

3 

118 

18 

174 

Third  lirigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  THOMAS  H.  UUGER. 
Col.  Silas  COLOROVE. 

23 

21 

1 

8 
8 
3 

78 

101 

17 

2 

7 

1 
4 

110 

2d    Massachu.ietts 

llith  New  Jersey 

2 

136 
21 

2 

2  '         1 

10 

Total  Third  Brigade 

2 

47 

20 

206 

5 

279 

Total  First  Division 

6 

90 

27 

379 

1 

30 

533 

Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


155 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 

OR  Missing. 

Command. 

a 
o 

o 

I 

a 

0) 

a 

•o 
c 

i 
1 

o 

1 

'  3' 

1 

c 
0 

a 

•c 

I 

c 

El: 

2 

a 

a 

£ 

6 

w 

< 

SECOND   DIVISION. 

BriK.   Gen.  JOHN  W.  GEAUY. 

First  Brigade. 
Col.  Charles  Candy. 

1 

1 
5 

15 
17 
31 
14 
22 
15 

18 

18 

2 

38 

17 

4 

'^ 

2: 

1 

20 

Total  First  Brigade 

i 

U 

5 

114 

2 

139 

Second  Brigade. 

Col.  George  a.  Cobham,  Jr. 
Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  L.  Kane. 
Col.  GEORGE  A.  Cobham,  Jr. 

2 

13 
3 
.5 

'  1" 

43 
6 
16 

8 

1 

66 

10 

22 

Total  Second  Brigade 

2 

21 

1 

65 

9 

98 

Third  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  George  S.  Greene. 

11 
G 
2 

3(> 
B 

2 
1 
1 
3 
3 

39 
20 
16 
84 
43 

52 

1 

2 
8 
10 
3 

30 

102d    New  York 

i 

29 

137 

149th  New  York, 

55 

Total  Third  Brigade 

e 

61 

10 

202 

1 

23 

303 

Total  Second  Division 

12 

96 

16 

381 

1 

34 

540 

ARTILLERY  BRIGADE. 

Lieut.  Edward  D.  Muhlenberg. 

3 
1 

3 

1, 

5th  United  States.  Battery  K 

5 

5 

Total  Artillery  Brigade 

9 

9 

Total  Twelfth  Army  Corps,     .   .   . 

18 

186 

43 

769 

2 

64 

1.083 

CALVARY  CORPS. 
Maj.  Gen.  ALFRED  Pleasonton. 

FIRST  division. 

Brig.  Gen.  John  Bueord. 

first  Brigade. 

Col.  WILLIAM  Gamble. 

8th  Illinois                     .              

1 
4 
5 
2 

1 
3 
1 
1 

4 

20 
21 

1 
6 
5 
16 

.1 
7 

20 

3d   Indiana  (six  companies) 

8th  New  York 

1 

32 
40 

Total  First  Brigade 

1 

12 

t; 

.'>2 

28 

99 

lot; 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


KILLKD. 

WorNDED. 

Captured 
OR  Missing. 

COMMAXn. 

u 

s 

O 

c 

a 

•o 

s 

u 

o 

o 

•o 
a; 

1 

o 

n 
S 

c 

2 

r 

< 

Second  Brigade. 
Col.  Thomas  c.  devin. 

I 
2 

8 

4 
4 

9 

'.ith  New  York 

2 

•  ■  • 

11 

4 

4 

Total  Second  Brigade 

2 

•  •  • 

3 

23 

28 

Reserve  Brigade. 
Brig.  Gen.  Wesley  Merkitt. 

.3 

1 
3 

"  '  l' 

9 
() 
4 
23 

1 
"  '5 

2 
5 
6 
1 
203 

12 

1st  Unlteu  States, 

15 

17 

5 

•ith  United  States.  * 

6 

h 

242 

Total  Reserve  Brigade 

13 

6 

49 

6 

217 

291 

Total  First  Division 

1 

27 

12 

104 

6 

268 

418 

SECOND  DIVISION. 

Brig.  Gen.  David  McM.  Gregg. 

First  Brigade. 

Col.  John  B.  McIntosh. 

Ist  Maryland 

2 

7 

1 

3 

2 

9 

2 
6 

2 

'5 

10 

21 

Total  First  Brigade,     

7 

19 

9 

35 

Third  lirigade. 

Col.  .1.   IKVIX  GRE(iG. 

1 
2 
1 
2 

i 

4 

lUth  New  York 

1 

2 

9 

4th  Pennsylvania 

1 

4 

6 

Total  Third  Brigade 

« 

12 

1 

2 

21 

Total  Second  Division 

6 

7 

31 

1 

11 

56 

THIRD    urVISION. 

Brig. -Gen.  Jcdson  Kilpatrick. 

Fimt  Brigade. 

Brig.  Gen.  Ei.ox  .1.  Farnsworth. 
Col.  Nathaniel  P.  Richmond. 

StaB 

1 

1 

.5th  New  York 

1 

2 
13 

'  "  3 
3 

1 
4 

22 

1 

'  1' 

4 

8 
27 
3 

(i 

14 

K5 

1st  West  Virginia 

2 

12 

Total  First  Brigade.  . 

» 

1          18 

6 

28 

1 

42 

98 

'  Jjosses  occurred  at  FalrUeld,  Pa. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


157 


KILLED. 

Wounded. 

Captured 
or  Missing. 

Command. 

1 

s 

1 

a 

u 

I 

o 

a 

a 

■a 
I 
"3 

i 

a 
« 

1 

i 

6 

S 

in 

I 
< 

Sfctiiiil   Ilriqarle. 
Brig.  Gen.  Geokoe  A.  Cister. 

10 

1 
13 

6 

1 

4 

37 
29 
24 
44 

20 

18 

1 

39 

73 

5tU  Michigan, 

1 

56 

6th  iVlichigan 

28 

7th  Michigan 

100 

Total  Second  Brigade 

1 

31 

13 

134 

78 

257 

Total  Third  Division, 

4 

49 

19 

162 

1 

120 

355 

HORSE  ARTILLERY. 

First.  lirigade. 
Capt.  JAMES  M.  Robertson. 

1 

4 

1 

1 

'    '    '  l' 

1 

1 

4th  United  States,  Batterv  E 

1 

Total  First  Brigade 

2 

1 

5 

8 

Second  Brigade. 

Capt.  John  C.  Tidball. 

1st  United  States,  Battery  K 

2 

1 

12 

3 

2d   United  States,  Battery  A 

12 

2 

13 

15 

Total  Cavalry  Corps 

5 

86 

39 

315 

8 

399 

852 

AKTILLBRV  RESERVE. 

Brig.  Gen.  Robert  O.  Tyler. 
Capt.  James  M.  Robertson. 

First  Regular  Brigade. 

Capt.  Dunbar  R.  Ransom. 

1st  United  States,  Battery  H 

1 

8 
1 
2 

.1 

'  1 
2 

14 

16 
12 

1 

1 

lU 

3d    United  States,  Batteries  P  and  K,    .   .    . 
4th  United  States,  Batterv  C 

1 

24 

18 

5th  United  States,  Battery  C 

16 

Total  First  Regular  Brigade 

1 

12 

4 

49 

2 

68 

First  Volunteer  Brigade. 
Lieut.  Col.  Freeman  McGilvery. 

4 
7 
3 
2 

I 
2 
2 
5 

16 

21 

Massachusetts  Light,  yth  Battery 

New  York  Light,  1.5th  Batterv. 

1 

16 
11 

18 

2 

28 
16 

Pennsvlvania  Light,  Batteries  C  and  F,  .   . 

3 

28 

Total  First  Volunteer  Brigade 

1 

16 

10 

61   1.   . 

5 

93 

'  10th  New  York  Battery  attached,  whose  loss,  here  included,  was  2  men  killed  and  3  wounded. 


158 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Captured 
or  missing. 

CUJIMANH. 

2 

1 

o 

n 

V 

o 

Enlisted  men. 

Enlisted  men. 

i 

OS 

Ml 

£ 

Second  Volunteer  Briijade. 

Capt.  Elijah  D.  Tapt. 

Conneelicut  Liglit,  2d  Battery 

■A 
2 

2 

New  York  IvlKht,  5th  Battery 

1 

3 

Total  Second  Volunteer  Brigade,     .   . 

1 

5 

...  1            2 

8 

Third  Volunteer  Brigade. 
Capt.  James  F.  Huntin(;ton. 

3 
5 
13 
2 

3 

1st  Ohio  JjiKht,  Battery  H 

2 
6 
2 

"  l' 

7 

1st  Pennsylvania  Ijight.  Batteries  F  and  G, 

3 

.      23 
4 

Total  Third  Volunteer  Brigade.    .   . 

10 

1 

23 

3 

37 

Fourth  Volunteer  Briijiide. 

Capt.  Robert  H.  Fitzhugh. 

Maine  Light,  6th  Batterv  (F) 

13 

7 
7 

13 

2 

9 

7 

Ist  New  York  Light,  Battery  K,* 

7 

Total  Fourth  Volunteer  Brigade,     .  . 

2 

34 

■o6 

Total  Artillery  Reserve 

2 

41 

15 

172 

12 

242 

RECAPITULATION . 


Greneral  headquarters, 

First  Army  Corps,  .  .  . 
Second  Army  Corps, 
Thirfl  Army  Corps,  .  . 
Fifth  Army  Corps,  .  . 
Sixth  Army  Corps.  .  . 
Eleventh  Army  Corps, 
Twelfth  Array  Corps,  . 
Cavalry  Corps,  .  .  .  . 
Artillery  Reserve,     .  . 


Total  Army  of  the  Potomac, 


2 
262 

2 

2,909 

42 

024 

83 

2k  079 

06 

731 

270 

2.924 

13 

305 

50 

543 

251 

2,778 

14 

576 

28 

337 

129 

1,482 

1 

210 

2 

25 

14 

171 

30 

33 

330 

120 

1,802 

62 

1.448 

18 

186 

43 

709 

2 

04 

5 

86 

39 

316 

8 

.399 

2 

41 

15 

172 

12 

24(1 

2.909 

1,146 

13,384 

183 

5, 182 

4 

6,059 

4,369 

4,211 

2,187 

242 

3, 801 

1,082 

852 

242 

23. 049 


*  11th  New  York  Battery  attached. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


159 


GENERAL  SUMMARY  OF  CASUALTIES  IN  THE  UNION 
FORCES  DURING  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN,  JUNE 
3-AUGUST  I,  1863. 


Location. 


Near  Fayetteville,  Va. ,  Junes 

Franklin's  Crossing  or  Deep  Run,  Va..  June 

5-13 

Brandy    Station    (Fleetwood)   and     Beverly 

Ford.  Va..  June  St 

Stevenshurg,   Va..  June!) 

Berryville.  Va..  June  13, 

Opequon  Cieek,  Va,,  June  13 

Bunker  Hill,  W.  Va.,  June  13 

Winchester,  Va  .  June  13-15,      

Berryville,  Va.,  Juno  14 

Marnnsliurg,  W    Va.,  June  14, 

Wllliamsport.  Md.,  June  15, 

Aldie,  Va.,  June  IT,     

Catoctin   Creek  and  Point  of   Rocks,    Md.. 

June  17, 

Middleburg,  Va.,  June  17-18, 

Mlddleburg,  Va. ,  June  19, 

UpperviUe,  Va.,  June  21 

Near  Gainesville,  Va.,  June  21, 

Thoroughfare  Uap  and  Hay  Market,    Va. , 

June  21-25, 

Near  Aldie,  Va.,  June  22,     

G-reencastle,  Pa.,  June  22, 

McConnellsburg,  Pa.,  June  25 

Near  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  June  2H 

Near  Fairfax  Court  House,  Va. ,  June  27,  .   . 

Near  Rookville,  Md.,  June2S 

Wrightsville.  I^a.,  June  28,     

Muddy  Branch,  Md.,  June  29, 

Westminster.  Md.,  June  29 

Hanover,  Pa. .  June  30, 

Sporting  Hill,  nearHarrisburg.  Pa.,  June  30, 

Carlisle,  Pa.,  July  1, 

Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1-4 

Fairfield  Gap,  Pa.,  July  4 

Monterey  Gap.  Pa.,  July  4 

Emniltsburg,  Md.,  July  4, 

Cunningham's  Cross  Roads,  Pa..  July  5.     .    . 

Near  Greeneastle,  Pa. ,  July  5 

Near  Fairfield,  Pa.,  July  5 

Smithsburg.  Md.,  July  5 

Hagerstown,  Md.,  July  6, 

Williamsport,  Md.,  July  (i 

Downsville,  Md..  July  7 

Funkstown,  Md.,  July  7, 

Boonsborough,  Md.,  July  8 

Near  Williamsport,  Md..  JulyS 

Benevola  or  Beaver  Creek,  Md.,  July9.  .   .    . 

Funkstown,  Md.,  July  1043 

Hagerstown,  Md. .  July  10-13 

Jones'  Cross  Roads,  Md. ,  July  10  13,      .... 

Ashby's  Gap.  Va.,  July  12 

Near  Williamsport,  Md.,  July  14, 

Falling  Waters.  Md..  July  14 

Near  Harper's  Ferry,  W.  Va. ,  July  14,    .  .    . 

Halltown,   W.  Va.,  July  15 

Shepherdstown,  W.  Va. ,  July  15, 

Shepherdstown,  W.  Va. ,  July  If) 

Snicker's  Gap.  Va.,  July  17 

Hedgesville  and  Martinsburg,  W.  Va.,  July 

18-19 

Ashby's  Gap,  Va. ,  July  20, 

Berry's  Ferry,  Va. ,  July  20 

Manassas  Gap,  Va.,  July  21-22, 

Chester  Gap,  Va. ,  July  21-22 

Wapping  Heights.  Manassas  Gap,  Va. ,  July  23, 
Near  Gaines'  Cross  Roads,  Va. ,  July  23,  .  .   . 

Near  Snicker's  Gap,  Va.,  July  23 

Battle  Mountain,  near  Newsby's  Cross  Roads, 

Va..  July  24 

Brandy  Station.  Va.,  August  1 

Miscellaneous  affairs  en  raiitc 

Total 


24H 
1 


2,909 
1 
1 


Wounded. 


1,145 


12 

13, 384 

4 


Captured 

OB  Missing 


3,  HUC, 

2 

140 


2(i 
225 
37 
(!« 
9 


5.182 
13 
29 
117 
1 
IS 


14 
20 
226 


837 
29 
4 

17 

97 

4,443 

3 

1!J9 

3 

305 

30 
270 

99 

209 

9 


1 

10 
17(! 

19 

23 

49 
215 

9 
12 
23,049 
21 
43 
l',8 

3 
19 

10 
2tl3 

no 

2 


1 

104 
4 


0 
29 
2i> 
103 


30 
145 
242 


IfiO 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


STRENGTH    AND    LOSSES   OF   PENNSYLVANIA    TROOPS  AT 
GETTYSBURG. 


ORGANIZATION". 


Iiifantry. 

Eleventh, 

Twenty-third 

Twenty-sixth,  .  .  . 
Twenty-seventh.  .  . 
Twenty -eighth,    .   .   . 

Tweutv-niiith 

Thirtieth 


Thirty -tlrpt 

Thirtv -fourth 

Thirty-fifth,       

Thirty -eiehth,      

Thirty -ninth, 

Fortieth 

Forty-flrst 

Forty-second 

Forty -sixth 

Forty -ninth, 

Fifty -third 

Fifty -sixth,    

Fiftv-seventh 

Slxty-flrst, 

Sixtv-second 

Sixty-third 

Sixty-eighth 

Slxty-nintli 

Seventy-first 

Seventy-second 

Seventy-third 

Seventy-fourth 

Seventy-fifth     

Eighty  first 

Eighty -seconil 

Eighty -third 

Eighty -fourth 

Eighty -eighth 

Ninetieth 

Ninety-first 

NInetv-third 

Ninety -fifth 

Ninety -sixtli 

Ninety -eighth 

Nlnety-nltith 

One  Hundred  :ind  Second.     .   .    . 

One  Hundred  and  Fifth 

One  Hundred  .-ind  Sixth 

One  Hundred  and  Seventh.  .   .    . 
One  Hundred  and  Ninth,    .   .    .   . 

One  Hundred  and  Tenth 

One  Hundred  and  F.lovcntli,    .   . 
One  Hunilred  and  rr.urteonth,   . 
One  Hundred  :iiid  I'iftopntli,    .   . 
One  Hundred  and  Sixteenth,  .   . 
One  Hundred  an<l  Klgliteenth,    . 
One  Hundred  anil  NIneteeuth,    . 
OnoHundreil  and  Twenty-first, 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty -ninth. 
One  Hundred  and  Fortieth,  .  .   . 
One  Hundred  and  Korty-flrst,     . 
One  Hundred  and  Knrty-second, 
One  Hundred  and  Forty -third,  . 
One  Hundrcfl  and  I'urty-fifth,     . 
One  Hundred  .•md  Fort v -seventh 
OneHundied  and  Fortv-elghth, 
One  Hundii'd  and  I- ort  v-nlnth, 
one  llnnilred  and  littlelh,    .   . 
One  Hundreil  and  I'iftv-first,  . 
one  Hundred  nnd  Fifty-third. 
One  Hundred  and  Flfty-Ufth, 
Twenly-sl.vlh  Knu-riieiicy,    . 


292 
538 
3G5 
324 
303 
485 
444 
273 
334 
380 
877 
420 
892 
820 
349 
262 
818 
135 
252 
207 
400 
426 
296 
883 
829 
331 
458 
332 
381 
258 
190 
320 
308 
240 

20f; 

208 
258 
270 
35H 
35G 
40r. 
339 
286 
274 
335 
255 
140 
1.52 
2.59 
.812 
182 
r,(i 
3."2 
4fi(i 
30r. 
511 
f)90 
200 
3(12 
4f.5 
228 
298 
4I>8 
4,50 
397 
467 
.5ti9 
424 
74.S 


Wounded. 


Captured 
AND  Missing, 


132 

14 

213 

111 

28 

66 

46 

37 

2 

24 

5 

5 

41 

2 


80 
130 
115 
2 
175 

34 
152 
137 

98 
197 

34 
110 
111 

62 
6 

55 


110 
94 
19 

to 

2 
1 
11 

no 


132 
64 

165 
10 
53 
22 

155 
24 
22 
25 
2 

179 
20 

241 

149 

211 

25;h 

90 
20 
125 
3.S6 
2i;4 
337 
211 
19 
176 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


161 


STRENGTH    AND    LOSSES    OF  PENNSYLVANIA    TROOPS   AT 
GETTYSBURG— Continued. 


Present. 

Dead. 

Woi-Ni)i';i). 

Capti-red 
AND  Missing. 

Regiments. 

Officers. 

4) 

o 

1 

o 

c 

I 

Cavalry. 
First 

418 

2 

1 
6 

21 

1 

Third 

Fourtli 

394 
304 
460 
391 
411 
448 
599 

114 
144 
♦105 

139 

.  .  .  . 

3 

5 

9 

21 
I 

Sixth 

Eighth 

Sixteenth,    

.... 

7 

2 

12 

2     .... 

4 

0 

4 

8 

4 

Eighteenth 

ArtiUer]!. 
B,  First 



2 

3 

7 
1 

1 

4 

8 

14 
12 

F,  First / 

G.  First \ 

1   1          12 

3 

23 

C,  Independent,      

B,  Independent 

3 

7 
3 
9 

U 

1 

3 

1 

14 

H,  Third,     

52 

1 

1 

.       .   .  J  .   .    .   .  ^  .   .    .   . 

'  Effective  force  of  Battery  V  included. 


COMPARATIVE    STATEMENT  OF   THE    UNION    LOSSES    AT 
GETTYSBURG  BY  STATES,  ETC. 


Killed. 

Wounded. 

Missing. 

CKMMANTi. 

e 

o 

Enlisted  men. 

Officers. 

Knlisted  men. 

Enlisted  men. 

i 

be 

< 

4 
3 

41 
18 
9 
91 
112 
25 
182 
182 
47 
62 
72 
902 
692 
124 
13 

9 

100 

2 

18 
17 

5 
33 
36 

4 
79 
57 
14 
27 
43 
294 
293 
60 

4 
13 

4 
40 
34 

165 

98 

29 
351 
570 
103 
939 
596 
159 
236 
448 
3,713 
3, 469 
709 

74 
285 

43 
473 

11 

1 

860 

52 

2 
1 
4 
4 
15 

■  "   '8 

4 

69 
45 
12 

■  '    "  l' 

8 
3 

no 

24 
92 

68 

287 

4 

311 

254 

1 

38 

63 

1.692 

1,339 

351 

5 

59 

8 

180 

1 

340 

Delaware 

Illinois 

161 
139 

Indiana 

5 

4 

18 
18 
3 
5 
8 
76 
53 
15 
1 
1 
2 
5 
5 

552 
1,027 

Maryland 

140 
1.537 

Michigan.      .       

Minnesota, 

1,111 
224 

368 

634 

6.746 

5,891 

Ohio 

1.271 

Rhode  Island 

97 
415 

67 

Wisconsin, 

806 

Staff, 

56 

1 

D.  S.  Regulars 

U.  S.  Volunteers 

12 

1 

159 
10 

62 

8 

6 
1 

275 
20 

1,374 
92 

Total 

246 

2,90>.t 

1,145 

13,384 

183 

5. 182 

23.049 

11 


CEREMONIES  AT  THE   DEDICATION 


OF    THE 


REGIMENTAL  MONUMENTS 


C163) 


PHOTO.    BY    W.    M.    TIPTON,    OETTYSDL'RG. 


PRINT  :    THE    r.    QUTEKUNtlT    CO..    PMILA. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  1G5 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

11™   REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

September  3,  1890 

ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN   H.   B.   PIPER 

MY  Coiniades  : — To  have  taken  part  on  the  side  of  the  Union  in  the 
hite  civil  war  is  of  much  importance,  ami  to  have  participated  as  a 
member  of  that  grand  okl  regiment,  the  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteers, may  be  counted  an  honorable  distinction.  The  part  it  played 
in  the  most  sanguinary  national  tragedy  of  the  century,  was  both  important 
and  conspicuous.  Entering  the  service  at  the  beginning,  and  continuing  to  the 
end,  participating  in  the  first  and  last  battles  of  the  war,  its  very  name  became 
the  synonym  of  patriotism  and  braverj'. 

Early  in  April,  1861,  the  old  Eleventh  was  organized  as  a  three  months'  regi- 
ment under  the  first  call  for  troops  by  the  President,  and  .saw  some  practical 
campaigning  during  that  period,  participating  in  the  battle  of  Falling  AVaters, 
Va.,  which  was  the  first  infantry  fight  of  the  war. 

It  was  the  first  Pennsylvania  regiment  to  reorganize  for  three  years'  service. 
On  July  25th,  1861.  by  official  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  its  services  as  a 
regimental  organization  were  formally  accepted,  and  it  again  entered  on  a 
career  as  one  of  the  most  faithful  of  all  faithful  military  organizations  placed 
in  the  field  by  our  native  State  in  those  dark  and  bloody  days. 

Passing  overall  its  subsequent  campaigns  preceding  the  summer  of  1863,  the 
old  Eleventh,  then  a  part  of  Baxter's  Brigade,  Second  Division,  First  Army 
Corps,  left  Falmouth,  Va.,  on  the  l'2th  of  June,  reached  the  state  line,  by  way 
of  Warrentown  Junction,  Herndon  and  Guilford  Stations,  Barnesville  and  Em- 
mitsbuig,  camping  at  Wolford's  farm  on  the  evening  of  June  30th,  reaching 
the  vicinity  of  Gettysburg  at  11  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  next  day,  and 
were  saluted  by  the  .sound  of  cannonading  in  the  direction  of  Chambersburg. 
For  the  first  time  a  northern  army  seeking  a  hostile  foe  stood  inside  the  bound- 
aries of  our  grand  old  Commonwealth,  and  the  harvest-gilded  vallej's  of  the 
Keystone  state  were  reverberating  the  deep-throated  echoes  of  a  foeman's 
cannon. 

The  sons  of  hardy  New  England,  of  the  Empire  state  and  the  west,  were 
thrilled  with  intense  and  consuming  interest  of  the  hour,  as  much  .so  as  if  the 
contest  about  to  be  waged  was  on  the  threshold  of  their  own  homes.  But  the 
old  Eleventh,  the  heroes  of  a  .score  of  bloody  confiicts,  breathed  their  native 
air,  trod  their  native  vales,  stretched  their  line  of  living  valor  along  the  crests 
of  their  native  hills  and  battled  for  the  homes  of  their  childhood.  Never  did 
men  more  eagerly  seek  the  field  of  carnage. 

The  summer  sun  poured  down  its  tropic  heat.  The  distant  ridges  were  filled 
with  a  brave  and  desperate  foe,  and  Avhether  Virginia  or  Pennsylvania  was  to 
be  the  seat  of  war  was  an  open  question  to  be  decided  by  the  bloody  arbitra- 
ment of  arms. 

Never  had  two  great  armies  been  so  matched.  It  was  a  field  which,  like 
Marathon  and  Hastings  and  Waterloo,  ]x)uud  up  in  its  issues  the  destinies  of  a 


166  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

thousand  years  of  national  life.  Like  Marmont's  race  with  the  English  across 
the  Spanish  peninsula,  the  two  opposing  hosts  had  bent  every  collective 
energy  to  the  task  of  reaching  an  advantageous  position  for  a  northern  cafm- 
paign.  But  across  the  path  of  the  rebel  chieftain,  Meade  had  swung  his  mag- 
nificent army.  I.ee,  careful,  sleepless,  tirele.ss  in  his  patient  vigilance,  mus- 
tering the  pride  of  the  Confederate  hosts  under  liis  banner,  strove  to  transplant 
from  tlic  bleeding  bosom  of  his  native  state  to  the  hills  and  valleys  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  eating  canker  of  civil  war.  Every  man  conii>rehended  with  more  or 
le.^is  clearness  the  importance  of  the  hour,  and  the  veterans  of  our  own  gallant 
regiment  fought  only  as  brave  and  determined  men  can  fight  in  defense  of  their 
homes  and  their  country. 

As  they  neared  the  position  to  which  they  were  subsequently  to  be  assigned, 
crossing  the  field  and  the  meadow,  they  heard  for  the  first  time  of  the  death 
of  the  gallant  Reynolds.  Having  gone  forward  in  advance  of  the  troops  to  se- 
lect position  for  the  impending  conflict,  he  was  killed  by  a  rebel  bullet  before 
the  fight  began.  No  braver,  truer  man  ever  fell  in  the  line  of  duty  on  the  brink 
of  a  great  battle.  Had  it  been  his  to  lead  the  brave  men,  whom  he  had  .so  often 
led,  in  that  bloody  fray  that  followed,  those  who  knew  him  best  knew  full  well 
how  to  the  laurels  already  gathered  he  would  have  added  imperishable  fame. 
By  noon  the  regiment  had  taken  its  position  on  Seminary  Ridge,  .south  of  the 
railroad  cut.  Scarcely  had  it  halted  in  this  position  when  General  Baxter  re- 
ceived an  order  from  General  Robinson  to  .send  forward  two  regiments  to  check 
the  enemy  who  was  advancing  on  the  north  side  of  the  railroad  cut.  The 
Eleventh  Pennsylvania  and  Ninety-seventh  New  York,  Colonel  Coulter  in  com- 
mand, were  selected  for  that  purpose.  Crossing  the  railroad  and  moving  for- 
ward  and  to  the  right  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  they  met  the  advancing  foe. 
held  him  in  check,  and  prevented  him  from  occupying  the  position  he  was  so 
eager  to  obtain. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  the  old  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  and  the  Ninety-sev- 
enth New  York  charged  and  captured  part  of  a  brigade  of  North  Carolinians. 
But  the  work  so  well  done  on  this  part  of  the  field,  and  which  was  so  essential 
to  the  final  success  of  the  Union  arms  in  this  great  contest,  was  not  accom- 
plished without  .sacrifice.  A  list  of  the  casualties  will  give  .some  idea  of  the 
fierceness  of  the  conflict. 

About  3  o'clock  your  speaker  was  wounded  and  retired  to  the  hospital 
in  the  town  of  Gettysburg.  Soon  after  this  our  troops  fell  back  to  Cemetery 
I  lill,  south  of  the  town,  w  here  they  participated,  with  the  main  body  of  tlie  army, 
in  the  contest  of  the  second  and  third  days.  Those  of  you  who  were  present 
and  took  part  in  the  first  day's  conflict  will  pardon  me  w  hen  1  mention  the  per- 
sonal bravery  of  that  grand  old  man,  Colonel  Wheelock,  of  the  Ninety-seventh 
New  York.  He  was  taken  prisoner  on  the  afternoon  of  the  firet  day,  but  made 
his  escape  a  few  days  later.  Surviving  the  perils  of  the  battle-field,  he  has  since 
joined  the  innumerable  hosts  who  have  pitched  their  tents  upon  the  eternal 
plains  on  tiie  othei'  side. 

While  occupying  a  hotly-contested  jMJsiiion  on  Cemetery  Hill,  Colonel  Coulter 
was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  First  Brigade.  Not  wishing  to  be  separated 
from  his  regiment,  he  .secured  its  transfer  also,  and  during  the  remaining  part 
of  the  battle,  the  old  Eleventh  w^as  temporarily  a  part  of  the  First  Brigade. 

The  shifting  changes  of  battle  found  our  regiment  near  the  Emmitsburg 
road  sup[K)rtingthe  Union  batteries  in  the  evening.     About  noon  the  next  day, 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  107 

July  2d,  it  was  relieved  by  the  division  of  Generiil  Hays  and  fell  back  to  re- 
plenish its  exhausted  cartridge  boxes.  In  the  evening  tlie  brigade  was  thrown 
farther  to  the  left  and  suffered  heavily  from  the  enemy's  guns. 

About  10  o'clock  at  night  it  was  engiiged,  in  conjunction  with  a  part  of  the 
Eleventh  Corps,  in  front  of  Cemetery  Kidge,  and  was  only  relieved  at  day-break 
on  the  morniugof  the  od.  In  the  afternoon  the  regiment  gallantly  supported  the 
celebrated  battery  of  Captain  Kicketts  on  Cemetery  Hill.  Here  Colonel  Coulter 
was  severely  wounded,  but  remained  in  command.  Though  decimated  and  fa- 
tigued by  the  constant  vigil  of  a  three  days'  engagement,  the  old  Eleventh,  in 
support  of  the  Second  Corps,  participated  in  the  desperate  struggle  in  which  the 
Confederate  chieftain  was  finally  overthrown  in  his  last  despairing  effort  to  win 
the  ensanguined  field.  Immediately  after  the  failure  of  Pickett,  in  his  last 
tremendous  charge,  Lee  began  to  withdraw  his  tbrces  and  the  field  of  Gettys- 
burg was  won. 

Years  have  elapsed  since  these  hills  reverberated  to  the  thunder  of  the 
enemy's  cannon.  The  soil,  once  red  with  patriot  l)lood,  grows  rank  with  tangled 
grasses,  or  is  starred  with  summer  flowers.  The  eternal  hills,  lifting  them- 
selves toward  the  heavens,  silent  as  though  the  spirit  of  solitude  sat  enthroned 
upon  their  changeless  summits,  give  no  sign  of  the  red  current  of  battle  that, 
twenty-seven  years  ago.  rolled  around  their  rocky  bases.  But  the  level  light  of 
the  western  sun  touches  with  softened  ray  the  granite  slabs  and  monumental 
shafts  that  mark  the  final  resting  places  of  the  ashes  into  which  has  mouldered 
the  brave  hot  hearts  who  fought,  who  fell,  who  died  that  the  Union  might  be 
preserved.  They  were  willing  to  wash  out  the  footprints  of  the  rebel  foe  with 
their  blood,  and  count  it  a  joy  to  die. 

But,  ah  I  Not  here  alone  lie  our  fallen  comrades  of  the  old  Eleventh.  Along 
the  bloody  trail  of  war,  at  Bull  Run,  whose  dual  disaster  twice  made  the  nation 
tremble,  on  Antietam's  historic  field,  on  Fredericksburg's  luckless  plains,  in 
the  Wilderness,  at  Petersburg,  on  Virginia's  hills  and  plains,  wherever  raged 
the  deadly  fight — there  may  be  found  the  graves  of  our  brave  and  honored 
dead.  It  would  be  a  grateful  task  to  recall  the  instances  of  personal  heroism 
and  bravery  in  which  the  history  ot  the  regiment  abounds,  but  time  would 
fail  to  speak  of  it  all,  and  it  would  seem  invidious  to  speak  of  some.  I  may 
be,  I  know  I  shall  be.  pardoned  if  I  tarry  here,  in  passing,  to  say,  that  while 
the  records  of  this  Commonwealth  endure,  Pennsylvania  will  do  well  to  honor 
the  name  of  General  Richard  Coulter.  Wounded  again  and  again,  with  in- 
domitable courage  and  endurance,  he  led  the  old  Eleventh  gallantly  in  all  its  fa- 
mous fights.  Cool,  brave,  even-nerved,  well-balanced,  self-poised,  he  possessed 
the  highest  instincts  of  a  true  soldier,  united  with  the  manliest  attributes  of  a 
true  man.  Long  may  he  live  to  meet  and  mingle  with  the  survivors  of  that 
gallant  band  he  so  often  led  to  victory  and  never  deserted  in  defeat. 

But  I  cannot  if  I  would,  I  would  not  if  I  could,  forget  the  uncrowned  and 
unsung  hero  of  the  knapsack  and  the  musket.  History  furnishes  no  parallel 
to  the  gallantry  of  our  citizen  soldiery,  the  courage  and  grit  of  the  American 
volunteer.  The  perils  and  hardships  of  war  were  his.  His  were  the  lonely 
vigils  of  the  picket  beat,  and  the  dangers  by  flood  and  field.  Upon  his  brave 
heart  and  conscience  lay  the  political  destiny  of  this  great  republic.  The  na- 
tion placed  her  life  in  his  hands.  And  on  a  hundred  bloody  battle-fields  he 
proved  himself  sublimely  worthy  of  the  trust.  Among  this  un.selfish  host  of 
brave,  true  men,  none  were  more  brave  and  true  than  the   soldiers  of  the  old 


168  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Eleventh.  Their  bones  lie  on  every  great  battle-lield  of  the  ciist,  and  the  re- 
cords ot"  southern  prisons  show  the  names  of  some  of  our  gallant  boys,  not  \)er- 
mitted  to  share  a  soldier's  death  on  the  tield  of  battle,  but  dying  like  some  ancient 
martyr  in  love  with  his  God  and  his  country.  To  him,  to  the  common  soldier, 
to  our  dead  comrades,  whether  here  beneath  his  native  soil  he  sleeps,  or  under 
the  softer  skies  of  the  sunny  south-land,  we  turn  in  grateful,  tearful  remem- 
brance. We  rear  these  monuments  to  their  honor  and  in  their  memory.  But 
in  the  unborn  ages  yet  to  come,  long  after  we  too  shall  have  passed  away,  a 
saved  and  grateful  republic  will  rear  in  histoiy  an  everlasting  memorial  to 
their  devotion  and  their  valor,  more  changeless  than  brass  and  more  enduring 
than  marble,  and  that  shall  exist  as  long  as  these  voiceless  hills  bear  testimony 
to  Gettysburg's  fateful  day  ;  and  among  the  immortal  names  preserved  as  those 
the  nation  delights  to  honor  in  all  the  future,  a  high  and  honored  place  shall 
be  forever  held  by  the  old   "'Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteers." 

And  now,  to  the  memory  of  our  fallen  companions  of  the  old  "Eleventh 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,"  the  heroic  dead  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  service 
of  their  country,  and  to  the  regiment  in  whose  ranks  they  fell,  this  monument 
is  solemnly  dedicated  by  their  surviving  comrades.  May  its  silent  presence 
teach  more  eloquently  than  language  can  express,  the  lessons  of  patriotism  and 
self-sacrificiug  devotion  to  country. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

23°    REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September   12,  1889 
ADDRESS  OF  COLONEL  JOHN  F.  GLENN 

/'"COMRADES  : — We   assemble   here   to-day  to   unveil  a    statue    that  sur- 
I  mounts  our  monument,  that  we  had  the  honor  to  dedicate  some  two 

y  ;  years  ago,  and  it  is  with  feelings  of  gratification  that  I  extend  con- 
gratulations to  the  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  and  com- 
rades of  Shaler's  Brigade,  for  such  a  large  attendance  of  their  survivors  on  this 
hallowed  ground  -and  in  their  name  I  mo.st  heartily  thank  our  friends  who 
have  honored  the  occasion  by  their  presence.  To  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  we 
extend  our  grateful  thanks  for  the  gift  which  I  now  unveil,  that  of  a  Birney 
Zouave — and  in  saying  this  I  assure  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  of  the 
gratitude  of  all  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. 


ADDRESS  OF  WILLIAM  J.  WRAV 

R.  Secretary  and  Members  of  the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Memorial  As- 
sociation : — On  August  6,  1886,  the  Survivors'  Association  of  the 
Twenty-third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  their  friends, 
liad  the  honor  to  dedicate  and  turn  over  to  the  keeping  of  your  Asso- 
<iation  this  tablet,  that  marks  the  position  of  the  Twenty-third  during  the 
action  of  .July  3.  18()l{.  On  that  occsision.  General  Alexander  Shaler,  as  orator 
of  the  day,  after  reviewing  the  action  of  Gettysburg,  and  history  of  the  regi- 


Pennsylvania  at  Geffi/shurg.  169 

nieiit,  iu  most  eloquent  words,  generously  paid  tribute  to  the  command  as  its 
brigade  commander. 

Since  that  time  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  appropriated  for  the  erection 
of  monuments  the  sum  of  $1,500  to  each  Pennsylvania  command  that  par- 
ticipated in  the  action.  Our  as.sociation  appointed  the  required  committee — 
.selected  a  design  of  a  statue  to  surmount  their  tablet.  The  Pennsylvania  State 
Commission  on  Gettysburg  Monuments  having  approved  of  our  selection,  the 
work  was  ordered  done,  and  we  are  here  to-day  to  transfer  to  the  keeping  of 
the  Battle-field  Memorial  A.ssociation,  this  granite  work  of  art,  just  unveiled — 
a  statue  ol  a  "Birney  Zouave."  You  will  observe  the  figure  represents  a 
youthful  soldier,  who,  advancing  up  the  slope  at  trail  arms,  grasps  his  musket 
impulsively  as  he  suddenly  receives  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  It  is  quite  a  de- 
parture from  the  dress  parade  figure  usually  cut  in  granite,  and  while  not  regu- 
lation as  to  the  position  of  the  musket,  it  is  realistic — thus  showing  the  soldier 
under  fire — and  one  more  appropriate  on  a  battle-field.  The  surrottndings  be- 
ing woodland — the  figure  is  supported  by  a  broken  tree,  apparently  struck  by 
a  piece  of  shell — all  details  as  t^)  uniform  and  accoutrements  have  been  brought 
artisticallj'  out,  and  in  placing  this  work  of  art  in  the  keeping  of  your  Asso- 
ciation, we  deem  it  a  pleasant  duty  we  owe  to  thank  you  for  the  faithful  man- 
ner in  which  you  have  labored  for  the  preservation  of  this  field — and  in  the 
name  of  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry, 
we  gratefully  acknowledge  the  gift  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  who  .so  gen- 
erously appropriated  the  funds  for  its  erection. 


ORATION  OF  GENERAL  SHALER 

COMRADES  : — We  meet  to-day  upon  historic  grounds.  Some  of  us  have 
met  here  betbre.  Twenty-five  years  ago,  within  a  few  days,  two  great 
armies  confronted  each  other  in  this  vicinity.  One  in  defense  of  state 
rights,  the  other  in  defense  of  United  States  rights.  One  assaulted  the 
Union,  the  other  defended  it. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  iu  full  the  great  battle  which  ensued,  relate 
the  causes  which  led  to  it,  nor  discu.ss  the  efi'ect  upon  the  country  of  the  result- 
ing victory  of  the  Union  army,  but  content  myself  with  a  brief  .synopsis  of  the 
part  taken  in  this  and  other  battles  by  that  portion  of  the  Sixth  Corps  in  which 
we  had  the  honor  of  serving. 

Let  us  go  back  to  the  autumn  of  186L  The  "  tocsin  of  war  had  sounded." 
The  cry  to  arms  had  reverberated  throughout  the  land.  Fathers,  husbands, 
brothers  and  sons  turned  their  backs  upon  their  children,  their  wives,  their 
parents  and  all  that  was  dearest  to  them  on  earth,  and  rushed  impulsively  to 
the  defense  of  the  Union.  To  .show  how  spontaneous  and  how  general  this  out- 
burst of  patriotism  was,  it  may  be  stated  that  between  July  27,  1861,  and 
October  27  (a  period  of  three  months),  there  were  added  to  the  army  then  or- 
ganizing, about  120,000  men  ;  and  that  in  December  following  there  were  in 
the  vicinity  of  Washington  and  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  over  200,000  men 
in  battle  arraj'. 

Washington  and  its  suburbs  was  one  grand  encampment.  Troops  from  every 
loyal  state  were  being  marshalled  and  prepared  for  active  service.  General 
George  B.  McClellan.  whom  we  familiarly  called  "Little  Mac,"  owing  to  his 
success  in  West  Virginia,  in  the  summer  of  1861,  had  been  called  to  Washing- 


170  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

ton  to  organize  and  lonunand  an  army  for  the  double  purpose  of  defendinji  the 
Cai)itol  and  of  taking  the  tiekl.  As  regiment  after  regiment  arrived,  they  were 
organized  into  brigades  and  divisions  without  much  reference  to  the  states  from 
wliich  they  came,  and  were  encamped  contiguous  to  each  other.  At  Queen's 
Farm,  on  the  Bladensburg  road,  just  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  the  Twenty- 
third  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  Birney  ;  the  Thirty-tirst  Pennsylvania,  which  after- 
wards became  the  Eighty-second  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  Williams  ;  the  Sixty- 
fifth  New  York,  Colonel  Cochrane,  and  the  Sixty-seventh  New  York,  Colonel 
Adams,  were  encamped,  and  formed  what  was  known  as  Graham's  Brigade, 
under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Pike  Graham,  an  officer  formerly  of 
the  United  States  cavalry  service.  This  brigade  formed  part  of  the  division  com- 
manded by  General  Don  Carlos  Buell. 

As  early  as  October,  1861,  the  organization  of  the  army  was  practically  com- 
pleted, and  from  that  time  until  April,  1862,  when  the  Peninsular  campaign  was 
begun,  were  drilled  and  schooled  in  the  practices  of  war.  The  monotonous 
routine  of  camp  life  was  varied  only  by  an  occasional  wild  rumor  of  approach- 
ing rebels,  and  a  reconnaissance  of  the  surrounding  country. 

With  the  exception  of  a  skirmish  at  Lewinsville,  Virginia,  just  be3^ond  Chain 
bridge,  in  which  a  part  of  the  brigade  (the  Chasseur  Regiment)  was  engaged, 
the  troops  had  so  far  experienced  only  the  drudgery  and  the  jollities  of  camp 
life.  But  this  was  ended  in  the  spring  of  1862.  by  the  cry  of  "  On  to  Richmond." 
when  our  brigade,  with  the  rest  of  the  army,  took  transports  at  Alexandria  lor 
Fortress  Monroe.  In  the  meantime  the  Sixty-first  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  Rip- 
pey,  had  joined  as. 

The  campaign  was  begun  with  three  corps  of  the  army,  to  wit : — the  Second, 
commanded  by  General  Sumner  ;  the  Third,  commanded  by  General  Heiutzel- 
man,and  the  Fourth,  commanded  by  General  Keyes.  Couch's  Division,  to  which 
we  were  attached,  belonged  to  Keyes'  Corps.  Our  advance  up  the  Peninsula 
was  slow  and  tedious,  although  no  enemy  was  seen  until  we  reached  Yorktown. 
Pending  the  siege  of  that  place  we  were  occupied  in  watching  Warwick  river. 
The  battle  of  Williamsburg  followed  the  evacuation  of  Yorktown,  and  our  bri- 
gade, after  marching  all  day  through  a  drizzling  rain  and  mud  ankle-deep, 
reached  the  battle-field  in  time  to  support  some  of  Hooker's  troops  in  making 
their  final  charge. 

Before  we  had  advanced  far  enough  from  Fortress  Monroe  to  .see  the  enemy. 
General  Graham  was  relieved  from  duty  and  General  Wessells.  also  of  the  regu- 
lar army,  put  in  command  of  the  l)iigade.  General  Wessells  was  in  a  short  time 
succeeded  by  anothei-  regular  officer,  General  Abercrombie,  who  was  with  us  at 
Fair  Oaks,  and  retained  the  command  until  after  the  .second  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
lough t  by  General  Pope. 

We  cro.ssed  the  Chickahomiuy  at  Bottom's  bridge  about  the  25111  of  May,  and 
advanced  within  five  miles  of  Richmond,  where,  at  Seven  Pines  and  Fair  Oaks, 
on  the  :51.st  of  May,  was  fought  the  first  important  and  severe  battle  of  the  cam- 
paign. In  this  battle  the  regiments  of  our  brigade  were  separated.  We  were 
encamped  along  the  Nine  Mile  road,  extending  from  Seven  Pines,  on  the 
Williamsburg  pike,  to  Fair  Oaks  Station,  on  the  Richmond  and  York  River 
railroad. 

Owing  to  the  suddenness  of  the  enemy's  attack,  the  Twenty-third  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  Sixty-seventh  New  York  were  thrown  forward,  while  marching 
towards  Fair  Oaks  on  the  Nine  Mile  road,  into  a  dense  pine  grove  on  the  left. 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty filnirg.  171 

through  which  the  enemy  were  advancing.  They  succeeded,  with  the  Thirtv- 
first  Peuusylvania  and  Sixty-lirst  Pennsylvania,  already  in  line,  in  checking 
that  advance,  but  were  subsequently  Ibrced  to  retire  with  very  heavy  losses. 
In  this  onslaught  the  Sixty-first  Penn.sylvania  lost  its  colonel  (Kippey)  and 
was  badly  cut  up.  Their  re-solute  stand,  however,  enabled  the  rest  of  the  bri- 
gade to  reach  Fair  Oaks  .Station,  where,  after  holding  position  a  short  time,  the 
Thirty-first  Pennsylvania  and  .Sixty-first  Pennsylvania  having  previously  taken 
position  in  advance  of  their  camps  near  the  railroad  station,  they  were  with- 
drawn under  the  personal  supervision  of  General  Couch,  the  division  com- 
nuinder,  with  a  section  of  Brady's  Battery,  the  Sixty -second  New  York,  Colonel 
Kiker,  and  the  Seventh  Ma.ssachusetts,  Colonel  Russell,  along  the  road  leading 
to  the  Grape  Vine  bridge,  so  far  as  the  Adams  House. 

The  Thirty-first  I'ennsylvanui,  the  Sixty-fifth  New  York  and  two  companies 
of  the  Sixty-first  Penn.sylvania,  which  had  been  on  the  picket  line,  were  posted 
in  the  order  named  on  the  right  of  the  road  facing  and  on  the  edge  of  a  dense 
woods,  while  the  Sixty-second  New  York.  Brady's  guns  and  the  Seventh  Ma.s- 
sachusetts were  posted  in  the  order  named  on  the  left  of  the  road,  on  a  knoll 
overlooking  an  open  field  and  flanking  the  woods  along  which  the  first-named 
regiments  had  been  formed. 

The  enemy's  advance  through  the  piece  of  woods  was  resolute  and  persistent. 
Regiment  after  regiment  was  brought  forward  to  drive  us  back  and  get  on  the 
flank  of  Brady's  guns,  but  without  avail.  The  dogged  tenacity  with  which  the 
men  of  the  Thirty-fii-st  Pennsylvania,  the  Chasseurs  and  the  Sixty-first  Pennsvl- 
vania  clung  to  their  position,  outmatched  the  fierceness  of  the  enemy's  assault. 

Despairing  of  success  in  their  efforts  to  flank  the  artillery,  the  enemy  essayed 
a  direct  attack,  but  with  no  better  success,  although  a  few  dead  rebels  were 
found  w-ithin  twenty  yards  of  the  muzzles  of  the  guns.  This  attack  was  made 
alwut  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  so  sudden  that  the  brigade  commander. 
General  Abercrombie,  was  caught  in  the  woods  between  the  lines  and  received 
a  slight  wound  in  the  face.  Between  four  and  five  o'clock  the  leading  brigade 
of  Sedgwick's  Division  and  Kirby's  Battery  of  twelve-pounders,  which  had 
crossed  the  Chickahominy  on  the  Grape  Vine  bridge,  arrived  on  the  field. 

The  infantry  were  posted  on  the  right  and  in  the  i-ear  of  our  line,  and  the 
artillery  on  the  knoll  beside  Brady's  two  guns.  Other  infantry  were  put  in 
position  on  the  left  of  the  artillery,  and  connection  made  with  the  troops  which 
had  been  forced  back  by  the  impetuosity  of  the  assault.  Fresh  troops  were  ad- 
vanced by  the  enemy  and  the  Vjattle  raged  until  dark,  but  not  an  inch  of  ground 
was  yielded.  The  conduct  of  our  men  in  this  battle  furnishes  an  example  of 
the  benefits  derived  from  proper  instruction  and  rigid  discipline.  Under  guid- 
ance of  their  oflicers,  they  reserved  their  fire  until  the  enemy  could  be  .seen 
through  the  thicket  in  front  of  them.  As  a  result,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
shots  were  efiective.  The  Chasseur  Regiment  captured  a  battle  flag  and  the 
next  morning  buried  over  one  hundred  rebels  found  in  their  front. 

The  following  day  the  brigade  was  again  united  and  moved  to  an  advanced 
position.  On  the  26th  of  June  the  extreme  right  of  our  army  at  Mechanicsville 
was  attacked  by  the  rebels  in  force,  and  from  that  time  until  July  1st,  when 
the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill  was  fought,  we  experienced  all  the  trials  and  suf- 
ferings incident  to  a  forced  march  of  .six  days,  without  sleep,  shelter  or  regular 
food.  At  Malvern  Hill,  our  division,  having  been  arnong  the  first  to  arrive, 
was  naturally  assigned  the  most  important  position.     Three  several  times  it 


172  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

^vas  assailed  by  the  rebels,  wlio  were  repulsed  with  learlul  loss.  On  tlie  right 
of  the  line,  held  by  Couch's  Division,  the  Chasseur  Regiment  was  at  one  time 
compelled  to  change  front  under  fire,  and  did  it  with  such  woudertul  coolness 
and  precision  as  to  command  the  admiration  and  the  compliments  of  the  bri- 
gade commander. 

The  six  weeks  eucampmeut  ot  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at  Harrison's  Laud- 
ing, on  the  James  river,  its  transfer  to  the  city  of  Washington,  the  part  it  took 
in  supporting  Pope's  army  in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  its  subsequent 
reorganization  by  General  McClellan,  furnish  nothing  of  special  note  in  refer- 
ence to  our  brigade,  except  that  Brigadier-General  John  Cochrane,  who  had  been 
promoted  from  the  colonelcy  of  the  Chasseur  Kegiment  after  the  battle  of  Fair 
Oaks,  was  put  in  command  of  our  brigade  in  the  place  of  General  Abercrombie, 
who  had  been  assigned  to  duty  at  Centerville,  after  Pope's  campaign,  and 
Couch's  Division  was  transferred  to  the  Sixth  Corps,  commanded  by  General 
Frailklin. 

In  the  reorganization  of  the  army,  early  in  September,  while  on  the  march, 
the  One  Hundred  and  twenty-second  New  York  regiment.  Colonel  Silas  Titus, 
was  added  to  our  brigade,  and  we  became  the  First  Brigade,  Third  Division, 
Sixth  Corps. 

After  the  defeat  of  Pope  at  Manassas,  Lee  boldly  struck  out  northward,  in 
the  direction  of  Leesburg,  necessitating  great  caution  on  the  part  of  McClellan, 
who  had  been  again  rerball//  placed  in  command  of  the  troops  about  Washing- 
ton, embracing  those  designated  as  the  Army  of  Virginia. 

The  battle-field  of  Antietam  was  reached  by  our  brigade  early  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  17th  of  September,  after  a  tramp  through  Pleasant  Valley  and  up 
to  the  top  of  Maryland  Heights,  in  search  of  the  rebel  General  McLaws,  on 
one  of  the  hottest  days  and  over  the  dustiest  road  we  had  ever  marched.  At 
Antietam  we  relieved  that  part  of  the  line  to  the  right  of  a  corn-field  and  im- 
mediately in  front  of  Dunker  Church.  This  line  we  occupied  until  the  morn- 
ing of  the  19th,  when  our  division  was  put  in  pursuit  of  the  fleeing  rebels,  the 
rear  guard  of  which  we  had  a  fight  with,  and  drove  acro.ss  the  river  at 
Williamsport. 

McClellan's  tardiness  after  the  battle  of  Antietam  caused  much  uneasiness 
and  great  dissatislaction  with  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and  resulted  in 
his  being  relieved  at  Warrenton,  and  General  Burnside  being  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  the  9th  of  November,  1862. 

Upon  the  reorganization  of  the  army  which  followed.  General  Couch  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Second  Corps  and  General  John  Newton  to  the 
command  of  the  Third  Division,  Sixth  Corps. 

In  the  calamitous  failure  of  Burnside's  attack  on  Fredericksburg,  December 
13th  to  15th,  the  Sixth  Corps,  then  in  command  of  General  W.  F.  Smith, 
jxjpularly  known  as  "'Baldy  Smith,"  formed  a  part  of  the  Left  Grand  Division, 
<'onjmanded  by  General  Franklin. 

We  cros.sed  the  Rappahannock  about  three  miles  below  the  city,  near  the 
Bernard  House,  and  supported  General  Meade  in  his  attack  upon  the  enemy's 
right,  without  serious  loss,  although  constantly  under  a  heavy  artillery  fire. 
On  the  20th  of  January  following.  General  Burnside  considered  that  "the  aus- 
picious moment  had  arrived"  and  issued  his  orders  lor  recro.ssiug  the  Rappa- 
hannock at  Banks'  Ford.  No  .sooner  had  the  troops  broken  camp  than  the  rain 
commenced  to  fall  in  torrents,  and,  after  floundering  around  a  whole  day,  they 


Pennsylvania  at  Geffyshurg.  173 

returned  to  camp  at  night,  having  added  notliing  to  our  prestige  or  that  of  the 
comnumding  general,  and  nothing  to  history,  except  the  record  of  a  "  mud 
march. ' ' 

General  Buruside's  retirement  from  the  comnrand  of  the  army  .soon  followed, 
and  General  Hooker,  already  known  as  "Fighting  Joe"  for  hi.s  gallant  and 
persistent  assaults  upon  the  rebel  earthworks  at  Williamsburg,  on  the  Penin- 
sula, and  at  South  Mouutaia  and  Antietam,  superseded  him.  Then  followed 
another  reorganization  of  the  army,  in  whicli  the  Si.\ty-first  Penn.sylvania  was 
taken  from  our  brigade  and  made  a  part  of  the  Light  Brigade,  organized  for 
special  purposes. 

The  resignation  of  General  Cochrane,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1863,  placed  the 
speaker  in  command  of  the  brigade.  General  Hooker's  lirst  lield  operation 
was  an  effort  to  crush  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  at  Chancellorsville. 

It  was  a  part  of  his  plan  to  have  Sedgwick,  who  now  commanded  the  Sixth 
Corps,  assault  and  '^arry  the  Heights  of  Fredericksburg,  move  out  on  the  road 
to  Chancellorsville,  and  strike  the  rear  of  Lee's  army  while  he.  Hooker,  en- 
gaged it  in  front.  For  that  purpose  the  Sixth  Corps  crossed  the  Rappahannock 
below  Fredericksburg,  near  the  old  Franklin  crossing,  on  April  29th.  and  on 
the  night  of  Saturday,  May  2d,  at  1  a.  m.,  commenced  a  flank  march  into 
Fredericksburg. 

Our  brigade  wa.s  honored  with  the  advance  and  instructed  to  let  nothing  im- 
pede the  march  through  the  town,  over  the  heights  and  out  on  the  Chancellors- 
ville road  ;  an  easy  order  for  a  general  to  give,  but  not  easy  of  execution,  in 
the  presence  of  a  wide-awake  enemy,  holding  earthworks  across  your  path,  an 
effort  to  take  which  had  already  cost  fifteen  thousand  lives.  After  driving  in 
the  outposts,  in  which  the  Chasseur  Regiment,  under  the  lamented  Hamblin, 
showed  conspicuous  gallantry,  losing  many  men  and  leaving  Major  Healy  on 
the  ground  mortally  wounded,  as  was  supposed,  we  continued  our  march  until 
the  enemy's  line  of  defenses  at  the  foot  of  Marye's  Heights  was  encountered, 
when,  by  order  of  the  division  commander,  the  head  of  the  column  entered  the 
city,  leaving  one  of  our  regiments,  tiie  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania,  deployed  in 
the  open  field  facing  the  never-to-be-forgotten  stone  wall.  When  daylight  ap- 
peared the  men  of  the  Twenty-third  found  themselves  exposed  to  the  enemy's 
fire,  and  for  five  long  hours,  without  an  opportunity  to  even  make  a  cup  of 
coffee,  they  maintained  this  harrassiug  position.  About  10  o'clock  Sunday 
morning  the  columns  and  deployed  lines  were  formed  by  General  Newton  for 
storming  the  heights.  The  column  on  the  extreme  right  was  composed  of  the 
Sixty-first  Pennsylvania  and  Forty-third  New  York,  of  the  Light  Brigade, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Spear,  and  was  sup^jorted  by  the  Eighty-second 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Sixty-seventh  New  York,  of  our  brigade,  under  command 
of  the  speaker.  The  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  formed  a  part  of  the  deployed 
line  on  the  left  of  the  second  column  of  attack.  The  Chasseur  Regiment  and 
the  One  hundred  and  twenty-second  New  York  were  directed  to  follow  with 
the  rest  of  our  division  and  join  the  brigade  after  the  heights  had  been  carried. 

Upon  the  opening  of  Newton's  batteries  both  columns  debouched  from  under 
cover,  and  the  deployed  lines  advanced  to  the  assault.  Spear's  column  on 
the  right  was  enfiladed  by  batteries  stationed  in  the  road  at  the  top  of  the  hill 
and  in  the  works  on  each  side  of  the  road  ;  rifle-pits  at  the  base  of  the  hill  also 
confronted  him.  The  column  moved  out  on  the  double-quick,  but  the  road 
was  narrow  and  before  the  column  had  passed  over  half  the  distance  it  was 


174  Pennsylvania  at  Getty shurg. 

literally  swept  away  by  the  iron  hail  showered  upon  it.  Colonel  Spear  fell 
mortally  wounded.  Major  Bassett,  with  the  Eighty-s(;cond  Pennsylvania,  found 
liiniself  at  the  head  of  the  column,  and  struggled  manfully  to  carry  his  men 
forward,  and  finally,  encouraged  bj'  the  presence  of  their  brigade  commander 
with  his  two  aides,  Lieutenants  Armstrong  and  Johnson,  rushed  forward  with 
the  Sixty-seventh  New  York  and  carried  the  heights,  capturing  two  pieces  of 
the  Washington  battery  of  artillery,  one  officer  and  a  number  of  men.  The 
Twenty-third  Penn^^ylvania,  in  deploj'ed  line,  Avitli  the  Fifth  Wisconsin,  Sixth 
Maine  and  Thirty-lirst  New  York,  moved  gallantly  to  the  charge.  An  eye-wit- 
ne.ss  belonging  to  the  Second  Division,  in  speaking  of  this  line,  says,  "Four 
more  gallant  regiments  could  not  be  found  in  the  service.  Leaving  everything 
but  guns  and  ammunition  they  started  forward,  encountering  a  shower  of 
bullets,  grape  and  cannister  as  soon  as  they  rose  above  a  slight  knoll.  It  was 
a  noble  spectacle  and  filled  our  hearts  with  pride  for  our  brave  comrades," 

The  brigade  was  subsequently  united  and  marched  out  on  the  road  to  Chan- 
cellorsville.  The  enemy's  occupation  of  Salem  Heights  stopped  our  advance, 
and  in  the  battle  which  ensued  we  took  position  in  an  open  field  to  the  right  of 
the  road,  which  was  held  until  the  evening  of  the  4th,  when  the  whole 
corps  recro.ssed  the  Rappahannock  at  Banks'  Ford  and  returned  to  our  old 
camps.  Throughout  this  .short  campaign  the  conduct  of  the  officers  and  men 
of  our  brigade  was  everything  that  could  be  desired  ;  and  it  was  through  no 
fault  of  theirs  or  any  other  part  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  that  Hooker's  first  cam- 
paign came  to  such  an  inglorious  end. 

Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville  had  so  improved  the  morale  of  the  rebel 
army  Avhich  had  ])een  reinforced  by  two  of  Longstreet's  divisions  from  the 
James  river  and  a  large  number  of  conscripts  from  Kichmond,  that  Lee  deter- 
mined upon  an  invasion  of  the  North.  This  threw  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
on  the  defensive.  So,  on  the  13th  of  June,  Hooker  broke  up  his  camp  on  the 
Ikapi)ahannock  and  moved  northward.  The  Sixth  Corps  had,  on  the  6th  of  that 
month,  again  crossed  the  river  at  tlie  Bernard  Hou.se,  and  for  a  week  observed 
the  movements  of  the  rebels  who  occupied  the  defenses  of  Fredericksburg 
Heights,  but  recrossed  and  followed  the  main  army  on  the  14th  by  forced 
marches  until  the  vicinity  of  W^ashington  was  reached.  The  Potomac  river 
was. crossed  at  Edwards'  Ferry  on  the  26th  of  June,  and  the  march  of  the  army 
directed  on  Frederick  City.  About  this  .same  time  differences  arose  between 
(leneral  Halleck  at  Washington  and  General  Hooker,  in  relation  chiefly  to  the 
disjiositioii  of  the  forces  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  General  Hooker  asked  to  be  re- 
lieved. General  (jeorge  G.  Meade,  then  commanding  the  Fifth  Corps,  was  im- 
mediately placed  in  command  of  the  army. 

From  Frederick  City  our  corps  marched  to  Manchester,  whicli  would  have 
been  the  extreme  right  of  the  army  if  Meade's  line  of  battle  luul  been  formed 
along  Pipe  creek,  as  some  suppose  he  had  intended.  But  events  occurred 
which  determined  Gettysburg  to  be  the  ground  upon  which  was  to  be  fought 
the  mightiest  and  most  sanguinary  battle  of  modern  times.  The  operations  of 
tlie  First  and  Eleventh  Corps  on  Seminary  liidge,  where  Reynolds  lost  his  life, 
on  Ihe  l.st  of  July,  were  important,  in  that  Ihey  prevented  the  rebels  from  oc- 
cupying the  favorable  ground  u]>on  wliich  our  army  was  subse(|ueiitly  formed 
for  Vjattle. 

On  the  night  of  the  1st  of  July  our  corps  was  at  Manchester  thirty-six  miles 
away.      .\t  9  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  started  for  Gettysburg  and  did  not  halt 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty shurg.  175 

for  any  length  of  time  until  we  reached  Kock  creek  which  crosses  the  Baltimore 
pike  about  a  mile  from  here.  There  we  rested  and  made  coffee.  Resuming  the 
march  we  moved  to  the  base  of  Little  Hound  Top,  where  the  Fift»h  Corps  was 
stemming  the  rebel  current  which  had  forced  back  portions  of  the  Third  Corps. 
Two  of  our  brigades  were  immediately  thrown  forward  to  the  relief  of  the  Fifth 
Corps,  while  the  rest  were  placed  in  a  line  of  reserve.  Before  leaving  Man- 
chester, our  division  commander,  General  Newton,  took  leave  of  us  and  went 
immediately  to  the  front  to  assume  command  of  the  First  Corps  in  the  place  of 
General  Keynolds,  who  had  been  killed  that  morning,  and  (Jeneral  Wheaton, 
by  virtue  of  his  rank  assumed  command  of  this  division. 

This  march  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  of  thirty-six  miles  in  seventeen  hours  on  a 
sultry  summer  night  and  morning,  is  probably  tlie  most  memorable  one  of  the 
war.  When  we  consider  the  load  which  a  soldier  carries  on  the  march,  even 
in  light  marching  order,  the  absence  in  the  field  of  all  comforts  which  he  en- 
joyed at  home,  and  the  peril  to  life  and  limb  which  constantly  surrounds  him, 
we  cannot  but  admire  the  pluck  and  courage  with  which  he  undertakes  the 
most  difficult  and  perilous  tasks  and  honor  him  for  the  sacrifices  he  makes. 

About  sunrise  on  the  morning  of  the  3d,  our  brigade  was  ordered  to  Gulp's 
Hill  to  aid  General  Geary  of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  in  retaking  the  works  on  the 
extreme  right,  occupied  by  the  enemy  during  th(^  previous  night.  The  serious- 
ness of  Longstreet's  attack  upon  our  left  induced  General  Meade  to  order  rein- 
forcements  from  General  Slocum,  commanding  on  this  part  of  the  field,  which 
necessitated  the  evacuation  of  a  part  of  the  line  before  established.  These 
works  were  seized  by  the  wily  enemy,  and  at  daylight  our  troops  undertook  to 
dislodge  him  and  drive  him  back*. 

Upon  reporting  to  General  Geary,  our  l)rigade  was  formed  in  the  open 
field,  just  in  rear  of  the  line  of  defenses,  in  a  column  of  battalions  deployed. 
After  a  personal  reconnaissance  by  General  Geary  and  the  brigade  commander, 
the  One  Hundred  and  twenty-second  New  York,  Colonel  Titus  commanding, 
was  directed  to  relieve  the  One  Hundred  and  eleventh  Pennsylvania,  then  occu- 
pying a  position  in  the  front  line.  This  position  they  held  for  two  hours  and  a 
half  under  a  very  severe  fire,  losing  many  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  Avere 
then  relieved  by  the  Eighty-second  I'ennsylvauia,  Colonel  Bas.sett.  At  9.20 
a.  m.,  the  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Glenn  commanding, 
was  placed  in  position  to  support  the  front  line.  Three  hours  later,  five 
companies  of  this  regiment,  under  a  galling  fire  of  musketry,  were  advanced 
into  the  breastworks  and,  after  silencing  the  enemy's  fire,  sent  out  a  line  of 
skirmishers,  which,  however,  were  promptly  recalled,  the  enemy  still  being  in 
line  of  battle  in  close  proximity  to  our  works.  At  11  a.  m.  the  Sixty- 
seventh  New  York,  Colonel  Cross,  marched  into  the  breastworks  from  which 
the  enemy  were  then  fieeing,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  about  twenty  prison- 
ers. At  11.15  a.  m.,  the  Chasseur  Regiment  (Sixty-fifth  New  York),  Colonel 
Hamblin,  occupied  a  position  in  support  of  the  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania. 
About  3  p.  m.  all  of  our  regiments  were  relieved  by  others  belonging  to  the 
Twelfth  Corps. 

Longstreet's  attack  \\\>()\x  our  left,  and  Ewell's  attack  upon  our  right  had 
both  failed  ;  and  now  a  desperate  attempt  to  pierce  our  center  was  to  be  made. 
As  a  prelude  to  the  grand  assault  of  Pickett's  Division,  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen pieces  of  artillery  opened  their  murderous  fire  upon  our  lines,  and  were 
responded  to  by  about  eighty  of  our  own  guns.     With  the  order  and  steadiness 


176  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

of  troops  oil  parade,  Pickett's  lines  moved  out  iti  view  and  cunimenoed  to  ad- 
vance across  the  open  field  to  a  point  just  south  of  the  Cemetery  grounds 
marked  by  a  clump  of  trees.  No  sooner  was  the  point  of  his  attack  made 
manifest,  than  every  available  Union  battery  was  trained  upon  his  columns. 
The  carnage  which  ensued  was  terrible  ;  but  ou  they  came,  alternately  waver- 
ing, staggering,  rallying  and  pressing  forward,  until  the  rebel  General  Armi- 
stead  found  himself  pierced  by  a  rifle  shot  within  our  own  lines,  followed  by 
a  few  hundred  of  the  most  fortunate  and  courageous  of  his  men  who  became 
2)risoners  of  Avar.  It  was  while  this  was  being  enacted,  that  our  brigade  was 
called  from  this  positiou  on  the  right,  to  traverse  the  field  and  report  to  Gen. 
eral  Newton,  commanding  the  First  Corps,  at  the  left  center,  near  the  point  of 
Pickett's  assault.  After  the  repulse  of  this  infantry  charge,  the  rebel  batteries 
kept  up  a  tantalizing  but  irregular  fire  ;  and  one  of  the  last  shots  fired  lost  to 
the  Twenty-third  Regiment  one  of  its  most  promising  young  officers,  I^ieuten- 
ant  Garsed".  A  solid  shot  literally  tore  him  to  pieces.  Before  darkness  had 
shrouded  the  field,  the  roar  of  artillery  and  the  rattling  of  musketry  had 
ceased.  The  great  battle  of  the  war  had  been  fonght.  The  stillness  of  the 
night  was  broken  only  by  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and  dying,  and  the 
rumbling  of  ammunition  and  commissary  wagons.  The  losses  in  both  armies 
amounted  to  about  50,000  men,  equal  to  one-third  of  all  the  number  engaged. 

The  rebel  army  was  now  compelled  to  abandon  all  the  hopes  which  its  scheme 
of  invasion  had  inspired  ;  and  bitter  as  the  alternative  was,  its  retreat  was  im- 
perative. So,  after  spending  the  fourth  day  in  burying  the  dead  and  caring 
for  the  wounded,  it  silently  and  sullenly  retired  from  our  front  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  fifth,  and  the  Si.Kth  Corps  was  sent  out  on  the  Fairfield  road  in  pur- 
suit. Lee's  rear  guard  was  overtaken  in  a  pass  of  the  South  Mountain  range, 
but  was  not  pursued  beyond  it,  General  Meade  having  determined  to  keep  his 
army  on  the  east  side  of  that  range.  It  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Harper's 
Ferry  and  Berlin,  July  17th  and  18th,  and  moved  along  the  east  of  Blue  Ridge, 
while  Lee  retreated  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  west  of  Blue  Ridge,  and  finally' 
encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  Culpeper  Court  House.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac 
went  into  camp  about  Warrenton,  Virginia. 

In  an  address  which  I  had  the  honor  of  delivering  upon  these  grounds  two 
years  ago,  on  tin;  occasion  of  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  of  the  Twenty- 
third  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  I  took  occasion  to  refer  to  an  injustice  which  had 
been  unintentionally  done  us  in  the  report  of  the  battle  by  the  army  com- 
mander. As  the  remarks  I  then  made  in  reference  to  the  Twenty-third  Regi- 
ment are  applicable  to  each  and  all  the  regiments  of  our  brigade,  I  (juote  them 
verbatim.  After  speaking  a  word  of  praise  in  behalf  of  General  Doubleday.  of 
the  First  Corps,  and  General  Sickles,  of  the  Third  Corps,  for  the  services  they 
rendered  on  the  first  and  second  days  respectively,  I  say,  "And  while  claiming 
this  special  recognition  for  them,  I  have  a  less  pleasing,  but  to  you  a  more  im- 
portant duty,  to  p(;rform,  and  that  is,  to  demand  an  official  recognition  of  the 
services,  in  this  battle,  of  the  brigade  to  which  you  were  attached.  The  stu- 
dent who  in  future  years  peruses  the  official  reix)rts  and  records  iii  the  War  De- 
partment, will  there  find  recorded,  over  the  signature  of  the  commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  that  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  Wheaton's  Brigade  was 
ordered  to  the  right,  to  aid  in  driving  l)ack  the  enemy  and  m  retaking  the 
works.  In  other  words,  the  troops  of  Wheaton's  Brigade  were  credited,  in  the 
official  report  of  the  battle,  with  the  service  performed  by  your  brigade.     Upon 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  177 

learning  of  this  error,  I  spoke  to  General  Meade  about  it,  at  an  army  reunion, 
held  in  Boston  nine  years  after  the  battle,  and  he  promised  to  have  his  rei)ort 
corrected.  I  spoke  also  to  General  Wheaton  of  the  credit  he  had  received  at 
another's  expense,  and  of  the  injustice  done  the  regiments  of  the  First  Brigade. 
He  promised  that  he  would  write  to  General  Meade  upon  the  subject,  but  I  am 
not  informed  that  either  of  the  promises  were  fulfilled.  As  our  great  lamented 
President  (Lincoln)  said,  in  commenting  upon  the  battle,  'There  was  glory 
enough  for  all. '  No  excuse,  therefore,  can  be  given  for  withholding  from  any 
of  the  troops  engaged  the  full  measure  of  credit  due  them,  mucli  less  should 
one  organization  be  glorified  at  the  expense  of  another.  In  justice  to  the 
memory  of  those  brave  men  whose  heroic  services  you  this  day  commemorate, 
and  in  justice  to  you  who  have  been  permitted  to  survive  them,  and  to  perform 
this  act  of  soldierly  love  and  friendship,  I  protest  against  the  wrong  which  has 
been  done.  I  may  be  answered  that  it  matters  little,  so  far  as  the  brigade  is 
concerned,  since  the  survivors  have  erected  tablets  upon  one  of  the  grounds 
they  occupied  in  this  battle.  Is  it  of  no  consequence  to  the  relatives  and 
friends  of  tho.se  who  have  died  for  their  country,  to  their  comrades  who  have 
survived  them,  to  the  officers  who  commanded  them,  that  the  official  reports 
are  silent  as  to  the  services  of  the  organization  with  which  they  fought  and 
died?  Nay,  more  ;  that  such  reports  should  actually  give  to  another  organiza- 
tion credit  for  services  which  cost  them  so  many  lives?  For  years  and  perhaps 
ages  to  come,  the  archives  of  the  war  will  be  perused  and  studied  by  historians 
and  military  students  in  search  of  material  with  which  to  compile  history  or 
solve  military  problems  ;  and  must  it  be  said  to  them,  that  the  records  are  un- 
reliable— that  to  ascertain  the  services  of  any  particular  organization  of  the 
army,  a  visit  must  be  made  to  the  battle-fields,  and  the  monuments  and  tablets 
consulted?  Such  a  confession  would  be  humiliating,  but  it  must  be  made,  so 
far  as  its  relates  to  the  services  of  the  First  Brigade,  Third  Division,  Sixth 
Corps,  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  And,  if  I  am  correctly  informed,  in  refer- 
ence to  other  organizations  also.  A  greater  value  attaches,  therefore,  to  the 
testimonials  you  this  day  dedicate,  than  you  probablj'  anticipated,  for  it  cor- 
rects the  record  ;  more  than  that,  it  stands  alone  as  the  only  record  accessible 
to  all,  that  our  brigade  fought  and  suftered  in  this  part  of  the  field  in  the  great- 
est battle  of  the  war." 

On  the  7th  of  November  following,  an  advance  movement  was  ordered, 
and  the  right  wing  of  the  army,  composed  of  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Corps  under 
the  command  of  General  Sedgwick,  was  moved  to  a  point  on  the  river  called 
Rappahannock  Station,  at  which  point  the  enemy  occupied  a  series  of  earth- 
works on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  consisting  of  two  or  three  redoubts  and  a 
long  line  of  rifle-pits  oi  trenches.  The  approach  to  these  works  was  over  an 
open  field,  which  could  be  swept  by  the  enemy's  guns  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance in  every  direction,  and  as  the  head  of  our  columns  debouched  from  the 
woods  to  deploy  in  line  of  battle,  they  furnished  a  si)leudid  target  for  the  rebel 
gunners'  practice.  The  scene  was  grand  bej-ond  description.  When  the 
speaker  entered  the  open  field,  the  Fifth  and  part  of  the  Sixth  Corps  were  al- 
ready in  line  of  battle,  with  flags  flying  and  bayonets  glistening  in  the  sunlight 
of  a  beautiful  autumn  day,  having  the  api^earance  of  troops  on  dress  parade 
rather  than  formed  for  deadly  conflict.  Like  Humphreys'  tactical  movements 
of  his  division  on  the  field  of  Getty.sburg,  our  brigade  was  closed  up  and,  with- 
out halting,  advanced  and  deployed  in  the  position  assigned  it,  having  only  the 
12 


178  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

sound  ol'  the  enemy's  guns  to  keep  step  with.  Without  delay  our  brigade  was 
ordered  to  drive  in  the  rebel  sharpshooters  and  secure  the  possession  of  a  knoll 
in  the  right  and  front  for  the  occupation  of  a  battery.  This  was  quickly  done, 
and  soon  after  the  battery  was  established,  a  column  of  attack  was  formed  from 
the  Sixth  Corps  and  put  in  command  of  General  Russell.  Colonel  Upton  led 
the  column  with  his  regiment,  and  made  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  success-- 
lul  charges  ever  made  upon  any  field.  He  not  only  captured  the  whole  line  oi" 
works,  but  with  it  some  sixteen  hundred  prisoners,  six  battle-flags  and  many 
pieces  of  artiller}'  and  small  arms.  His  attacking  column  numbered  only  fifteen 
hundred.  The  services  of  our  brigade  as  well  as  those  of  Upton's  troops,  were' 
made  the  subject  of  a  complimentary  order  from  corps  headquarters. 

The  next  move  of  importance  was  Meade's  eflbrt  to  interpose  his  army  be- 
tween the  two  wings  of  Lee's  army,  and  for  that  purpose  directed  the  various 
corps  to  cross  the  Rapidan  at  diffierent  points,  the  Sixth  at  Jacobs'  Mill  Ford, 
which  they  did  on  the  27th  of  November.  Our  division  was  ordered  to  report 
to  General  Warren,  to  aid  him  in  outflanking,  if  possible,  the  enemy's  right. 

Sunday,  November  29th.  found  us  in  what  was  then  considered  a  favorable 
position  from  which  to  attack,  and  orders  were  issued  for  Warren  to  do  so  at 
8  o'clock  next  morning.  But  when  morning  came  things  were  changed. 
Lee  had  entrenched  himself  in  our  front  and  planted  batteries  on  our  left. 
The  flankers  were  outflanked,  and  Warren's  heart  failed  him.  As  he  told  the 
speaker  afterwards  ''he  had  not  the  courage  to  attack."  But  he  had  the 
courage  to  sacrifice  himself  rather  than  his  men.  He  assumed  the  responsibility 
of  suspending  the  attack,  and  General  Meade  subsequently  justified  him. 
Thus  ended  the  brief  winter  campaign  of  Mine  Run  and  we  returned  to  our 
old  camps. 

During  December,  1863,  while  in  camp  at  Brandy  Station,  the  Government 
called  upon  the  three-years'  men,  two  years  of  service  having  expired,  to  re-en- 
list for  three  years  from  that  date  or  the  war.  This  call  was  responded  to  ))y 
the  men  of  our  regiments,  with  remarkable  unanimitj'  and  promptitude,  nearly 
two-thirds  in  the  aggregate  voluntarily  off'ering  to  continue  their  services  until 
the  last  rebel  laid  down  his  arms. 

In  January,  1864,  our  brigade  was  ordered  to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  to  prevent 
an  anticipated  attempt  to  liberate  the  rebel  officers  confined  on  Johnson's  Island, 
Sandusky  Bay,  and  remained  there  until  the  12th  of  April,  1864,  when  brigade 
head(iuarters  and  three  regiments  (the  Sixty-fifth,  Sixty-seventh  and  One 
Hundred  and  twenty-second  New  York)  proceeded  to  rejoin  the  army  at 
Brandy  Station.  During  our  absence  from  the  army,  the  old  Third  Division 
was  disbanded,  and  we  were  assigned  to  the  First  Division  commanded  by 
General  H.  G.  Wright,  constituting  the  Fourth  Brigade  of  that  division. 

Grant's  overland  campaign  to  Richmond  began  at  midnight,  the  3d  of  May. 
Our  brigade,  or  rather  the  three  regiments  of  it  in  camp,  crossed  the  Rapidan 
on  the  4th  in  charge  of  an  ammunition  train  which  wa.s  parked  a  short  distance 
in  rear  of  the  line  of  Ijattle  formed  by  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Corps  in  the  Wilder- 
ness, and  at  midnight  on  the  ."ith,  moved  forward  and  reported  to  our  division  com- 
mander. He  a.ssigned  us  to  a  position  on  the  extreme  right  in  sujiiwrt  of  General 
Seymour,  Avho  commanded  the  troops  at  that  point.  An  advance  of  the  liae 
about  8  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  6th,  so  shortened  it  that  in  order  to 
retain  poasession  of  a  prominence  on  our  flank,  our  regiments  had  to  be  placed 
in  the  front  line,  thus  presenting  to  the  enemy  a  single  attenuated  line  where  a 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg .  179 

strong,  well-snpportert  one  should  have  been.  Early  in  the  day  we  were  called 
upon  to  send  a  regiment  a  little  to  the  left,  to  the  aid  of  General  Neill's 
Brigade  which  was  being  hard  pressed. 

The  Sixty-seventh  New  York  was  sent  in,  and  returned  in  about  an  hour, 
having  lost  about  one  hundred  men  in  that  short  time.  Much  anxiety  was  felt 
throughout  the  day  for  the  safety  of  this  flank  which  was  practically  in  the  air, 
guarded  only  by  a  skirmish  line  thrown  around  the  rear,  and  subsequent  events 
justified  that  anxiety.  The  attention  of  corps  headquarters  was  repeatedly  called 
to  its  weakness,  but  for  reasons  unknown  to  the  speaker  no  troops  were  sent  to  us, 
and  it  was  an  easy  matter,  therefore,  when  a  brigade  ofEwell's  Corps,  under 
General  Gordon,  about  6  o'clock  in  the  evening,  drove  in  our  skirmishers,  to 
also  double  up  our  single  line  of  iufantry.  A  few  oflicers  and  men  of  each  of 
our  three  regiments  were  captured,  and  many  killed  and  wounded.  The  able- 
bodied  who  escaped  capture,  reformed  a  line  along  the  wood  road  which  crossed 
our  line  of  battle  perpendicularly,  a  few  yards  to  the  left. 

The  brigade  commander  in  reconnoitering  on  the  borders  of  this  road,  with 
more  zeal  than  caution  rode  into  the  enemy's  lines  and  was  captured.  This 
terminated  his  services  with  the  brigade  in  which  he  had  served  since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  army,  and  to  which  he  had  become  dearly  attached.  The 
command  of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  Colonel  Nelson  Cross,  of  the  Sixty- 
.seventh  New  York. 

In  the  successful  assaults  at  Spotsylvania  and  Cold  Harbor,  and  the  defense 
of  North  Anna,  which  followed  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  its  reputation 
was  fully  sustained.  Throughout  the  trials  encountered  in  the  change  of  base 
to  the  south  side  of  the  James,  and  the  besieging  of  Petersburg,  its  patience 
and  its  power  of  endurance  was  manifest ;  and  when  a  detached  column  under 
General  Early,  early  in  Juh'  again  threatened  the  National  Capitol,  the  confi- 
dence of  the  army  commander  in  its  prowess,  and  its  devotion  to  the  cause, 
secured  the  transfer  of  the  Sixth  Corps  to  the  point  of  danger.  The  old  resi- 
dents of  Washington  will  never  forget  with  what  celerity  the  rebel  general  was 
made  to  retire  from  the  front  of  the  Capitol  and  subsequently  beat  an  inglorious 
retreat  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  before  the  war-scarred  veterans  of  the  Sixth 
Corps,  which,  by  the  celerity  of  its  movements,  had  become  known  as  Sedg- 
wick's Cavalry. 

After  this  short  campaign  we  find  the  brigade  back  again  among  its  veteran 
comrades  of  the  army,  hammering  away  at  the  defenses  of  Petersburg,  until 
on  Sunday  morning,  April  2d,  the  final  charge  upon  the  works  is  made.  The 
signal  success  of  the  Sixth  Corps  in  this  charge,  not  only  carrying  the  line  of 
defense  in  their  front,  but  sweeping  to  the  left  and  capturing  a  long  line,  thou- 
sands of  prisoners  and  many  guns,  and  subsequently  turning  to  the  right  again, 
driving  everything  before  it,  until  the  enemy  were  encircled  within  their  last 
cordon  of  defenses,  was  the  first  of  the  series  of  staggering  blows  which  ulti- 
mately determined  the  fate  of  the  Confederacy.  The  parallel  race  with  Lee's 
army,  which  soon  followed,  gave  another  proof  of  its  marching  qualities.  But 
it  was  at  Sailor's  creek,  a  few  daj's  later,  where  the  fortunes  of  war  gave  to  the 
Sixth  Corps  the  final  opportunity  to  make  still  more  brilliant  its  record  by 
crushing  forever  and  utterly  destroying  its  ancient  antagonist.  It  is  not  a  little 
remarkable,  but  the  fact  is  without  dispute,  that  the  Sixth  Corps  was  con- 
fronted, in  its  four  years  of  battling,  oftener  by  Swell's  Corps  than  by  any 
other  in  the  rebel  army.     There  seemed,  therefore,  a  providential  dispensation 


180  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

in  the  circumstances  which  placed  it  ia  the  power  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  at  Sailor's 
creek,  Virginia,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1865,  to  compel  General  Ewell  and  all 
that  remained  of  his  corps,  to  lay  down  their  arras  and  become  prisoners  of 
war.     The  crowning  glory  of  a  brilliant  record. 

During  the  period  of  its  services,  the  integrity  of  our  brigade  was  preserved 
from  beginning  to  end.  While,  by  reorganizations  of  the  army,  and  the  neces- 
sities of  the  service,  whole  corps  and  divisions  were  broken  up  and  disbanded, 
our  brigade  organization  continued  intact.  Regiments  were  added  to  it  and 
taken  from  it,  indeed,  to  such  an  extent  that  but  one  of  the  original  regiments 
retained  its  identity  in  the  brigade  until  the  disbandment  of  the  corps  and 
tinal  muster  out.  The  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  was  mustered  out  at  the 
close  of  the  Valley  campaign,  its  re-enlisted  men  being  transferred  to  the 
Eighty-second  Regiment.  The  Thirty-first  Pennsylvania  became  the  Eighty- 
second  Pennsylvania.  The  Sixty-seventh  New  York  was  mustered  out  at  the 
end  of  three  years,  and  the  re-enlisted  men  were  transferred  to  the  Sixty-fifth 
New  York.  The  One  Hundred  and  twenty-second  New  York  was  not  an 
original  member,  but  joined  in  the  summer  of  1862,  and  was  transferred  to 
Bid  well's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  in  the  summer  of  1864. 
The  Sixty-first  Pennsylvania  was  taken  to  make  up  a  Light  Brigade,  and  never 
returned  to  us.  The  Sixty-fifth  New  York  (First  United  States  Chasseurs,  as 
it  was  called),  was,  therefore,  the  only  one  of  all  of  the  original  members, 
which  retained  its  identity  through  four  long  years  of  war,  and  until  the  final 
disbandment  of  the  army  and  muster  out.  It  is  said  that  this  was  the  last 
regiment  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  mustered  out. 

Upon  the  muster  out  of  the  Sixty-seventh  New  York,  Colonel  Cross  retired 
from  the  service,  and  the  command  of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  Colonel  Joe 
E.  Hambliu,  of  the  Si.xty-fifth  New  York,  than  whom  a  more  gallant  and  faith- 
ful officer  could  not  be  tound  in  the  service. 

In  this  hastily  prepared  and  imperfect  record  of  the  services  of  our  brigade, 
it  may  be  considered  not  improper  to  speak  of  the  qualities  of  some  of  the 
colonels  of  the  regiments  which  composed  it.  It  is  a  matter  of  historical  re- 
cord, which  may  be  alluded  to  here,  without  disparagement  to  others.  Most 
of  them  showed  a  capacity  and  talent  for  military  service  which  sooner  or  later 
secured  for  them  deserved  promotion.  Colonel  David  B.  Birney,  of  the  Twenty- 
third  Pennsylvania,  was  made  brigadier-general  and  major-general  of  volun- 
teers. Colonel  Thomas  II.  Neill,  of  the  same  regiment,  was  made  l)rigadier- 
general  and  brevet  major-general.  Colonel  John  Ely,  also  of  the  same  regi- 
ment, was  made  a  brevet  brigadier-general  and  brevet  major-general.  Colonel 
Nelson  Cross,  of  the  Sixty-seventh  New  York,  was  made  brevet  brigadier- 
general  and  brevet  major-general.  Colonel  John  Cochrane,  of  the  Sixtj-fifth 
New  York,  was  made  brigadier-general.  Colonel  Alexander  Shaler  and  Colonel 
Joe  E.  Ilamblin,  of  the  same  regiment,  were  made  brigadier-generals  and 
brevet  major-generals  of  volunteers. 

Having  through  the  fortunes  of  war  been  separated  from  tin*  brigade  during 
the  last  year  of  its  service,  a  period  in  which  promotions  would  hv  most  likely* 
to  occur,  I  have  referred  to  those  only  of  which  I  have  personal  knowledge. 
No  brigade  in  the  army  was  more  fortunate  in  the  quality  of  its  officers  ;  and, 
very  many,  too  many  to  refer  to  here  by  name,  were,  for  their  superior  talent  and 
ability,  for  their  gallant  conduct,  and  for  long  and  faithful  services,  promoted  to 
higher  grades,  detailed  to  staff  duty,  and  assigned  to  other  special  and  honor- 
able services. 


Pennsylvania  at  Getiijshurg.  181 

The  ease  of  Lieutenaut-Coloiiel  Dwight,  of  the  One  Hundred  and  twenty- 
second  New  York,  was  one  of  unrewarded  merit.  He  gaUautly  commanded 
the  regiment  in  nearly  all  its  battles,  and  until  it  was  reduced  below  the 
number  for  which  a  colonel  could  be  mustered,  and  was  finally  killed  in  front 
of  Petersburg,  without  having  received  the  promotion  which  he  had  repeatedly 
earned  and  was  justly  entitled  to. 

The  brigade  was  equally  fortunate  in  the  composition  of  its  stall',  Cajytaiu 
William  P.  Roome,  assistant  adjutant-general  ;  Captain  Samuel  Truesdell, 
assistant  inspector-general  ;  Captain  George  W.  P'ord,  assistant  quartermaster, 
and  Captain  Nat.  EUmaker,  commissary  of  subsistence,  were  all  officers  of  the 
highest  qualities,  possessing  especial  fitness  lor  tlieir  respective  positions.  They 
served  throughout  with  unsurpassed  zeal  and  faithfulness,  and  retired  honored 
and  respected  b}'  all  with  whom  they  had  intercourse. 

To  commemorate  the  services  of  this  noble  body  of  men  upon  this  field  ol 
battle,  and  to  dedicate  memorials  to  their  fallen  comrades  we  have  met  to-day. 
In  looking  back,  visions  pass  before  us  like  a  dream.  We  see  the  demon  ol 
war  with  haughty  mien  uplift  his  arm  to  assail  our  national  existence.  Rebel- 
lious hordes  are  marshalled  for  unholy  conquest.  With  rajiid  strides  and  swift 
approaches  the  swelling  ranks  besiege  our  capital.  Indignant  loyalty  with 
glaring  astonishment  nerves  herself  for  defense.  Liberty  is  fettered  and  af- 
frighted peace  seeks  safety  in  flight. 

To  arms  !  to  arms !  the  people  cry, 
The  danger  to  our  Capital  is  nigh. 

With  sentiments  akin  to  filial  love,  the  masses  with  one  accord  uprise  and 
bid  defiance.  The  conflict  rages.  Death,  devastation  and  destruction  revel. 
Gloom  and  .sorrow  prevail.  Portentous  clouds  of  darkness  envelop  us.  Evil 
spirits,  with  hellish  intent,  pursue  unchallenged  their  damnable  ways.  The 
angels  mourn,  and  all  nature  in  darkness  weeps.  But  see,  a  silver  lining  ap- 
pears. Peering  with  hopeful  aspect,  Peace,  with  olive  branch  extended,  seeks 
audience.  In  the  distance  seething  masses  of  armed  men  struggle  for  mastery. 
With  diminished  force  rebellion  aims  her  blows,  and  finally  sinks  to  rise  no 
more.  Victory  perches  on  Loyalty's  crest.  Homeward  turns  the  Spartan  band, 
heroes  all  !  Halos  of  glory  illumine  the  sky.  Loved  ones  meet  in  joyous 
ecstacy.  Libert}-  and  peace  have  resumed  their  places.  The  dream  has  pa.ssed, 
but  stern  reality  bids  us  inquire,  where  is  father,  brother  and  sou?  In  yonder 
graves  they  lie,  victims  of  disloyalty  and  martyrs  for  their  country.  Let  us 
keep  their  memories  green,  and  each  recurring  year  cover  them  with  immor- 
telles and  sweet-scented  flowers.  And  let  us  not  forget  the  living  heroes. 
Let  us  remember  that  to  them  we  are  indebted  for  the  blessings  of  peace  and 
prosperity  which  our  re-united  country  now  enjoys.  Let  us  remember  that  the 
"  stars  on  our  banner  grew  suddenly  dim,"  and  that  it  was  the  jirivate  soldier 
who  restored  to  them  their  luster,  and  palsied  the  hand  which  attempted  their 
obliteration.  While  our  children  are  taught  to  revere  that  emblem  of  unity 
and  strength,  let  them  also  be  taught  the  danger  of  assailing  it.  Teach  them 
to  honor  its  defenders,  and  if  in  after  time  it  should  again  be  threatened,  let 
them  emulate  the  patriotic  example  .set  by  their  fathers  on  this  hallowed  spot. 


182  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

26™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

ADDRESS  OF  PRIVATE  THOMAS  V.  COOPER,  Co.  C 

C'>OMRADES  and  survivors  of  Twenty -sixth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  : 
We  are  gathered  here  upon  an  occasion  made  doubly  patriotic  by  the 
/  law  and  the  pride  of  our  State  to  perform  a  most  patriotic  work — to 
dedicate  a  monument  to  the  valor  of  our  dead  comrades  and  the  heroism 
of  a  regiment  which  was  the  first  of  the  three-year  organizations,  and  which,  if 
patriotism  can  be  measured,  first  saw  that  the  war  for  the  Union  meant  con- 
tinued hardship,  sacrifice  and  bravery.  Almost  its  entire  membership  came 
from  Philadelphia  and  the  adjoining  county  of  Delaware.  The  record  of  its 
intentions  stands  out  as  the  grandest,  in  its  example  to  the  other  long-term 
commands  which  quickly  followed.  The  record  of  its  deeds  is  synonymous 
with  that  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  save  at  Gettysburg,  the  greatest  battle 
known  to  modern  history,  and  here  it  excelled  all  other  Pennsylvania  regiments 
in  its  losses  in  killed  and  wounded,  in  proportion  to  the  number  engaged,  and 
the  losses  of  the  Pennsylvania  commands  excelled  those  of  any  other  in  the 
Union  Army.  You  all  remember  how,  during  the  long  march  through  Virginia 
and  Marjiand  to  the  battle-field,  at  the  nightly  bivouacs  every  element  of  State 
pride  and  likewise  every  feature  of  National  love  were  summoned  to  support 
the  universal  proposition  that  there  would  be  no  recession  upon  Northern  soil. 

History  records  the  fact  that  there  was  none,  and  it  is  within  the  personal 
knowledge  of  all  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty-sixth  that  the  Third  Corps,  to 
the  last  man,  stood  its  ground,  and  even  refused  to  fall  back,  when  the  fight  of 
the  evening  of  the  second  day  was  hottest,  to  ground  suited  to  the  alignment 
sought  by  General  Meade,  and  not  until  the  shades  of  night  had  fallen  and 
the  battle  had  lulled,  and  an  understanding  of  the  situation  had  been  gathered, 
did  it  do  so. 

Gettysburg  was  the  deadliest  of  the  great  battles  of  modern  history,  and  for 
an  organization  like  our  own  to  .stand  out  as  the  one  losing  most  in  actual 
battle,  is  a  distinction  which  the  surviving  members  cannot  forget  while  mem- 
ory of  the  struggle  lasts. 

It  is  understood  that  those  chosen  to  deliver  the  orations  peculiar  to  this  day, 
shall  confine  themselves  to  a  brief  desciiption  of  the  part  played  by  the  com- 
mand immediately  before  and  during  the  battle — this  with  a  view  to  enable 
the  Memorial  Association  to  compile  detailed  historical  information. 

All  of  our  comrades  who  participated  recall  the  march  on  June  11th,  1863, 
to  Hartwood  Church,  over  the  familiar  lines  of  the  Rappahannock  ;  thence,  on 
the  12th,  to  Bealeton,  with  Humphreys'  division  (Hooker's  old  and  our  own), 
advanced  to  the  river,  where  we  heard  Ijy  our  campfires  the  stories  of  skirm- 
ishes at  Newtown,  Cedarville  and  Middletown. 

On  the  14th  our  march  from  Bealeton  to  Manassas  is  remembered  as  one  of 
the  hottest,  many  of  the  division  and  corps  falling  from  sunstroke,  so  that 
when  night  came  the  losses,  if  they  had  been  compiled,  would  have  held  com- 
parison with  a  battle.     At  Manassas  we  had  to  rest  until  the  partially  disabled 


HOTO.    BY   W,  H.  TIPTON,   GETTYSBURG. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  183 

recovered,  and  on  the  17th  we  moved  qnietly  to  Ccnterville,  over  ground  made 
femiliar  by  the  battles  of  Bristoo  and  Bull  Ix'uu  of  the  previous  year.  At 
Centerville  we  could  hear  the  clash  of  arms  at  Aldie,  and  the  next  morning 
received  the  news  of  skirmishes  in  our  front  at  the  Point  of  Rocks,  Thorough- 
fare Gap  and  iliddleburg.  On  the  19th  we  moved  to  Gum  Springs,  where  we 
remained  until  the  25th,  then  crossed  the  Potomac  upon  pontoons  at  Edwards' 
Ferry,  and  there  began  the  unprecedented  forced  march  over  the  long  tow-path 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy.  No  man  who  participated  in  that  march  can 
ever  forget  the  driving  rain,  the  slippery  and  narrow  patliway,  with  water  to 
the  right  of  us,  water  to  the  left  of  us,  water  above,  water  below — without 
opportunity  to  halt,  or  rest,  or  eat,  or  drink,  until  the  late  hours  of  night  found 
us  at  our  destination.  On  the  26th  we  reached  tlie  Point  of  Rocks,  the  27th 
Middletown,  while  on  the  28th  we  rested  near  Woodsboro,  with  news  of  skir- 
mishe?  near  Rockville,  Marjdand,  and  at  Wrightsville  and  Oyster  Point,  Penn- 
sylvania— where  blood  was  flowing  upon  the  soil  regarded  as  peculiarly'  our 
own.  The  29th  saw  us  at  Taneytown,  the  30th  at  Bridgeport,  with  ever-com- 
ing news  of  skirmishes  and  actions  on  front  and  flank.  On  July  1st  we  moved 
from  Bridgeport  via  Emmitsburg  to  the  field  of  battle,  and  while  our  gallant 
First  Brigade  was  en  route,  late  in  the  night,  with  the  Twenty-sixth  at  the 
head  of  the  column,  we  marched  into  the  Confederate  lines  near  the  Black 
Horse  Tavern,  quietly  gathered  in  the  only  picket  jiost  in  sight,  about-faced  in 
majestic  silence,  and  resumed  the  right  road  to  Gettysburg,  in  time  to  assume 
our  place  upon  the  second  day  of  the  battle.  In  fact  we  arrived  at  the  mid- 
night closing  the  first  and  opening  the  second  day,  and,  after  what  proved  but  a 
nap,  our  command  was  awakened,  cooked  all  the  cofiee  and  ate  the  few  crackers 
that  remained  of  our  rations,  then  stacked  arms,  deployed  as  unarmed  skir- 
mishers, and  tore  down  the  fences  between  the  Baltimore  pike  and  the  Em- 
mitsburg road — a  novel  proceeding,  but  a  fit  precursory  to  the  slaughter  which 
followed.  About  3  p.  m.,  our  Third  Corps  moved  to  the  front,  with  our  brigade 
at  the  celebrated  Peach  Orchard,  and  our  regiment  covering  the  right  flank  of 
the  division,  separated  from  Hancock's  Second  Corps  by  a  gap  which  proved 
inviting  to  the  enemy,  for  here  immediate  and  repeated  attempts  were  made 
to  pierce  our  lines  by  bold  dashes  and  charges.  All  of  them  were  resisted,  and 
but  one  came  near  accomplishing  its  destructive  purpose.  This  was  late  in  the 
evening,  when  a  large  rebel  force,  covered  by  smoke  of  the  guns,  quickly 
crossed  the  Emmitsburg  road,  and  protected  by  the  depression  at  the  right  of 
the  little  and  now  demolished  stone  house  which  flanked  the  Peach  Orchard, 
with  sudden  rush  and  yell,  plunged  it-self  upon  our  already  depleted  ranks. 
Then  the  Twenty-sixth  and  the  First  Massachusetts,  our  gallant  Yankee  com- 
panions upon  many  battle-fields,  obeyed  the  order  of  Colonel  Blaisdell  and  Ma- 
jor Bodine,  and  changed  direction  by  the  right  flank,  in  the  very  face  of  over- 
powering numbers.  In  this  way  the  charge  was  checked,  and  the  enemy  were 
kept  closely  engaged  until  a  division  from  the  Second  Corps  came  to  our  relief 
and  saved  the  line.  This  struggle  was  the  most  deadly  of  the  .day  and  of  the 
entire  battle,  and  as  well  of  any  battle  known  to  the  war.  Its  terrific  force  is 
seen  in  the  unprecedented  numbers  of  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  high  cour- 
age of  the  Twenty-sixth  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  no  man  ran,  and  but  seven 
were  captured  and  missing  out  of  two  hundred  and  thirteen  lost  in  a  total 
number  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  engaged.  In  the  repeated  charges  of 
the  second  day  nearly  two  out  of  every  three  of  our  regiment  engaged,  fell 


184  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

with  a  greatly  sitperior  number  of  the  enemy  close  about  them — and  what  few 
remained  held  their  ground.  These  frightful  losses  were  largely  due  to  the 
heroic  change  of  direction  made  by  the  two  regiments  named,  while  under  fire 
and  at  close  quarters — the  most  difficult  movement  known  to  military  tactics, 
and  the  one  above  all  others  calling  for  quick  intelligence  and  high  courage. 

Patriotic  comparisons  are  not  odious,  as  every  soldier  realizes  in  talks  of  the 
war  with  surviving  comrades.  Each  and  every  man  loves  to  tell  his  story  of 
daring,  and  as  fondly  loves  to  hear  a  better  one  from  his  comrade.  And  none 
of  the  seventy-eight  commands  of  Pennsylvania,  which  this  day  dedicate 
monuments  in  honor  of  their  fallen  heroes,  will  deem  odious  the  comparison 
which  history  hands  down  as  to  the  brave  deeds  and  the  unexampled  sacrifice 
of  the  Twenty-sixth  Pennsylvania  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Rothermel's 
great  painting  selects  the  charge  of  Pickett's  Division  and  the  stone  angle 
guarded  by  the  Second  Corps  under  Hancock,  as  the  dramatic  point  of  the 
struggle,  and  it  was  upon  the  third  day,  but  neither  this  point  nor  Little  Round 
Top,  nor  Gulp's  Hill,  nor  Buford's  famous  dismounted  men,  stood  a  shock  like 
that  hurled  against  Humphreys'  Division  of  the  Third  Gorps,  and  especially 
against  our  First  Brigade,  and  even  more  particularly  against  the  Twenty-sixth 
Pennsylvania,  which  held  the  right  of  the  line.  Onlj'*the  One  hundred  and 
twenty-fourth,  One  hundred  and  fortieth  and  Seventy-second  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  One  hundred  and  eleventh  and  One  hundred  and  twenty-sixth  New 
York  in  Hancock's  Second  Gorps,  approached  the  losses  of  the  Twenty-sixth 
Pennsylvania,  and  a  truthful  history  will  .show  that  the  valor  and  sacrifice  at 
and  near  the  Peach  Orchard  eqiialed  any  ever  known  to  the  world  upon  any 
battle-field. 

The  One  hundred  and  twenty-first.  One  hundred  and  forty-second,  On6 
hundred  and  fifty-first,  One  hundred  and  forty-third,  One  hundred  and  forty- 
ninth  and  One  hundred  and  fiftieth  Pennsylvania  Regiments  were  all  of  the 
First  Army  Gurps,  and  the  losses  of  these  regiments,  while  very  great,  were 
not  so  great  in  killed  and  wounded,  in  proportion  to  the  number  engaged,  as  the 
Twenty-sixth,  and  yet  tho.se  which  I  have  named  suffered  more  than  any  other 
portion  of  the  Union  Army.  They  were  not  the  subject  of  any  painting,  but  if 
patriotic  blood,  shed  upon  this  field,  were  needed  to  color  the  canvas,  the  great 
supply  would  come  from  them,  our  Pennsylvania  commands,  and  if  reasons  were 
asked  for  this  wonderful  heroism,  they  would  be  found  in  the  determination  of 
our  Keystone  boys  not  to  take  one  step  backward  upon  their  native  soil. 

When  night  had  fallen  upon  the  second  day  our  corps  obeyed  the  command 
to  fall  back  and  straighten  the  line.  The  orators  of  several  anniversaries  here, 
and  the  military  critics  have  given  much  discussion  to  the  position  of  the  Third 
Corps  in  the  battle,  being  advanced  in  the  shape  of  a  horse-.shoe  much  beyond 
the  main  line.  It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  enter  into  or  enlarge  upon 
this  discussion.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know  that  one  fact  rises  upon  all 
criticism  ;  while  our  losses  were  great,  we  gave  as  great  to  the  enemy,  and 
weakened  them  for  the  third  and  final  day. 

On  the  second  and  third  days  our  division  lost  two  thousand  one  hundred 
out  of  four  thousand  nine  hundred,  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  losses  occur- 
ing  in  the  scenes  here  so  crudely  described.  The  Twenty-sixth  lost  few  on  the 
third  day,  and  most  of  these  by  the  explosion  of  a  caisson  at  a  time  when  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  seemed  to  be  shaken  by  the  noise  of  the  two  hundred  and 
forty  guns  on  each  side  which  were  then  ushering  in  the  final  and  fatal  charge 
of  Pickett's  Division. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysbu7'g.  185 

I  need  not  describe  what  followed  the  great  battle — the  burial  of  the  dead, 
the  rest,  the  pursuit  and  finally  the  unharmed  traversing  some  of  the  old  ground 
in  Virginia.  The  old  but  ever  new  story  of  the  greatest  event  known  to  the 
lives  of  all  the  surviving  members  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Pennsylvania,  is  now 
retold,  in  a  too  general  and  too  feeble  way,  but  some  of  the  points  mentioned 
will  awaken  in  your  minds  a  fresh  recollection  of  the  day,  of  its  sacrifice  and 
of  its  glorious  results.  Let  me  recall  an  incident  in  closing.  On  the  evening 
of  the  second  day,  with  a  view  to  excite  the  hopes  and  enthusiasm  of  our  troops, 
telegrams  were  read  to  us  announcing  Grant's  capture  of  Vicksburg,  and  the 
cheers  were  loud  and  long.  The  news  was  premature,  but  two  days  afterward 
it  came  in  full  truth,  and  it  was  Vicksburg  and  Gettysburg  which  made  inevi- 
ta.ble  the  triumph  of  the  Union.  All,  after  these  battles,  was  but  useless  sacri- 
fice, which  came  through  the  lack  of  discernment  or  stubbornness  of  the  head  of 
the  Confederacy. 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed  since  the  battle  we  are  here  to 
commemorate.  None  of  us  can  ever  see  its  like  again  If  each  and  all  could 
find  the  elixir  of  youth,  and  carry  his  life  down  the  coming  centuries,  he  could 
not  again  see  the  like  of  Gettysburg  in  civilized  warfare.  The  inventions  since 
made  in  deadly  explosives — in  dynamite,  millenite,  structite — explosives  which 
are  a  thousand-fold  greater  than  any  which  deafened  our  ears  upon  this  field, 
where  the  roar  of  four  hundred  and  eight}'  cannon  were  heard,  and  the  sharp 
rattle  of  one  hundred  thousand  rifles— a  battle  like  that  of  Gettysburg  is  no 
longer  possible.  Though  effective  beyond  our  power  to  measure  at  the  time, 
it  is  well  that  it  is  the  last  of  its  kind.  It  served  a  purpose,  now  indisputably 
established,  and  let  us  hope  that  it  was,  to  our  people  at  least,  the  final  proof 
of  the  poet's  lines,  wherein  he  says  : — 

"  Some  things  are  worthless,  some  so  good 
That  nations  which  buy  buy  only  with  blood." 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

27'""  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September  12,  1889 

THE  Twenty-seventh  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  under  the  com. 
mand  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cantador,  arrived  at  Getty.sburg,  July  1, 
1863,  about  noon.  The  regiment  was  at  once  ordered  to  advance  from 
Cemetery  Hill  to  the  north  of  the  town,  to  support  the  First  Army 
Corps,  General  Reynolds  having  been  killed,  and  his  men  overpowered  by  the 
enemy  were  falling  back.  This  regiment  became  engaged  by  the  enemy  as  soon 
as  the  line  of  battle  was  formed,  but  being  greatly  outnumbered  was  also  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  to  Cemetery  Hill.  The  regiment  sustained  severe  loss  in 
this  movement. 

July  2d,  about  9  p.  m.,  the  batteries  on  East  Cemetery  Hill  were  attacked  by 
the  enemy,  and  this  regiment  took  a  prominent  part  in  repelling  this  charge. 
July  3d  the  regiment  held  the  position  on  Cemetery  Hill  until  ordered  to  sup- 
port .some  troops  in  distress  about  3  p.  m.  This  regiment  was  also  e.x posed  to 
the  terrible  artillery  fire  that  afternoon.  It  was  one  of  the  first  battalions  to 
enter  Gettysburg,  July  4,  1863. 


186  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

The  regiment  was  organized  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  May  5,  1861,  by  Colonel 
RI.  Einstein,  and  participated  in  the  following  general  engagements: 

First  battle  of  Bull  linn,  Virginia,  July  21,  1861.  Cross  Keys,  Virginia, 
June  8,  1862.  Chancellorsville,  Virginia,  May  2,  1863.  Gettysburg,  July, 
2  and  3.  After  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  the  regiment  was  transferred  to  the 
West,  where  it  took  part  at  the  battle  of  Lookout  Alouutain  and  Missionary 
Ridge,  Tennessee,  November  25,  1863.  After  this  battle  the  regiment  took  part 
in  the  march  to  Knoxville.  Tennessee,  to  relieve  General  Bumside,  then  re- 
turned to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  and  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Lookout 
Valley,  Tennessee. 

When  General  W.  T.  Sherman  marched  his  column  south,  the  regiment 
joined  in  his  command  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Buzzard  Roost,  Georgia, 
May  8,  1864,  Resaca  and  Dug  Gap,  Georgia,  May  12,  1864.  At  Dallas, 
Georgia,  the  term  of  the  regiment  expired  and  the  regiment  received  transpor- 
tation to  return  home,  and  Avas  mustered  out  of  the  service  at  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  on  the  11th  day  of  June,  1864. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

28™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September   nth,   1889 
ADDRESS  OF  BREVET  CAPTAIN  JOHN  O.  FOERING 

COMRADES  of  the  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry : 
We  are  assembled  here  to-day  to  dedicate  this  monument,  which  is  to 
mark  the  position  occupied  by  the  regiment  in  that  historic  battle, 
which  took  place  on  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  of  July.  1863,  and  we  trust  that 
the  memory  of  our  comrades,  who  fell  on  this  spot,  may  be  perpetuated  so  long 
as  this  granite  shall  endure  the  washings  of  the  storms. 

So  much  has  been  said  and  written  by  many  able  minds  in  the  past  quarter 
of  a  century  of  the  part  taken  by  the  diflerent  corps,  divisions,  brigades,  regi- 
ments and  batteries  that  participated  in  the  great  .struggle,  that  I  fear  any- 
thing I  may  say  at  this  time  may  appear  superfluous,  but  you  all  know  that  we 
cannot  but  feel  a  certain  amount  of  pride  in  the  part  taken  by  our  own  com- 
mand in  the  battle  which  has  justly  been  acknowledged  to  have  been  the  turn- 
ing point  of  the  rebellion,  and  it  is  well  that  an  opportunity  is  here  given  to 
place  on  record  the  history  ot  the  marches  and  incidents  of  our  regiment's  con- 
nection with  the  army  in  that  campaign,  which  I  will  endeavor  to  give  you  as 
brieily  as  possible.  The  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Veteran  Volunteer  In- 
fantry was  attached  to  "Candy's"  First  Brigade,  ''Geary's"  Second  Division, 
"Slocnni's"  Twelfth  Corps  from  the  lime  of  leaving  Aquia  Creek  until  its  re- 
turn to  the  Rapidan. 

Early  in  June,  1863,  while  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  in  camp  in  the 
vicinity  of  Stafford  Court  House  and  Fredericksburg,  recuperating  from  the  losses 
of  the  Chancellorsville  campaign.  General  Lee,  commander  of  the  rebel  forces, 
concluded  upon  an  aggressive  movement.  He  started  his  army  on  forced 
marches  to  invade  Pennsylvania,  and  endeavored  to  outflank  Hooker,  enlist  the 
sympathies  of  the  foreign  powers  to  further  assist  them,  and  to  increase  the 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  187 

strength  of  his  army  by  the  accession  of  a  large  number  of  rebel  sympathizers 
in  Maryland  and  southern  Pennsylvania.  How  well  he  succeeded  in  this  is  a 
matter  of  history. 

He  was  successful  in  moving  past  our  right  flauk,  and  appeared  in  front  of 
Winchester,  Va.,  on  the  14th  of  June,  with  a  large  force  under  the  command 
of  Generals  Early  and  Longstreet,  and  they  immediately  made  preparations  to 
attack  General  Milroy,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Union  forces.  Early  and 
Longstreet  being  successful  in  their  attack,  capturing  a  large  part  of  Milroy's 
command  and  scattering  the  balance,  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  open 
for  Lee's  Army  of  Invasion. 

Lee  having  outwitted  General  Hooker,  and  having  a  good  start,  our  army 
was  compelled  to  make  long  and  rapid  marches  to  get  within  reasonable  dis- 
tance of  the  rebel  host. 

On  the  13th  day  of  June,  Hooker  abandoned  his  position  opposite  Fredericks- 
burg and  east  to  Aquia  Creek,  and  started  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  its 
marcli  northward. 

The  first  intimation  of  anything  unusual  occurring  from  the  ordinary  routine 
of  everj"-day  camp  life  was  the  promulgation  of  orders,  on  June  l'2th,  to  hold 
ourselves  in  readiness  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  Preparations  were  made 
at  once,  and  the  command  was  kept  in  suspense  waiting  for  orders  to  march 
until  the  evening  of  June  13th,  when,  at  8  o'clock,  the  order  to  march  was 
given.  Leaving  camp  at  Aquia  Creek,  Stafibrd  Court  House  was  reached  at 
midnight.  Continuing  the  march  via  Telegrapli  road,  crossing  the  Aquia  and 
Chopawamsic  creeks,  the  command  was  halted  at  Dumfries  at  1  p.  m.,  June 
14th,  and  bivouacked.     Marched  twenty  miles. 

March  resumed  on  the  morning  of  June  15th,  at  half-past  three  o'clock, 
halted  at  7  o'clock  for  breakfast.  Reaching  Wolf  Kun  Shoals  the  command 
halted  for  rest  and  dinner.  Eesuming  the  march,  we  crossed  the  Occoquan 
creek  and  reached  Fairfax  Court  House  at  8  p.  m.,  and  bivouacked.  Marched 
twenty-two  miles.  This  march  will  long  be  remembered  as  a  very  trying  one 
by  all  who  participated  in  it,  owing  to  the  extreme  heat,  dusty  roads,  very  little 
shade  along  the  roads  and  the  great  scarcity  of  water,  the  water  with  which  the 
men  provided  themselves  soon  becoming  unfit  to  drink  owing  to  the  intense 
heat. 

On  June  16th,  the  command  was  moved  a  short  distance  and  went  into  regu- 
lar camp.  On  .June  17th,  left  Fairfax  Court  House,  and  marched  to  within  a 
short  distance  of  Dranesville  and  bivouacked.  Marched  eight  miles.  On  June 
18th,  at  8  a.m.,  resumed  march,  passed  through  Dranesville,  crossed  Broad  run 
and  Goose  creek,  and  encamped  near  Leesburg.  Marched  twelve  miles.  While 
on  the  march  in  the  afternoon,  had  a  heavy  thunder  storm,  drenching  the  com- 
mand. On  June  19th,  at  half  past  ten  a.  m.,  the  entire  Twelfth  Corps  was 
ordered  out  for  parade,  and  formed  into  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square,  to  wit- 
ness the  execution  of  three  men  of  the  First  Division  for  desertion,  a  terribly 
.sad  sight  for  a  fellow  soldier  to  witness,  but  a  punishment  made  necessary  to 
insure  discipline  and  prevent  the  depletion  of  the  army.  After  the  men  were 
shot,  the  different  commands  returned  to  their  respective  camps  and  remained 
there,  while  General  Hooker,  with  a  portion  of  the  army  was  reconuoitering  in 
the  vicinity  ol  Aldie  Middlehurg,  etc.,  on  the  search  for  Lee  and  his  army.  A 
small  force  of  the  rebels  attracted  Hooker's  attention  in  that  localit}',  while 
Lee  with  the  larger  portion  of  his  army  was  then  moving  on  Chambersburg, 


188  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Pa.,  and  it  was  not  until  June  26tli,  at  o  a.  m.,  that  we  left  camp  and  started 
again  on  'our  march  northward.  It  rained  hard  all  daj',  making  the  roads 
almost  impassable,  and  retarding  our  progress  greatly.  Crossed  the  Potomac 
river  at  Edwards'  Ferry  on  pontoons,  ])as.sed  through  Poolesville,  encamping 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy.  Marched  thirteen  miles.  Regiment  posted  on 
picket,  where  it  remained  until  6  a.  m.,  June  27th,  when,  with  the  entire  corps, 
resumed  the  march,  en  route  to  Harper's  Ferry,  to  reinforce  the  garri.son  stationed 
there,  and,  with  it,  attack  the  rebel  line  of  communication.  (The  order  for 
this  movement  was  countermanded  by  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and  re- 
sulted in  the  displacement  of  our  much-l)eloved  commander.  General  Hooker, 
and  the  appointment  of  (leneral  George  Gordon  Meade  to  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.)  The  command  passed  through  the  Point  of  Rocks, 
crossed  the  canal  and  marched  via  the  tow-path  to  Catoctin,  recrossed  the  canal, 
passed  through  Petersville  and  encamped  near  Knoxville  at  dark.  Marched 
twenty  miles.  . 

June  28th.  "  The  second  anniversary  of  the  muster  of  the  Twenty -eighth 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers  into  the  service  of  the  United  States." 

Left  camp  near  Knoxville  at  6  a.  m.,  passed  through  Petersville,  Slabtown 
and  Jefferson,  halted  at  the  latter  place  to  permit  a  brigade  of  cavalry  to  pa.s«, 
resumed  march  and  went  into  camp  one  mile  from  Frederick.  Marched 
thirteen  miles. 

At  5  a.  m.,  June  29th,  resumed  march,  and  marched  through  heavy  rains 
and  over  bad  roads,  passing  through  Frederick,  Walkersville,  Woodsborough, 
Ladiesville  and  Bruceville,  encamped  near  the  latter  place.  Marched  twenty- 
four  miles.  At  half  past  seven  a.  m.,  on  June  30th  the  march  was  resumed,  and 
on  quick  time,  passed  through  Taneytown.  On  crossing  the  State  line  you  all  re- 
member with  what  glad  hearts  you  pressed  your  feet  on  Pennsylvania  soil,  and 
the  huzzas  that  were  sent  up  as  each  command  entered  the  State,  and  how  light 
the  step  that  gave  outward  signs  of  your  eagerness  to  meet  Lee's  forces  and  de- 
feat him  on  j'our  native  ground,  and  one  of  his  own  choosing,  for  had  he  not 
left  his  own  State  and  dared  you  to  follow  and  give  him  battle.  How  little  he 
knew  that  the  Potomac  veterans  were  so  close  on  him  at  that  time.  On  reach- 
ing the  outskirts  of  Littlestown,  Pa.,  we  were  halted  in  the  road  to  permit 
Knap's  Pennsylvania  Battery  to  pass,  they  having  been  ordered  up  on  the  double- 
quick  to  assist  the  cavalry,  who  were  engaged  with  the  enemy  near  Hanover. 
Our  forces  were  successful  there  and  drove  the  enemy  some  distance  beyond 
Hanover.  The  residents  of  Littlestown  received  us  very  kindly,  giving  us  plenty 
to  eat,  and  supplied  us  with  good  clear  cold  water  to  quench  our  thirst,  and 
will  ever  be  remembered  for  their  kindness.  Passed  through  the  town  and  en- 
camped one  and  one-half  miles  beyond.     ISIarched  thirteen  miles. 

At  5  a.  m.  on  July  1st,  we  left  camp,  marching  through  Littlestown  and  via 
the  Baltimore  pike  to  near  Two  Taverns  where  we  halted,  by  reason  of  the  pike 
being  blockaded  by  the  artillery  and  supply-trains  of  the  troops  preceding. 
The  sound  of  battle  could  be  distinctly  heard  in  advance  of  our  position,  and 
with  what  suspense  we  anxiously  awaited  the  news  from  the  front.  At  2 
p.  ra.  orders  were  received  to  move  forward,  and  l)y  as  rapid  marching  as  the 
blockaded  roads  would  permit,  we  reached  the  scene  of  action  at  1  p.  m.  and 
formed  in  line  of  battle  to  the  left  of  the  pike  a  short  distance  and  immediately 
in  the  rear  of  Cemetery  Hill  in  support  of  the  Eleventh  Army  Corps,  who  had 
fallen  back  to  this  position  earlier  in  the  day.     It  was  a  night  of  fears  and  doubts, 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  189 

little  il  any  information  could  beobtainel  as  to  the  results  of  the  day's  battle, 
the  silence  of  every  one,  was,  if  anything,  conliriuatory  of  a  reverse,  the  knowl- 
edge of  severe  loss  of  life  and  apparent  retirement  of  our  forces  led  us  to  fear 
somewhat  the  coming  of  the  morrow.     Marched  eleven  miles. 

The  regiment  remained  in  this  position  until  8  a.  m.,  July  2d,  when  we 
were  moved  with  the  corps  to  the  right  of  the  pike,  ordered  into  line  of  battle 
on  this  "Gulp's  Hill,"  facing  Itock  creek,  thus  forming  the  extreme  right  of 
the  line  of  battle. 

In  connection  with  our  taking  possession  of  Gulp's  Hill  and  forming  line  of 
battle  here,  I  will  here  in.sert  an  extract  from  an  address  read  before  the  His- 
torical Society  of  Pennsylvania.  March  8,  1880,  by  Brevet  Brigadier-General 
J.  Wm.  Hofmaun,  Golonel  Fifty-si.\-th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  commanding 
Second  Brigade,  First  Division,  First  Army  Gorps,  whose  command  joined  our 
left  on  the  summit  of  Gulp's  Hill. 

"  The  Seventh  Indiana  of  our  brigade,  detached  in  the  morning  for  special 
duty,  as  I  have  stated,  and  not  engaged  in  conflicts  with  the  enemy,  rejoined 
us  as  we  were  re-forming  in  the  cemetery,  and  being  in  compact  organization,  it 
was  sent  at  once  to  form  a  line  on  Gulp's  Hill,  Major  Glover,  its  commanding 
officer,  established  a  line  from  the  pinnacle  down  to  the  foot  of  the  eastern  slojie 
and  his  on  way  back  to  the  center,  encountered  and  captured  a  scout  of  the  enemy 
who  had  cros.sed  the  hill  before  the  line  was  established  and  was  on  his  way  back 
when  captured  with  the  report  that  the  hill  was  not  occupied  by  our  troops. 
Grover's  line  of  pickets  was  soon  reinforced  into  a  line  of  battle.  It  has  always 
seemed  to  me  that  without  Gulp's  Hill  in  our  possession,  we  could  never  have 
held  our  line  on  Gemetery  Ridge  on  the  second  and  third  days  of  the  battle." 

This  I  cite  to  show  the  importance  of  the  taking  j>ossession  of,  and  the  sub- 
sequent action  of  the  troops  who  so  gloriously  defended  this  part  of  the  field 
from  the  terrible  onslaughts  of  the  enemy. 

The  Twenty-eighth  in  about  an  hour  after  reaching  Gulp's  Hill  was  ordered 
forward,  deployed  as  skirmishers  along  Rock  creek,  immediately  in  front  of 
this  position.  We  remained  there  exchanging  shots  with  the  enemy,  who  were 
in  large  force  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek,  until  about  7  p.  m.  when 
General  Geary  received  orders  to  move  his  command  to  the  left  of  the  line  of 
battle,  in  support  of  the  Third  Gorps  at  Round  Top.  The  Twenty-eighth,  Avith 
the  First  and  Second  Brigades  of  "  Geary's  "  Second  Division  left  the  position, 
Gulp's  Hill,  which  we  had  occcpied  all  day,  leaving  the  Third,  Greene's  Brigade, 
to  cover  the  front  occupied  by  the  entire  Twelfth  Corps.  In  moving  over  to 
the  Baltimore  pike,  we  were  obliged  to  cross  the  "  swale  "  between  our  works 
and  the  pike,  and  were  exposed  to  an  annoying  artillery  cross-fire  from  the 
enemy,  sutfering  to  some  extent  in  loss  of  men. 

Early  in  the  night,  while  we  were  absent.  General  Ewell,  commanding  the 
rebel  force  in  front  of  Gulp's  Hill,  made  an  attack  on  the  position  vacated  by 
us,  and  history  records  how  the  enemy  found  a  portion  of  our  works  deserted, 
and  exultant  beyond  measure.  They  thought  victoiy  was  theirs,  but  they 
counted  without  their  host.  Old  Pop  Greene,  with  his  gallant  Third  Brigade 
of  "Geary's"  Second  Division  was  there  and  opened  fire,  making  it  very  warm 
for  them,  and  checking  their  advance  in  short  order.  The  fight  was  short, 
sharp  and  decisive,  the  loss  was  severe  on  both  sides,  and  it  can  safely  be  said, 
that  had  "Greene  '  and  his  gallant  little  band  Ijeen  defeated  in  this  action,  the 
battle  of  Gettvsburg  might  not  have  been  the  glorious  victory  it  was  for  our 


190  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

arms.  The  euciiiy  although  gaining  a  slight  foothold  in  occupying  a  portion  of 
the  works  vacated  by  us,  were  not  aware  that  they  held  the  kej'  to  our  artil- 
lery and  ammunition  reserve,  which  was  parked  only  a  short  distance  from 
them,  and  should  they  have  captured  or  destroyed  this,  our  army  Avould  in  all 
probability  have  been  defeated.  By  some  misconstruction  of  orders  or  the  in- 
competency of  the  guide  sent  to  pilot  General  Geary  to  his  position  at  Round 
Top,  the  Twenty-eighth  and  a  large  portion  of  the  division  never  reached  therci 
and  were  kept  on  the  move  all  night.  The  men  were  weary  with  the  inces.sant 
marching  and  loss  of  sleep,  and  it  was  not  until  near  daylight  of  July  M  that 
the  command  came  to  a  halt,  when  we  lound  ourselves  immediately  in  rear  of 
the  position  on  Gulp's  Hill,  occupied  on  the  2d  instant.  General  Geary  having 
ascertained  that  the  enemy  was  in  possession  of  a  portion  of  our  works,  made 
good  disposition  of  his  force,  and  at  early  dawn  gave  orders  for  the  First  and 
Second  Brigades  of  his  division  to  advance.  With  a  hearty  cheer,  the  wearers 
of  the  "White  Star"  rushed  gallantly  forward  to  the  charge,  and  in  much  less 
time  than  it  takes  me  to  relate  the  incident,  the  enemy  were  driven  beyond 
Rock  creek,  and  the  vacated  works  were  again  in  our  po.ssession.  The  lo.ss  of 
the  enemy  was  heavy,  whilst  ours  was  comparatively  small.  The  Second  Bri- 
gade, "Kane's,"  were  then  distributed  in  the  works.  At  about  7  a.  m.,  the 
Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania  was  ordered  forward  and  relieved  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Ohio  Infantry.  Comrades,  you  ■will  never  forget  what  it  meant  to  relieve 
a  regiment  deployed  in  the  temporary  works  that  were  so  rudely  constructed 
of  cord  wood,  stones,  etc.,  on  the  lower  side  of  the  knoll  on  which  we  now 
stand.  The  rebel  sharpshooters  were  perched  on  and  behind  the  immense  rocks 
and  boulders  that  still  remain  in  the  immediate  front  of  our  position  ;  how  as 
each  command  was  relieved,  the  incoming  and  outgoing  troops  were  subjected 
to  a  withering  and  well-directed  fire  from  their  skilled  marksmen,  ever}'  shot 
from  their  guns  made  to  do  its  deadly  work ;  and  liow.  when  we  were  safely 
located  in  the  works,  we  watched  for  the  pufis  of  smoke  from  their  rifles  ;  how 
quick  we  were  to  reply,  with  what  etfect  the  large  number  of  dead  men  and 
empty-handed  rifles  left  behind  in  their  retreat  told  the  sorrowful  tale.  When 
once  in  the  works  it  was  much  safer  to  remain,  but  the  constant  firing  made  it 
necessary  for  the  troops  to  be  relieved  to  clean  their  guns  and  replenish  their 
supply  of  ammunition.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  here  that  on  page  770 
of  the  "preliminary  print  of  the  official  records  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion," 
it  is  recorded  that  "General  Meade  complained  to  General  Slocum  that  Gen- 
eral Geary  was  expending  too  much  ammunition  at  this  point,  but  upon  inves- 
tigation, he.  General  Slocum,  was  .satisfied  to  the  contrary." 

The  enemy  made  several  onslaughts  which  were  pushed  with  great  determi- 
nation, and  it  showed  how  grand  a  prize  this  portion  of  the  field  would  have 
been  to  them.  Each  time  their  desperate  charges  came  to  naught,  they  were 
hurled  back  with  terrible  loss,  only  to  be  ordered  forward  again  and  again  to 
meet  the  same  fate.  Brave  men,  they  deserved  better  success  for  their  un- 
daunted courage. 

At  about  half  past  eleven  a.  m.,  the  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania,  liaving  ex- 
hausted its  ammunition  (eighty  rounds  i)er  man),  Avas  relieved  by  a  New  York 
legiment  of  "Greene's"  Third  Brigade,  and  moved  to  an  orchard  in  the  rear 
of  Gulp's  Hill  on  the  pike,  to  clean  tlieir  guns  and  replenish  ammunition.  We 
had  been  in  this  position  but  a  short  time  when  the  enemy's  artillery  opened 
tire  on  our  forces  stationed  on  Cemetery  Hill.     Then  and  there  was  inaugurated 


Pennsylvania  at  Getigshurg.  19l 

one  of  the  most  terrible  artillery  duels  in  the  world's  history.  As  the  fight 
progressed  our  positiou  (which  was  immediately  in  the  rear  of  Cemetery  Hill) 
became  untenable,  as  the  shot  and  sliell  fell  thick  and  last  amongst  and  around 
us,  unnecessarily  exposing  us  to  great  danger.  General  Geary  being  advised  of 
our  dangerous  position,  gave  OKlers  tor  us  to  move  across  the  pike  behind  a 
large  stone  barn.  Remained  there  until  about  3  p.  m.,  more  or  less  exposed 
to  the  same  artillery  fire,  when  we  were  ordered  to  resume  our  former  position 
in  the  works  on  Gulp's  Hill,  relieving  the  Seventh  Ohio  Infantry.  Remained 
in  the  works,  keeping  up  a  constant  fire  on  the  sharpshooters  perched  on  and  be- 
hind the  rocks  in  our  front,  until  about  9  p.  m.,  when  the  enemy  made  their 
final  assault.  They  were  soon  repulsed  and  the  firing  almost  ceased  for  the 
night.  Shortly  after  the  assault  the  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania  was  relieved 
from  the  works  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  rations.  At  midnight  we  returned 
to  the  works,  relieving  the  Sixtieth  and  Seventy-eighth  New  York  Volunteers 
of  "Greene's"  Third  Brigade.  There  was  very  little  firing  in  our  front  after 
midnight.  The  night  was  dark,  and  a  heavy  rain  falling,  every  one  of  us  being 
drenched  to  the  skin,  just  such  a  night  as  would  enable  an  enemy  to  get  out  of 
the  \\a.y  without  being  disturbed,  which  to  our  surprise  was  the  case  when  the 
morning  of  July  4th  dawned  upon  us.  The  enemy  having  fled,  left  us  in  undis- 
turbed possession  of  the  field  and  the  victory  was  ours,  but  how  dearly  bought. 
How  many  good  and  brave  men  on  both  sides  gone  forever  from  comradeship 
and  companionship,  from  fireside  never  to  return.  How  many  loved  ones  at 
homes  waiting  anxiously  to  hear  from  the  thousands  on  both  sides  who  will 
never  return.  It  makes  one  almost  .shudder  at  the  thought  of  the  misery  caused 
by  the  instigators  of  that  cruel  war. 

When  it  was  ascertained  to  a  certainty  that  the  enemy  had  fled,  we  proceeded 
to  the  front  of  our  works,  and  details  were  immediately  set  to  work  burying  the 
dead.  Some  twelve  hundred  of  the  enemy's  dead  were  found  in  front  of  the 
Second  Division  work.s,  of  which  the  division  details  buried  near  nine  hundred; 
their  loss  in  wounded  also  must  have  been  very  heavy,  as  the  number  of 
muskets  left  by  them  on  the  field  on  our  front  was  very  large.  The  ordnance 
officer  of  the  First  Division,  Twelfth  Corps,  reports  having  collected  eight  hun- 
dred and  four  muskets  and  the  ordnance  officer  of  the  Second  Division,  Twelfth 
Corps,  reports  collecting  sixteen  hundred  and  eighty  muskets  in  addition  to  a 
large  number  of  bayonets,  etc.  The  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania  alone  carried 
to  the  rear  of  our  works  over  five  hundred  muskets.  Our  men  being  very 
much  fatigued,  having  been  without  sleep  for  three  nights,  and  soaked  with 
the  heavy  rain  of  the  night  of  the  third,  and  having  assisted  in  burying  the  dead, 
rested  the  balance  of  the  day  and  prepared  ourselves  to  be  in  reatliness  to  start 
in  pursuit  of  the  enemj'  when  ordered. 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me,  and  I  think  I  will  be  endorsed  in  my  opinion, 
when  the  true  and  just  hi.story  of  this  battle  shall  have  been  written,  that  the 
importance  of  the  victory  of  the  troops  of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  especially  the  part 
taken  by  "  Geary's  "  Second  Division,  has  never  received  the  recognition  and 
publicity  it  deserved.  Everything  that  was  done  here  and  on  some  other  points 
of  the  field  as  gallantly  defended,  have  been  overshadowed  by  the  prominence 
given  the  painting  representing  Pickett's  charge.  Without  Culji's  Hill  in  our 
possession,  Pickett's  charge  would  never  have  taken  jilace,  as  the  position  on 
Cemetery  Hill  would  have  been  untenable  for  our  troops.  At  no  portion  of  the 
field  were  the  troops  under  a  more  constant  or  murderous  fire  than  on  Gulp's 


192  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Hill.  For  seven  hours  we  were  under  constant  fire,  and  at  no  point,  uor  at  any 
time,  did  the  line  waver.  The  gallant  Second  Division,  assisted  by  Shaler's 
Brigade  and  the  Maryland  Provisional  Brigade,  hy  their  dauntless  courage 
did  much  towards  saving  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  defeat.  I  do  not  want 
to  detract  anything  from  the  heroism  or  valor  of  the  troops  of  the  Second  Corps, 
as  they  were  all  gallant  and  true,  but  so  much  stress  has  been  laid  on  their  par- 
ticular action,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third,  that  the  part  taken  by  other  troops 
equally  deserving  has  not  had  that  credit  given  which  is  their  due. 

When  our  eyes  glance  upward  as  we  look  at  this  monument,  which  we  dedi- 
cate this  day  to  the  memory  of  onr  departed  comrades,  we  behold  the  emblem 
"  the  star  "  under  which  we  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  on  the  march  and  on 
the  battle-fields  of  so  many  States.  I  cannot  refrain  from  inserting  here  some  ex- 
tracts taken  here  from  a  work  recently  published  by  Colonel  Wm.  F.  Fox,  on 
the  regimental  losses  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  which  in  a  great  measure 
atones  for  the  shortcomings  of  some  of  the  previous  authors  of  war  history  and 
endeavors  to  deal  justly  with  the  part  taken  by  the  different  commands  in  this 
battle.  He  writes:  "The  Twelfth  Army  Corps,"  "Winchester,  "Port  Re- 
public," "Cedar  Mountain,"  "Manassas,"  "Antietam,"  Chaneellorsville, " 
"Gettysburg,"  Wauhatchie,"  "Lookout  Mountain."  "Missionary  Ridge," 
"Ringgold." 

"The  corps  that  never  lost  a  color  or  a  gun.  When  its  designation  was 
chansred  to  the  Twentieth  it  still  preserved  unbroken  the  same  grand  record. 
The  veteran  divisions  of  Williams  and  Geary  wore  their  star  badges  through 
all  the  bloody  battles  of  the  Atlanta  campaign  and  the  Carolinas,  and  still  kept 
their  proud  claim  good,  marching  northward  to  the  grand  review  with  the  same 
banners  that  had  waved  at  Antietam  and  Lookout  Mountain  ;  with  the  same 
cannon  which  had  thundered  on  the  l)attle-fields  of  seven  States  ;  none  were 
missing. 

"The  brunt  of  the  battle  of  Chaneellorsville  fell  on  the  Third  and  Twelfth 
Corps,  and  yet  amid  all  the  rout  and  confusion  of  that  disastrous  battle  the 
regiments  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  moved  steadily  with  unbroken  fronts,  retiring 
at  the  close  of  the  battle  without  the  loss  of  a  color  ;  wiiile  the  Corps  artillery^, 
after  having  been  engaged  in  the  close  fighting  at  the  Chaneellorsville  House, 
withdrew  in  good  order,  taking  every  gun  with  them.  In  this  campaign  Slo- 
cum's  troops  were  the  first  to  cross  the  Rapidan,  and  the  last  to  recross  the 
Rappahannock.  Its  losses  at  Chaneellorsville  were  two  hundred  and  sixty 
killed,  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-six  wounded  and  one  thousand 
one  hundred  and  eighteen  missing ;  total,  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
fourteen.  The  hardest  fighting  and  heaviest  losses  fell  on  Ruger's  and  Candy's 
Brigades  of  Williams'  and  Geary's  Divisions." 

"At  Gettysburg,  the  Twelfth  Corps  distinguished  itself  by  its  gallant  de- 
fense of  Gulp's  Hill.  At  one  time  during  the  battle,  the  corps  having  been 
ordered  to  reinforce  a  distant  part  of  the  line,  Greene's  Brigade  of  Geary's 
Division  was  left  behind  to  hold  this  important  point.  While  occupying  this 
position,  with  no  other  troops  in  support,  Greene  w.as  attacked  by  Johnson's 
Division,  but  the  attack  was  successfully  repul.sed.  The  details  of  this  particu- 
lar action  form  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  war.  Still,  some 
of  .Johnson's  troops  effected,  without  opposition,  a  lodgement  in  the  vacated 
breastworks  of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  and  uixjn  the  return  of  tho.se  troops  a  des. 
jjerate  battle  ensued  to  drive  the  Confederates  out.     After  a  long,  hard  light 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  193 

the  corps  succeeded  in  reoccupying  its  works.  On  no  part  of  the  fiekl  did  the 
Confederate  dead  lie  thicker  than  in  front  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  position. 

"  Johnson's  Divi.sion,  containing  twenty-two  regiments,  official  report,  lost  in 
this  particular  action,  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  killed,  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  wounded  and  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  missing; 
total,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-three.  To  this  loss  (of  John- 
son's) must  be  added  the  losses  in  Smith's,  Daniel's  and  O'Neal's  Brigades, 
containing  fourteen  regiments,  which  were  sent  to  Johnson's  support,  which 
was  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  killed,  one  thousand  and  sixty-nine  wounded 
and  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  missing.  Making  a  total  loss  in  the  rebel 
forces  attacking  Culp's  Hill  of  four  hundreil  and  lilty-eight  killed,  two  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  wounded  and  six  hundred  and  twenty-two 
missing  ;  total  loss,  three  thou.sand  four  hundred  and  eighteen.  Pickett's  Divi- 
sion, official  report,  lost  in  front  of  Cemetery  Ridge,  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  killed,  one  thou.sand  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  wounded  and  one  thou- 
sand four  hundred  and  ninety-nine  missing  ;  total,  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eighty-eight. 

"The  Twelfth  Corps,  containing  twenty-eight  regiments,  lost  two  hundred  and 
four  killed,  eight  hundred  and  ten  wounded  and  sixty-seven  missing ;  total,  one 
thousand  and  eighty-one."     Less  than  one-third  the  rebel  lo.ss. 

The  Twelfth  Corps  was  small,  but  was  composed  of  excellent  material. 
Among  its  regiments  were  the  Second  Massachusetts,  Seventh  Ohio,  Fifth  Con- 
necticut, One  hundred  and  seventh  New  York,  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania. 
Third  Wisconsin  and  others  equally  famous  as  crack  regiments,  all  of  them 
with  names  familiar  as  household  words  in  the  communities  from  which  they 
were  recruited. 

On  page  426,  in  the  same  work,  referring  to  his  statements  giving  the  list  of 
commands  .showing  the  greatest  losses  in  battles,  Colonel  Fox  says  :  "Among 
the  leading  regiments  in  jx)int  of  lo.ss  at  Getty.sburg  as  given  here,  the  Twelfth 
Corps  is  scarcely  represented,  and  yet,  the  services  rendered  on  that  field  by 
that  command  were  unsurpassed  in  gallantry  and  important  results.  The  re- 
markable losses  sustai  red  by  Johnsorr's  Confederate  Division  and  the  three 
brigades  attached  to  his  command  were  inflicted  by  regiments  which  have  no 
place  in  the  list  of  those  prominent  at  Gettysburg,  by  reason  of  their  casual- 
ties. Granted  that  Greene's  Brigade  delivered  that  deadly  fire  from  behind 
breastworks  ;  but,  when  Williams'  and  Geary's  Divisions  returned  from  Round 
Top  and  found  that  during  their  ab.sence  their  works  had  been  occupied  by  the 
enemy,  they  became  the  assaulting  party  ;  they  drove  the  enemy  out  of  the 
works,  re-took  the  position  and  saved  the  right.  That,  in  accomplishing  this, 
they  could  inflict  so  severe  a  loss  and  sustain  so  slight  a  one,  is  as  good  evidence 
of  their  gallantry  and  efficiency  as  any  sensational  aggregate  of  casualties." 

Comrades,  after  such  complimentary  and  just  criticism  of  our  actions,  should 
we  not  feel  proud  ot  having  been  wearers  of  the  star?  I  do  not  think  it  would 
be  amiss,  to  insert  here,  an  extract  from  the  address  delivered  by  the  Hon. 
Edward  Everett,  at  the  ceremonies  attending  the  consecration  of  the  National 
Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  on  the  19th  day  of  November.  1863.  Extract,  Second 
Day. 

■'At  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a  desperate  attempt  was  made  by  the 
enemy  to  storm  the  position  of  the  Eleventh  Coi-ps  on  Cemetery  Hill,  but  here, 
too,  after  a  t€rrible  conflict,  he  was  repulsed  with  immense  loss.  Ewell,  on  our 
13 


194  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

extreme  right,  wliichhad  been  weakened  by  the  withdravral  ot' the  troops  sent 
over  to  the  support  ol'our  left,  had  succeeded  in  gaining  a  foothold  within  a  por- 
tion of  our  lines  near  Spangler's  spring  (foot  of  Gulp's  Hill).  This  was  the  only 
advantage  obtained  by  the  rebels  to  compensate  them  for  the  disasters  of  the 
day,  and  of  this,  as  we  shall  see,  they  were  deprived. 

"Such  was  the  result  of  the  second  act  of  this  eventful  drama.  A  day  hard 
fought  and  at  one  moment  anxious,  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  slight  reverse 
just  named,  crowned  with  deadly  earned  but  uniform  success  to  our  arms,  auspi- 
cious of  a  glorious  termination  of  the  final  struggle,  on  these  omens  the  night 
fell.  In  the  course  of  the  night  General  Geary  returned  to  his  position  on  the 
right  from  which  he  had  hastened  the  day  before  to  strengthen  the  Third  Corps. 
He  immediately  engaged  the  enemy,  and  after  a  sharp  and  decisive  action  drove 
them  out  of  our  lines,  recovering  the  ground  which  had  been  lost  on  the  pre- 
ceding day. 

''  A  spirited  contest  was  kept  up  all  the  morning  on  this  part  of  the  line,  but 
General  Geary  reinforced  by  Shaler's  Brigade  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  maintained 
his  position  and  inflicted  very  severe  losses  on  the  rebels. 

"  Such  was  the  cheering  commencement  of  the  third  day's  work,  and  with  it 
ended  all  serious  attempts  of  the  enemy  on  our  right." 

Nothing  of  any  importance  occurred  in  our  vicinity  during  the  4th,  except 
the  circulation  of  numerous  camp  rumors  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  enemy, 
etc.,  the  night  was  spent  in  the  works  awaiting  marching  orders.  About  3.30 
a.  m.,  July  5th,  the  line  of  march  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  was  taken  up,  but 
in  a  different  direction  from  that  expected.  The  Twenty-eighth  Pennsylvania 
on  the  advance  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  headed  for  Littlestown,  which  we  reached 
before  noon,  very  weary  and  footsore.  "The  men  having  lost  so  much  rest  and 
being  confined  in  the  works  such  a  great  length  of  time  were  hardly  prepared 
for  steady  marching  yet."  Marched  ten  miles.  The  Twenty-eighth  being  the 
advance  regiment,  it  of  course  was  posted  on  picket,  and  passed  a  very  quiet 
night  there.  On  the  morning  of  July  6th,  at  seven  o'clock,  orders  were  received 
to  resume  the  march,  but  by  reason  of  General  Meade  having  with  a  portion  of 
his  command  encountered  the  rear  guard  of  the  enemy  near  Gettysburg,  the 
order  was  countermanded.  On  July  7th,  at  5  a.  m.,  we  left  Littlestown,  passed 
through  Taneytown,  Middleburg  and  Walkersville,  encamping  a  short  distance 
beyond  the  latter  place  about  6  p.  m.  Marched  about  thirty  miles,  most  of 
the  instance  through  the  fields,  the  road  being  occupied  by  the  artillery  and  sup- 
1)ly  trains. 

The  morning  of  July  8th  ushered  itself  in  rainy  and  very  disagreeable,  putting 
the  roads  in  bad  condition,  but  orders  to  resume  the  march  were  given,  and 
at?  a.  m.  we  were  on  the  move,  passed  through  Frederick,  were  halted  a  short 
time  for  an  issue  of  rations,  after  which  resumed  the  march,  reaching  Jefierson 
about  (i  J),  m.  A  great  many  men  were  destitute  of  shoes,  and  in  consequence 
suflfered  very  much,  as  the  march  this  day  was  mostly  made  over  a  turnpike 
road.     Marched  fifteen  miles. 

July  9th  left  Jefferson,  passed  through  Hurkittsville,  crossed  South  Mount- 
ain at  Crampton's  Ga]j  and  encamped  near  Kohrersville.      Marched  ten  miles. 

July  10th  marcli  resumed  at  .')a.  m.,  passed  through  P.uona  Vista,  Keedysville, 
Smoketown  and  a  portion  of  the  Antietam  battle-field,  ciicamijing  at  Bakers- 
ville.     Marched  ten  I'niles, 

July  nth  left  Bakersville  at  :J  a.  m.,  nianhcd   to  Fair  Play  a  distance  of 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  195 

four  miles,  formed  line  of  battle  in  support  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Ohio,  who 
were  deployed  iw  skirmishers  in  our  immediate  front.  (The  First  Division  of 
the  Twelfth  Corps  had  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy  on  our  right.)  We  remained 
in  this  position  until  10  a.  m.,  July  12th,  when  we  were  ordered  forward  in 
line  of  battle,  with  the  intention  of  engaging  the  enemy,  but  the  corps  com- 
manders having  met  in  council  and  deciding  not  to  attack,  we  were  ordered  to 
resume  our  former  position.  The  Twenty-eighth  relieved  the  Twenty-ninth 
Ohio  at  dusk. 

At  daylight  on  July  13th  the  regiment  was  relieved  from  the  skirmish  line, 
moved  to  the  right  about  one  mile  wliere  it  rejoined  the  brigade.  At  8  a.  m. 
were  ordered  back  to  the  position  vacated  at  dayliglit.  Towards  dusk  we  were 
ordered  forward  to  feel  the  strength  of  the  enemy  and  had  advanced  but  a  short 
distance  when  orders  were  received  to  abandon  the  attack  and  return  to  the 
woods.  The  Twenty-eighth  was  relieved  from  the  skirmish  line  h\  the  Seventh 
Ohio,  and  remained  in  reserve  in  close  support.  Rained  very  hard  during  the 
night,  and  the  rebels  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Potomac. 

At  7  a.  m.  on  July  14th  rejoined  the  brigade  and  remained  under  arms  in 
support  of  the  First  Division,  which  had  advanced  some  distance  to  the  front  of 
our  line.  Later  on,  with  the  Seventh  Ohio,  the  Twenty-eighth  was  ordered  to 
reconnoitre  towards  Downsville,  where  we  found  the  enemy's  works  deserted 
and  returned  with  several  prisoners. 

On  July  15th,  5  a.  m.  at,  resumed  the  march,  passing  through  Fair  Play  and 
Sharpsburg,  haltingat  half  past  three  p.  m.  on  the  summitof  Maryland  Heights. 
Raining,  roads  in  bad  order.     Marched  sixteen  miles. 

At  5  a.  m.,  July  I6th,  moved  from  Maryland  Heights  and  encamped  in 
Pleasant  Valley  about  one-half  mile  back  from  Sandy  Hook,  and  in  close  proxi- 
mity to  our  camping  ground  of  July,  1861.     Marched  four  miles. 

July  17th  and  18th  remained  in  camp.  Shoes,  clothing,  etc.,  were  issued  to 
the  diflerent  commands.  The  Second  Corps  crossed  the  Potomac  and  Shenan- 
doah rivers. 

At  5  a.  m.,  July  19th,  the  line  of  march  was  again  taken  up,  passed  through 
Sandy  Hook  and  Harper's  Ferry.  Crossing  the  two  rivers,  marched  down  the 
Piuey  Run  Valley  to  near  Hillsboro,  Virginia,  where  we  encamped.  Marched 
eleven  miles. 

Resumed  the  march  on  July  20th,  at  5  a.  m.,  passing  through  Wood  Grove 
and  Purcellville,  halting  at  Snickersville  at  6  p.  m.  Marched  eleven  miles. 
The  enemy's  wagon  trains  were  plainly  visible  from  the  crest  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  at  Snicker's  Gap,  en  route  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 

July  21st  remained  in  camp. 

July  22d  remained  in  camp.  Company  inspection,  tlic  first  since  leaviu"- 
Aquia  Creek. 

Left  Snickersville  at  6  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July  23,  passed  through 
Upperville  and  Paris,  halting  near  Ashby's  Gap.  Pickets  were  posted  on  the 
Blue  Ridge,  and  tents  were  pitched.  At  4  p.  m.  orders  were  received  to  pack 
and  move  immediately  ;  march  was  resumed.  Leaving  Paris  and  takino-  the 
mountain  road,  we  continued  the  march  to  within  two  miles  of  Markham  Station 
on  the  Manassas  Gap  railroad,  where  we  halted  at  9  p.  m.,  pretty  well  exhausted 
with  the  day's  march.     Marched  about  twenty-four  miles. 

July  24th,  at;")  a.  m.,  resumed  march,  passed  through  Markham  halting  near 
Linden.     Roads  in  very  bad  order,  and  weather  very  warm.     The  advance  of 


196  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

our  column  met  the  rear  guard  of  the  enemy  at  Falling  Waters,  near  Chester 
Gap,  and  after  a  spirited  engagement  the  enemy  fled.  At  12  m.  the  command 
was  called  into  line,  and  marched  back  through  Markham  to  Piedmont,  where 
we  halted  for  the  night.     Marched  sixteen  miles. 

Left  Piedmont  at  o  a.  m.  on  July  iSth,  passing  through  Rectortown  and 
White  Plains,  halted  at  W'hite  Plains  about  one  hour,  when  march  was  resumed. 
Enciimpcd  at  Thoroughfare  Gap.     Marched  twenty-two  miles. 

July  2()th,  reveille  at  half  past  two  a.  m.,  marched  at  4  a.  m.,  passed 
Thoroughfiire  Gap,  Haymarket,  Greenwich  and  Catlett's  Station.  Halted  near 
Warrenton  Junction  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  at  7  p.  m.  Wood 
and  water  was  very  scarce  at  this  place,  and  it  was  very  late  before  the  troops 
were  able  to  prepare  their  scanty  supper.  Many  of  the  men  dropped  to  the 
ground  and  slept  where  their  commands  halted,  too  weary  to  undertake  to  make 
preparations  for  supper.     Marched  twenty-five  miles. 

July  27th  moved  a  short  distance,  tents  were  pitched  and  regular  camp  duties 
resumed.  Remained  at  this  place  resting  from  the  fatigues  and  labors  of  the 
campaign  until  July  31st,  when  the  reveille  was  sounded  at  half  past  three  a. 
m.  and  orders  to  march  were  given  at  half  past  three  a.  m.  Arrived  at  Kelly's 
Ford  on  the  Rappahannock  river  at  7  p.  m.,  a  pontoon  bridge  was  laid  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  First  Brigade  of  Geary's  Second  Division  crossed  to  the  south  side, 
encountering  the  enemy's  pickets  and  after  some  slight  skirmi.shiug  the  enemy 
were  driven  ofl'.  Very  warm  day.  Marched  eighteen  miles.  August  2d  left 
Kelly's  Ford  at  4  p.  m.  and  marched  to  near  Ellis'  Ford,  where  the  regiment 
was  posted  on  picket.  Marched  five  miles.  August  3d  regiment  relieved  from 
picket  and  went  into  regular  camp. 

Thus  ended  the  marching  and  duties  performed  by  the  Twenty-eighth  Penn- 
sylvania, in  the  campaign  connected  with  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  the 
defeat  of  the  rebel  army  of  Northern  Virginia,  a  fifty  days'  campaign,  during 
which  some  four  hundred  miles  were  marched,  and  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles 
in  the  world's  history  fought  by  the  bravest  men  on  earth  ;  and  we  meet  here 
over  twenty-six  years  after,  to  commemorate  the  gallantry  of  the  men  who 
fought,  bled  and  died  on  those  memorable  days  of  July,  1863,  that  the  grandest 
government  on  the  face  of  the  globe  might  not  perish,  and  we  dedicate  to  their 
memory  this  monument,  which  we  trust  will  mark  this  spot  for  all  time. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

29'^"  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

Sf.i'TEMBER   nth,   1889 
ORATION  OF  liREVFT  LIEUT.-COLONEL  ROBERT  P.  DECHERT 

THE  history  of  the  world  has  not  presented  the  story  of  a  conflict  greater 
in  its  results  because  of  the  interests  involved  than  that  of  the  battle  of 
(Jettysburg.     The  forces  engaged  between  the  combatants  wore  nearly 
equal  ;  the  Unionists  while  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  further  advance 
of  the  enemy  northward,  threw  themselves  into  a  defensive  position  and  com- 
pelled General  Leo  to  attack  them  in  their  works. 


PHOTO.    BY  W.  M.  TIPTON,   CtTTYiSUfiO. 


PSINT:   THE    F.  GUTEKUNST  CO.,  PHILA. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  107 

In  the  event  of  the  success  of  the  enemy  in  thut  battle  his  passage  to  the 
Susquehanna,  Baltimore  and  perhaps    Philadeliihia  would  have  been  secured. 

Four  years  ago  we  had  the  honor  to  dedicate  upon  this  field  a  monument 
prepared  by  the  survivors  of  our  regiment,  which  was  intended  to  mark  the 
place  occupied  by  those  in  rear  of  the  works  first  constructed. 

The  generosity  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  now  enabled  us  to  place  an- 
other monument  upon  the  line  of  works  constructed  on  the  night  of  July  1st 
and  the  morning  of  July  3d,  and  which  were  suV)sequently  reoccupied  on 
July  3d. 

We  are  assembled  upon  this  daj'  on  the  illustrious  field  of  Gettysburg,  to 
commemorate  the  achievements  of  the  regiment  of  which  you  and  many  others 
were  members,  when  they  occupied  this  field  and  held  it  during  the  battle. 
Its  surroundings  as  it  appears  to  us  now,  with  the  over-hanging  foliage  and 
the  peaceful  appearance  of  this  autumn  day,  would  not  suggest  that  twenty-six 
years  ago  there  was  fought  upon  this  spot  one  of  the  most  terrific  battles  of  the 
present  century. 

Arriving  upon  the  field  late  on  the  first  day  of  the  encounter,  your  corps  was 
placed  in  position  on  the  right  of  the  forces  that  had  met  the  enemy  at  the 
Seminary,  and  had  afterwards  fallen  back  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  and  on  the  second 
day  of  the  contest  you  were  assigned  to  this  position  on  Culp's  Hill,  which  you 
rendered  strong  by  your  physical  exertions  and  indomitable  will.  Had  you 
been  permitted  to  remain  here,  the  result  on  this  part  of  the  field  would  not 
have  been  doubtful.  The  disaster  to  the  left-center  on  the  second  day  required 
your  corps  to  practically  vacate  these  works,  and  after  you  had  moved  to  a 
position  toward  the  left,  you  returned  on  the  evening  of  the  2nd  of  July  to 
find  them  within  the  control  of  the  enemy.  Had  they  known  of  your  evacua- 
tion of  these  works  on  the  second  day  of  the  battle  they  could  have  occupied 
them  and  then  easily  advanced  to  the  Baltimore  pike,  which  would  have 
seriously  endangered  communications  with  the  supply  trains.  After  resting  on 
your  arms  on  the  night  of  that  day,  there  was  required  of  you  on  the  following 
morning  the  most  heroic  service.  At  dawn  you  commenced  the  assault,  and, 
aided  by  an  artillery  fire  which  was  perhaps  the  most  determined  of  the  war, 
you  were  enabled  to  recover  the  works  you  had  relinquished,  and  to  hold  them 
until  the  darkness  of  night  ended  the  contest  and  carnage  of  battle.  There  was 
then  uncertainty  as  to  the  result — it  was  not  known  what  fruit  the  morrow 
would  bring  forth,  and  Avith  steadfast  hope  and  resolve  to  resist  all  assaults  of 
the  enemy,  the  troops  again  rested  upon  their  arms  during  that  night. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  participate  in  a  reconnaissance  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  4th  of  July  under  the  command  of  General  Ruger,  which  started  from  the 
right  of  Rock  creek,  passed  in  front  of  this  position  and  marched  beyond  the 
town  of  Gettysburg,  by  which  the  commanding  general  was  first  officially  in- 
formed that  the  enemy  had  abandoned  the  attack  upon  this  historic  ground. 

Gulp's  Hill  was  one  of  the  many  of  the  memorable  spots  on  the  field  of  Gettys- 
burg. While  Rothermel  has  selected  another  part  of  it  from  which  to  picture 
a  combat  of  the  two  armies,  he  might  easily  have  selected  this  place  to  illus- 
trate the  desperate  determination  and  bravery  of  the  opposing  forces.  Upon 
this  field  your  regiment  lost  heavily,  many  of  your  comrades  gave  up  their  lives 
to  preserve  their  country's  honor,  whilst  others  have  since  suffered  through 
honorable  wounds  received  here  in  those  dark  and  dismal  hours. 

The  Twenty-ninth  regiment  was  early  organized  for  the  war,  and  was  selected 


198  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

by  the  Goverument  as  the  fourth  regiment  from  Pennsylvania  lor  the  three 
years'  service.  Under  an  experienced  commander,  who  has  since  gone  to  his 
final  home  laden  with  honor,  it  started  for  the  seat  of  war.  Little  did  you  then 
think  that  a  service  of  three  years,  "  unless  sooner  discharged,"  would  extend 
into  one  of  four  years  or  upwards,  and  would  embrace  so  large  a  territory  as 
you  were  called  upon  to  traverse.  The  experience  in  tlie  Shenandoah  Valley 
of  Virginia  was  a  pleasant  prelude  to  the  active  life  that  followed,  though  to 
many  of  you  the  recollection  of  Front  Royal  and  Winchester  remind  you  of 
the  commencement  of  warlike  experiences. 

Some  of  you  well  remember  the  conflict  at  Cedar  Mountain,  the  fatiguing 
marches  and  meager  rations  which  followed  it,  ending  with  the  triumph  at 
Antietam  under  General  McClellan.  Whilst  others  will  better  recall  the  asso- 
ciations of  Martinsburg.  Williamsport  and  Hagerstown,  where  a  portion  of  the 
regiment  performed  duty  during  the  same  period  ;  and  many  will  be  reminded 
of  the  privations  in  prison  life  while  iu  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

After  Chancelloi-sville  and  Gettysburg  the  survivors  of  this  regiment  were 
transferred  to  the  western  army  under -Grant,  where  j'ou  met  and  repulsed  the 
enemy  at  Wauhatchie  and  Ringgold.  It  Avas  there  that  the  charge  of  the  troops 
under  General  Geary  was  made  up  the  rocky  and  rugged  sides  of  Lookout 
Mountain,  driving  the  enemy  before  them  and  beyond  its  summit  in  confu- 
sion and  dismay,  until  at  last  when  the  clouds  and  smoke  of  battle  had  been 
lifted  away,  there  stood  revealed  to  our  gladdened  hearts  the  nation's  flag, 
floating  grandly  to  the  breeze  upon  the  highest  pinnacle  of  the  mountain. 
The  clouds  which  had  enveloped  the  crest,  had  so  competely  obscured  the 
summit  from  the  view  of  the  troops  in  the  valley,  that  they  could  only  trace 
the  ascent  by  the  firing  of  the  musketry,  the  struggle  appearing  to  be,  as  has 
been  described,  "  a  battle  above  the  clouds." 

Thus  commenced  the  memorable  march  on  Atlanta,  fruitful  of  good  deeds 
and  results.  I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  at  this  point,  that  when,  in  the 
early  winter  of  1863-64,  the  Government  invited  her  soldiers  to  re-enlist  for 
another  term  in  her  service,  it  was  this  regiment  that  achieved  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  in  the  entire  army  to  offer  its  services  as  a  veteran  regiment. 

On  the  expiration  of  the  furlough  of  thirty  days,  which  was  granted  for  the 
purpose  of  re-enlistment,  the  regiment  returned  to  the  same  army,  then  com- 
manded by  Sherman,  and  at  Buzzard's  Roost,  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Tunnel  Hill, 
Dalton  and  Re.saca,  it  performed  an  active  part.  It  is  needless  to  recall  the 
crossing  of  Pumpkin  Vine  Creek,  or  New  Hope  Church,  or  Pine  Hill,  or  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  or  Gulp's  [Kolb's]  Farm,  or  Pine  Knob,  or  the  turning  of  the 
enemy's  flank  at  Kenesaw,  or  the  skilful  mauceuvering  and  fighting  in  front  of 
Atlanta.  During  this  campaign  the  Twentieth  Corps,  under  the  leadership  of 
Major-General  Joe  Hooker,  well  sustained  the  reputation  its  troops  had  gained 
in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  With  an  implicit  faith  in  their  commander,  that 
army  marched  and  toiled  under  Sherman,  until  every  obstacle  was  overcome — 
Fort  McAllister  was  captured  and  Savannah  was  occupied.  A  little  later  the 
campaign  lluough  tlie  Carolinas  was  commenced  and  concluded  with  tlie  battles 
of  Averysljoro  and  Bentonville.  The  end  of  that  campaign  was  reached  at 
Raleigh.  There  you  received  the  glad  tidings  that  Richmond  had  fallen,  and 
that  the  army  of  Lee  had  surrendered  to  Grant  at  Ajjpomattox.  How  much 
of  that  great  result  should  be  attributed  to  the  bold  and  arduous  campaigns  of 
Sherman  must  be  decided  by  posterity  and  history. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettijsbuvij.  199 

Shortly  afterward  you  marched  over  the  despoiled  soil  of  Virginia  to  Wash- 
ington, where  you  participated  in  the  grand  reviews  in  May,  18G5,  and  you  re- 
turned to  your  homes  and  again  assumed  your  appropriate  ])laces  in  the  pur- 
suits of  peace. 

There  are  familiar  names  closely  associated  with  the  history  of  this  regiment : 
of  Murphy  who  organized  it,  and  who,  after  a  lif«i  of  unusual  usefulness,  has 
been  called  to  his  liual  abode :  of  Banks,  who,  having  served  in  the  halls  of 
Congress,  is  still  prominently  in  public  life  ;  of  Williams,  who  died  while  a 
member  of  Congress,  a  genial  gentleman,  who  graced  every  position  he  filled, 
and  served  his  country  gallantly  in  two  wars ;  of  the  brave  and  impulsive 
Kane,  -who  died  in  our  midst  but  a  few  years  ago  ;  of  Geary,  who,  having  also 
served  in  two  wars,  occupied  the  highest  civic  station  in  our  state  ;  of  Ruger, 
now  a  general  officer  of  the  army  ;  of  Hamilton,  one  of  your  early  comman- 
ders ;  of  Manstield,  who  gallantly  died  at  the  head  of  his  corps  at  Antietam  ; 
of  Greene,  a  distinguished  soldier  and  citizen,  who,  at  advanced  years,  still 
adorns  the  community  in  which  he  lives ;  of  Gordon,  associated  with  your 
campaigns  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  ;  of  Cobham  and  Ireland,  who  fell  in  bat- 
tle in  your  midst ;  of  Barnum,  an  able  and  faithful  officer ;  of  Mower,  who 
commanded  your  corps  and  afterwards  fell  a  victim  to  tropical  disease ;  of 
Hooker,  a  fighter,  who  led  you  in  the  Atlanta  campaign  ;  of  Slocum,  the  gal- 
lant commander  of  the  Army  of  Georgia,  who  has  since  ably  represented  the 
country  in  Congress,  and  of  Sherman,  to  whom  the  nation  owes  as  much  as  to 
any  other  marshal  for  the  successful  results  of  the  war. 

In  the  summer  of  186.">  General  Lee  planned  an  invasion  into  Pennsylvania 
with  a  view  of  forcing  his  advance  to  Harrisburg,  and  secure  the  supplies  and 
wealth  of  the  State.  Immediately  the  hearts  of  our  people  were  fired  with 
resolute  determination  to  resist  the  invader  and  drive  him  from  our  soil.  The 
purpose  of  the  enemy  was  bold,  the  immediate  results  of  such  an  invasion  were 
apparent.  The  army  was  then  inspired  with  greater  activity.  There  was  as- 
signed to  its  command  one  of  the  ablest  officers  who  had  served  with  honor  and 
distinction  in  many  well-fought  battles  on  the  Peninsula — a  Penusylvanian, 
thus  further  impressing  the  army  with  courage  and  confidence.  The  advanced 
force  was  commanded  by  General  Reynolds,  a  Peunsylvanian,  who  fell  gallantly 
leading  his  command  on  the  first  day  of  the  battle.  The  center  wing  of  the 
army,  after  the  death  of  Reynolds,  was  commanded  by  another  heroic  son  ot 
Pennsylvania  whose  memory  is  cherished  by  his  countrymen,  who  died  while 
senior  major-general  of  the  army — Hancock. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  stands  out  upon  the  pages  of  history  as  a  lasting 
monument  to  the  honor  and  memory  of  Major-General  George  G.  Meade. 

The  enemy  was  flushed  with  victory  ;  he  had  forced  our  army  to  retire  from 
the  assaults  on  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville  ;  he  had  removed  the  seat 
of  war  to  northern  soil,  as  had  been  predicted  ;  his  available  force  was  as  great 
as  our  own  ;  he  well  knew  his  ability  to  subsist  upon  the  rich  agricultural 
fields  of  the  fertile  valleys  of  Pennsylvania  ;  the  tempting  prizes  of  Harris- 
burg and  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Washington  seemed  to  be  almost  within 
his  grasp,  and  with  desperation  he  hurled  his  solid  phalanx  against  the  lines  at 
the  cemetery,  at  Round  Top,  on  the  left  center  and  on  Culp's  Hill,  to  be  re- 
pulsed again  and  again  l)y  the  unflinching  men  who  heroicallj-  held  the  works. 

History  has  recorded  no  struggle  of  greater  magnitude  and  more  honorable 
to  the  combatants  than  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.     The  leaders  of  each  of  the 


200  Pennsylvania  at  Getiijshurg. 

opposing  forces  know  that  the  result  would  be  a  decisive  point  in  the  proj^fess 
of  the  war — a  victory  there  would  establish  a  supremacy  that  could  not  be 
overcome  by  any  future  successes  of  the  vaiujuished,  and  each  army  was  actu- 
ated by  this  impulse  and  fouyht  with  the  determination  of  brave  men. 

It  was  however  decreed  by  the  God  of  battles  that  your  works  at  Gettysburg 
should  not  be  wrested  from  you,  and  at  the  same  time  the  glorious  news  was 
given  to  tlie  country  of  the  surrender  of  Pemberton  at  Vicksburg. 

You  and  your  comrades  performed  your  part  in  this  struggle  at  Gulp's  Hill. — 
throughout  the  contest  you  rendered  conspicuous  services,  which  should  ever 
lie  remembered  by  a  grateful  jjeople.  Brave  men  fell  upon  this  field,  and  their 
memories  are  sincerely  revered  by  their  surviving  comrades. 

It  is  not  our  duty  now  to  recall  the  animosities  of  the  conflict.  It  resulted 
from  causes  whicii  the  present  generation  could  not  have  influenced.  The 
passions  aroused  by  it  have  subsided;  the  combatants  have  long  since  "beat 
their  swords  into  plow-shares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks."  Peace 
has  been  restored  to  every  portion  of  our  country.  We  are  cementing  the 
better  feelings  of  our  intelligence  and  civilization,  and  earnestly  repairing  all 
the  injuries  resulting  from  civil  war. 

Remembering  the  honorable  lives  of  the  soldiers  who  fell  on  this  hallowed 
and  historic  ground,  let  me  utter  the  sentiment  of  the  immortal  poet,  Avho  said — 

"Be  just  and  fear  not, 
Let  all  the  ends  thou  aim'st  at  be  thy  country's. 
Thy  God's  and  truth's ;  then  if  thou  fall'st,  O.  Cromwell, 
Thou  fall'st  a  blessed  martyr." 

The  special  purpose  of  our  gathering  on  this  day,  is  to  mark  on  the  pages  of 
history,  for  the  benefit  ot  ix)sterity,  one  of  the  particular  places  whicli  the 
Twenty-ninth  Itegiment  occupied  on  Gulp's  Hill,  during  the  darkest  periods  of 
the  progress  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Here,  to-day,  we  come  again  to  dedi- 
cate a  monument  in  memory  of  our  departed  comrades,  who  sealed  their  devo- 
tion to  the  flag  by  yielding  up  their  lives  on  this  bloody  field.  May  their 
memories  ever  remain  avS  enduring  as  the  granite  shaft  now  erected  to  mark  the 
spot  of  their  heroic  deeds. 


ORATION    OF   COLONEL    WILLIAM    RICKARDS 

1ADIES   and    gentlemen  :  —  Gomrades,    when    I     received   the   letter   from 
the  chairman  of  the  committee,  notifying  me  that  I  had  been  chosen  to 
/     make  the  oration  at  the  dedication  of  the  monument  to  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Regiment  I'ennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  1  confess  1  was  some- 
what .staggered   at  the  thought  how  I  should   proceed,  and  do  credit  to  the 
occasion,  to  my  comrades,  and  to  myself. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  tablet  erected  by  the  Survivors'  Association  of  the 
Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  Jnly  M,  1885,  in  the  intro- 
ductory address  which  it  was  my  province  to  make,  I  spoke  of  the  circum- 
stances which  led  to  the  formation  of  this  great  American  Nation;  of  the  patriotic 
zeal  and  wisdom  of  its  founders  ;  of  the  causes  and  sequences  which  made  it 
necessary  for  the  Twenty-ninth  I'ennsylvania  Volunteers  with  thousands  of 
other  brave  comrades  to  be  on  this  field  twenty-two  years  before  ;  of  our  vic- 
tory over  armed  trcii-son  and  rebellion  and  of  the  public  opinion  which  had  de- 
cided to  consider  this  the  ty])ical  battle  of  the  war  for  the  Union.     That  this 


Pennsylvania  at  Geityshurg.  201 

latter  view  has  become  a  national  one  is  proven  by  the  array  of  monuments 
placed  to  mark  the  position  during  the  battle  of  the  regiments  engaged. 

States  have  vied  with  States  and  regimental  organizations  with  each  other  in 
securing  the  aid  of  the  artist  to  make  more  attractive  the  ground  on  which  the 
advance  of  treason  and  rebellion  was  staggered  and  from  which  it  was  driven 
backward,  beaten  again  and  again,  until  its  final  overthrow  at  Appomattox. 

Under  some  circumstances  the  place  where  men  have  died  is  repulsive.  But 
it  is  not  with  ns  on  the  held  where  our  comrades  fell  whilst  making  their 
breasts  a  barricade  between  our  country  and  its  foes.  Whilst  to  individuals 
and  families  death  is  a  separation  of  the  tender  ties  of  father,  mother,  wife, 
children,  or  friends  ;  yet  collectively  those  who  fell  in  our  glorious  and  holy 
cause  are  not  dead  to  us.  The  memory  of  good  deeds  should  never  die,  and  as 
we  meet  year  after  year  to  deck  the  graves  of  our  comrades  with  the  fairest 
flow'ers  of  spring  it  should  be  with  the  feeling  that  we  are  offering  incense  to 
the  spirits  that  muster  on  the  parade  ground  of  heaven. 

And  so  when  our  posterity  shall  visit  this  ground  which  art  has  made  so  at. 
tractive,  though  drawn  here  by  curiosity  of  admiration  of  the  beautiful,  the 
thought  will  turn  back  to  that  patriotism  which  offered  life  and  sacrifice  for  the 
preservation  of  this  glorious  heritage  of  freedom,  bequeathed  us  by  the  sires  of 
the  revolution. 

The  elaborate  artistic  eflbrt  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  this  battle-field,  I 
believe  exceeds  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  the  world.  But  to  com- 
pletely nationalize  the  field  of  Gettysburg  and  constitute  it  the  Mecca  of  pa- 
triotic devotion  to  our  Union,  there  should  be  erected  on  one  of  the  many 
prominent  positions  a  monument  surmounted  by  a  statue  entitled  "  Memory." 
Surrounding  the  monument  I  would  have  representatives  of  the  various  arms 
of  service.  On  the  monument  should  be  inscribed  Memory  protecting  the  re- 
cords of  the  defenders  of  the  Union.  Tablets  appropriately  arranged  contain- 
ing a  list  of  the  various  battles,  with  the  regiments  engaged,  with  the  number 
from  each  State,  would  make  a  permanent  record  in  which  each  soldier  for  the 
Union  would  feel  himself  and  his  posterity  honored.  Memory  should  have  a 
shield  on  which  I  would  have  emblazoned  the  crowning  principle  of  National 
Union. — "  Loyalty." 

I  have  searched  ancient  and  modern  history  in  vain  to  find  a  prototype  of  the 
statue  of  memory. 

As  this  field  is  typical  of  the  great  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  onr  Union 
States  so  this  monument  would  be  typical  of  the  national  spirit  of  loyalty  that 
inspired  the  thousands  of  brave  men  who  rushed  to  the  field  resolved  that  our 
Union  must  and  shall  be  preserved.  I  would  not  depreciate  the  courage  of  the 
men  we  met  on  this  or  other  fields  during  the  war.  They  started  with  many 
advantages  in  preparation  for  action  not  possessed  by  us.  They  were  led  by 
men  whom  the  Government  had  educated  in  the  art  of  war,  many  of  whom  were 
considered  superior  in  military  attainments.  This  with  military  spirit  in  tlicir 
rank  and  file  gave  them  a  prestige  which  seemed  to  place  victory  within  their 
grasp  ;  but  there  was  a  principle  involved  in  the  struggle.  It  was  to  decide 
whether  a  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people  shall  en- 
dure on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Despite  the  previous,  preparation  the  military 
advantages,  the  chivalric  prestige  and  courage,  the  truth  of  the  old  adage  still 
remains,  "  he  is  doubly  armed  whose  cause  is  just."  And  thus  armed  we  were 
prepared  to  give  our  lives  if  need  be  to  preserve  to  our  posterity  this  great  gift 
of  our  patriotic  fathers. — "  One  country  and  one  flag." 


202  Pennsylvania  at  (Tettyshurg. 

Comrades,  more  tluin  twenty-  six  years  liave  passed  since  the  preservation  of 
our  Union  math'  it  necessary  for  us  as  loyal  citizens  to  meet  on  the  field  of  Get- 
tysburg the  insurrection  forces  that  were  moving  for  its  destruction.  It  was 
believed  the  result  on  this  field  would  be  the  turning-point  of  the  war.  Vic- 
tory on  the  side  of  the  Union  would  send  the  rebellion  on  the  downward  track 
and  show  its  sympathizers  the  folly  of  any  further  effort  to  advance  the  cause 
of  secession,  whilst  defeat  would  give  encouragement  to  the  enemies  of  popu- 
lar government  to  still  aid  the  destruction  of  the  Union. 

This  thought  carries  the  mind  back  to  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  as  a  mo- 
mentous occasion  in  the  history  of  our  country,  and  the  field  of  Gettysburg  a 
place  of  intense  interest  as  the  spot  where  rebellion  was  checked  m  its  advance 
for  conquest  and  again  placed  on  the  defensive.  As  representatives  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  we  are  here  to-day  to  aid  in  perpetuating  the  memory  of  those 
hours  of  trial  and  danger  devoted  to  the  preservation  of  our  National  Govern- 
ment, and  I  wish  that  every  soldier  who  served  honorably  in  any  Penn.sy)vania 
regiment  could  have  had  the  same  advantages  offered  him  to  visit  this  ground 
as  those  who  fought  here  have.  We  are  to-day. to  receive  from  our  great  State 
the  testimony  of  her  appreciation  of  our  services  in  the  war  for  tlie  Union  and 
especially  for  our  action  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  fought  within  her  borders. 
But  a  few  years  more  and  the  last  comrade  of  the  grand  army  for  the  Union 
will  have  been  mustered  out  to  join  the  immortals.  It  is  the  usual  custom  to 
erect  monuments  to  the  dead  only.  Here  that  custom  has  been  deviated  from  ; 
and  the  living  as  well  as  the  dead  are  honored  and  the  evidence  given  that  our 
services  shall  be  preserved  in  the  future. 

In  this,  comrades,  it  is  commendable  egotism  in  us  to  say  we  are  receiving 
from  the  present  generation  no  more  than  a  just  recognition  of  services 
rendered  ;  and  are  conferring  a  lasting  benefit  on  our  posterity  by  leaving  them 
a  united  country,  and  the  record  of  a  heroism  that  was  patriotic  and  a  patriotism 
that  was  heroic. 


.SKETCH  OF  THE   REGIMENT 

COMPILED    BV  THE   COMMITTEE,  THOS.  DE  MAISTRE,  GEORGE  A.  BROWN,  LOUIS  R. 
FORTESCUE,  THEO,  8.  S.  BAKER  AND  JOHN  H.  HUGHES 

In  the  month  of  May,  1861,  John  K.  Murphy  and  a  number  of  citizens  met 
for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  regiment  lor  the  war,  and  after  a  few  prelimi- 
nary meetings  the  following  organization  was  effected: 

Colonel,  John  K.  Murphy.  Lieutenant  Colonel,  Charles  Parham.  Major, 
Michael  Scott.  Adjutant,  William  Letford,  Jr.  Regimental  Quartermaster, 
Albert  S.  Ashmead.  Surgeon,  W.  J.  Duffee.  Chaplain,  IJeiijamin  T.  Sewell. 
Sergeant-Major,  Robert  P.  Dechert.  Quartermaster-Sergeant.  Charles  Mintzer. 
Commissary-Sergeant,  Frederick  Mintzer.     Hospital  Steward,  Eli  B.  Garwood. 

Company  A     Captain,  ;  First  Lieutenant,  Louis  R.  Fortescue  ;  Second 

Lieutenant,  G.  Higgens,  Jr.  Company  B — Captain,  Davis  M.  Lane  ;  First  Lieu- 
tenant, George  B.  Johnson  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  Joseph  ISIaguigan.  Company 
C — Captain,  Jesse  R.  Millison  ;  First  Lieutenant,  W.  F.  Stine  ;  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, J.  Jacol)s.  Company  D — Captain,  William  ,\.  Byrnes  ;  First  Lieuten- 
ant, Edward  E.  Burr;  Second  Lieutenant,  John  H.  Byrnes.  Company  E — 
Captain,  fcjaiiuicl  M.  Zulick  ;  First  Lieutenant,  Thomas  T.  Seal  :  Second  Lieu- 


Pennsylvania  a1  (retf//shurg.  203 

tenant,  W.  D.  Rickford.  Company  F  Captain,  Louis  C.  Kinsler  ;  First  Lieu- 
tenant, William  A.  Wood  ;  Second  Lieutenant.  Alexander  Cook.  Company  G — 
Captain.  William  1).  Richardson  ;  First  Lieutenant,  James  C.  Linton  ;  Second 
Lieutenant,  David  Richardson,  Jr.  Company  II — Captain,  Frederick  Zarracker  ; 
First  Lieutenant,  John  W.  Williams  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  William  I)ouj;hton. 
Company  I — Captain,  Vv'illiam  Rickards,  Jr.  :  First  Lieutenant,  Samuel  C. 
Reeves  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  Theodore  K.  Vogel.  Companj'  K — Captain,  James 
E.  Wenrick ;  First  Lieutenant,  William  J.  Augustine  ;  Second  Lieutenant, 
Philip  A.  Yoorheves. 

These  gentlemen  were  commi-ssioned  on  May  14th  as  ofKcers  of  the  Jackson 
Regiment,  and  when,  on  June  lOth,  eight  hundred  names  had  been  inscribed 
upon  the  rolls  of  the  ditTerent  companies,  the  Honorable  Simon  Cameron,  Sec- 
retary of  War,  notified  Major  C.  F.  Ruli",  of  the  United  States  Army,  to  mus- 
ter the  men  into  the  military  service  of  the  United  States.  The  work  of  the 
mustering  officer  was  delayed  however,  the  first  company  not  being  mustered 
in  until  June  29th,  and  the  last  company  on  July  13th,  1861. 

The  uniform  adopted  for  the  enlisted  men  consisted  of  cap,  jacket  and  pants 
all  of  grey  cloth.  The  similarity  at  that  time  of  this  uniform  to  that  worn  by 
the  rebel  troops  being  so  marked  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  change  the  color 
and  the  regulation  army  blue  was  substituted  some  few  months  afterwards. 

On  July  16th  tlie  regiment  went  into  camp  in  Jones'  Woods  at  Hestonville 
where  it  remained  until  August  3d,  when  it  left  for  Sandy  Hook,  Maryland, 
opposite  Harper's  Ferry,  and  encamped  in  Pleasant  Valley,  Maryland,  being 
attached  to  the  Second  Brigade  of  General  Banks'  Division,  Department  of  the 
Shenandoah.  During  the  autumn  and  winter  months  of  1861-2,  the  regiment 
did  considerable  marching  from  Pleasant  Valley  to  Darnestown,  thence  to  Ball's 
Bluff,  Muddy  Branch  and  Frederick,  the  latter  place  being  reached  on  Decem- 
ber 25th,  where  it  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Camp  Carmel.  Remained  until 
February  25th  when  it  broke  camp  the  next  day,  the  26th,  and  crossed  the  Po- 
tomac river  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Camped  on  Bolivar  Heights,  Virginia,  over 
night,  on  March  12th,  then  marched  to  Winchester,  where  General  Jackson's 
troops  had  been  defeated.  The  enemy  retreated  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
the  Union  troops  advancing  to  Edenburg,  where  the  regiment  lost  two  men 
killed.  On  April  17th  advanced  to  Mount  Jackson  and  made  a  detour  to  the 
right  to  flank  Rude's  Hill,  on  which  General  Jackson  had  taken  position. 
Reached  there  too  late  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  to  catch  Jackson  napping. 
Forded  the  Shenandoah  river,  moved  on  to  Harrisonburg,  marched  back  to 
Strasburg  and  went  into  camp  and  erected  fortifications.  May  2.3d  Companies 
B  and  G,  which  had  been  sent  to  Front  Royal  were  attacked  by  a  large  force 
of  Jackson's  men  and  nearly  all  were  captured.  The  Confederates'  next  move- 
ment was  to  cut  our  communication  olf  with  Harper's  Ferry.  The  regiment 
began  to  move  at  midnight  and  at  3  a.  m.,  next  day,  24th,  reached  Middle- 
town  and  turned  to  the  right  on  a  road  leading  to  Front  Royal,  and  after  a 
march  of  three  miles  on  this  road  the  men  of  the  company  B  were  met  who 
reported  a  large  force  of  rebels  coming.  The  regiment  about  faced  and  marched 
back  to  Middletown,  thence  to  Winchester,  where  the  Union  troops  (being  fol. 
lowed  by  the  Confederates)  took  position  on  the  ridge. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th  (Sunday)  the  enemy  advanced  to  turn  our  right, 
the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  being  ordered  to  meet  and  check  them.  The 
enemy  advanced  in  columns  of  regimental  front,  our  destructive  firing  killing 


204  Pmnsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

aud  wouiulin<;alM)ut  tmo  hiiiulred.  The  rcjiiment  lost  one  hundred  .and  t-nenty- 
ei<^ht  orticers  and  men  taken  jtrisoners,  Colonel  Murphy  being  among  the 
number,  the  regiment  being  the  last  troops  to  leave  the  ridge.  The  army  fell 
back  to  the  I'otoniac  river  and  crossed  over  to  "NVilliamsport,  the  regiment  un- 
der command  of  the  major  being  detailed  to  do  provost  duty,  three  companies 
CJ,  V.  and  F,  with  General  Pope  in  his  Virginia  campaign  and  the  rest  of  the 
companies  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  Between  December  10th,  1862,  and  April 
10th.  18()3,  the  regiment  participated  in  all  the  campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  having  joined  the  Third  Brigade,  First  Division,  Twelfth  Corps,  and 
being  contined  principally  to  the  one  camping  ground  in  the  vicinitj"  of  Staf- 
ford Court  House.  It  was  while  at  this  camp,  on  the  latter  date,  that  President 
Lincoln,  accompanied  by  General  Joe  Hooker  and  staflf,  reviewed  the  troops,  the 
Twenty-ninth  Regiment  being  commended  by  the  reviewing  officers  for  its 
proficiency. 

On  April  27th  commenced  the  memorable  Chancellorsville  campaign  in  which 
this  regiment  suffered  in  the  loss  of  officers  and  men. 

In  the  Gettysburg  campaign  the  regiment  broke  camp  at  Aquia  Creek,  Vir- 
ginia, ,Iune  i;>,  1863,  crossed  the  Potomac  river  at  Edwards'  Ferry  into  Mary- 
land on  the  26th  of  June,  and  marched  within  sight  of  the  town  of  Gettysburg 
on  July  1st,  where  they  turned  to  the  left  of  Baltimore  pike  and  laid  on  their 
arms  all  night.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2d  moved  forward  to  Round  Top 
and  formed  line  of  battle.  There  being  heavy  firing  in  front,  at  11  a.  m. 
moved  forward  one  mile  and  crossed  to  right  of  Baltimore  pike  to  Culp's 
Hill  and  formed  a  line  on  right  of  and  at  right  angles  with  Third  Brigade  of  our 
corps,  the  Twelfth,  the  men  throwing  up  breastworks.  At  half  past  six  p.  m. 
the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  with  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  were  taken  out 
of  their  works  for  the  purpose  of  reinforcing  the  left  on  Round  Top.  "While  this 
movement  was  taking  place  a  .solid  shot  from  the  enemy's  battery  struck  Ser- 
geant-Major  Charles  Letford,  who  after  a  few  hours  of  intense  suffering  expired. 
Between  9  and  10  o'clock  p.  m.  the  brigade  received  orders  to  return  to  their 
brea-stworks,  but  officers  and  men  alike  were  surprised  to  find  that  the  enemy 
had  possession  of  the  works. 

As  we  were  about  to  enter  the  woods  nearly  opposite  our  front  position  the 
enemy  opened  fire,  killing  Lieutenant  Harvey  of  Company  K  and  three  men, 
and  wounding  ten  others.  We  returned  to  the  pike  and  re-entered  the  woods 
by  the  lane  at  Spangler's  house  following  the  One  hundred  and  ninth  and 
One  hundred  and  eleventh  Penn.sylvania.  The  brigade  halted  at  the  left  on 
the  line  of  works,  and  on  the  right  of  General  Greene's  Third  Brigade,  the 
Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  being  at  the  stone  wall.  By  direction  of  General 
Kane,  a  detail  of  skirmishers  under  the  command  of  Captain  Geo.  E.  Johnson, 
Company  B,  Twenty-ninth  Regiment,  Avas  ordered  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the 
position  of  the  enemy.  The  captain  was  prompt  in  action  and  soon  disappeared 
in  the  darkness  in  the  encray,s  lines,  where,  with  five  of  the  men,  he  was  cap- 
tured. The  captain  made  his  escape  near  Crampton's  Gap  where  he  rejoined 
the  regiment  and  reported  that  on  the  night  in  question  the  enemy  la}-  quiet 
until  the  detail  were  within  their  lines  and  were  then  ordered  to  surrender. 
The  brigade  then  moved  up  between  the  breastworks  and  the  stone  wall,  one- 
half  of  the  Twenty-ninth  liegiment  remaining  outside  of  the  wall,  the  other 
in  the  field,  halting  alx)ut  one  hundred  and  fifty  paces  in  front  of  the  position 
now  occupied  by  tablet  No.  1,  erected  July,  1885. 


Pennsylvania  at  (iettyshurg.  205 

All  was  quiet  until  about  2  a.  m.  the  od,  and  although  it  was  l)ut  half  moon 
the  position  occupied  by  the  enemy  was  readily  distinguished  and  their  men  seen 
moving  about.  They  then  commenced  a  ra^iid  tiring  which  increased  in  tbrce 
until  it  extended  across  our  front,  our  brigade  returning  the  tire  with  such  spirit 
that  that  of  the  enemy  soon  ceased.  General  Kane  then  ordered  the  brigade 
to  move  back  to  the  ledge  of  rocks,  where  dispositions  were  made  to  resist  the 
assault.  The  line  was  shortened  to  two  regiments,  the  third  in  reserve,  two 
regiments  tilling  the  space  from  the  works  to  the  wall.  As  the  day  began  to 
break  the  enemy  opened  from  behind  the  rocks  and  trees  and  the  tight  became 
general.  About  9  a.  m.  the  Twenty-ninth,  having  exhausted  their  ammunition, 
were  relieved  by  the  One  hundred  and  eleventh  Pennsylvania,  and  were  ordered 
back  to  the  ammunition  train  to  replenish,  the  men  taking  this  time  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  rounds  each.  In  abyut  forty-tive  minutes  they  returned  and 
again  relieved  the  One  hundred  and  eleventh.  About  half-past  ten  o'clock,  the 
enemy  consisting  of  Steuart's  Brigade  of  Bradley  Johnson's  Division  of  Ewell's 
Corps,  advanced  in  battalion  front  to  the  charge,  the  Second  Maryland  Regi- 
ment in  the  lead.  Their  columns  moved  down  on  us  between  the  breastworks 
and  the  stone  wall.  Our  line  to  oppose  them  consisted  of  the  Twenty-ninth 
Pennsylvania  and  the  One  hundred  and  ninth  Pennsylvania,  the  latter  on  the 
right  extending  to  the  wall,  their  front  partly  protected  by  the  ledge  of  rocks. 
The  left  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  extended  to  the  breastworks.  Our 
men  had  been  tiring  at  Avill  all  the  morning  and  when  the  head  of  the  enemy's 
column  appeared  in  sight  did  not  require  orders  to  commence  tiring.  The  enemy 
advanced  steadily  somewhat  covered  by  the  rocks  and  trees,  until  they  arrived 
at  one  hundred  paces  from  our  line  where  the  ground  was  more  open.  Noticing 
hy  the  falling  leaves  that  our  men  were  firing  too  high  the  colonel  gave  the 
command  to  shoot  at  their  knees,  the  etfect  of  which  was  noticeable  at  once. 

The  enemy  came  on  steadily  until  within  sixty  paces  when,  our  fire  beginning 
to  tell  on  them,  they  began  to  waver.  At  forty  paces  their  confidence  failed 
them.  They  had  expected  to  break  through  our  thin  line  with  ease,  Imt  were 
demoralized  by  the  undaunted  bearing  of  the  men  of  the  Pennsylvania  Brigade 
of  the  White  Star  Division.  It  was  tbrtunate  for  the  Union  cause  that  Swell's 
Corps  met  with  this  repulse,  for  had  they  succeeded  in  breaking  tlirough  the 
lines  of  the  Twenty-ninth  and  One  hundred  and  ninth  Regiments,  the  road 
would  then  have  been  opened  to  the  center  of  our  position  involving  the  cap- 
ture of  our  ammunition  trains  and  our  hold  upon  Gulp's  Hill  and  Cemetery 
Hill  in  the  rear  of  our  lines.  They  could  then  have  taken  Greene's  line  in  the 
rear  and  have  placed  him  between  the  two  fires,  forcing  him  to  face  the  rear, 
when  the  attacking  line  in  front  would  have  assaulted  and  carried  the  works. 
Skirmish  firing  was  kept  up  after  this  all  day  by  the  enemy  on  the  hill  above 
Spangler's  Spring  as  well  as  in  front  of  our  works  and  of  Greene's  Brigade. 
The  morning  of  the  glorious  Fourth  of  Juh'  found  the  enemy  in  full  retreat 
never  again  to  return  to  this  side  of  the  Potomac  river.  During  this  a.s.sault 
and  repulse  of  the  enemy  the  Twenty-ninth  Penn.sylvania  Regiment  lost  seven- 
teen killed,  forty-five  wounded  and  six  pri-soners  ;  that  of  Steuart's  Rebel  Bri- 
gade, led  by  the  Second  Maryland,  fifty-two  killed  and  one  hundred  and  forty 
wounded.  The  pursuit  of  the  enemy  which  commenced  on  July  ,',th  was  con- 
tinued until  August   3d,  the  troops  undergoing  long  and  fatiguing  marches. 

On  September  28th,  the  Twelfth  Corps,  to  which  the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment 
belonged,  left  Brandy  Station  to  reinforce  General  Rosecrans'  army  in  the  south- 


206  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

west,  arriving  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  at  six  p.  m.,  ot  October  5th,  and  on  the 
28th  of  same  month  engaged  the  enemy  at  Wauhatchie. 

November  24th  the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  led  the  charge  which  ultimately 
captured  Lookout  Mountain,  taking  in  that  contest  more  prisoners  than  were 
men  in  their  ranks.  They  were  then  moved  over  to  Missionary  Ridge,  then  to 
Ringgold,  Georgia,  and  assisted  in  dislodging  the  rebels  from  Taylor's  Ridge. 

While  in  camp  at  Lookout  Valley,  December  9,  1863,  this  regiment  decided 
to  ofi'cr  their  services  to  the  government  for  the  war,  and  upon  the  announce- 
ment being  made  to  headquarters  were  sworn  in  and  were  the  tirst  to  receive 
the  distinguished  title  of  Veteran  Union  Soldiers  by  re-enlistment. 

On  December  12th,  the  veteran  furlough  of  thirty  days  having  been  granted, 
the  regiment  took  their  departure  for  Philadelphia  amid  the  cheers  of  the 
White  Star  Division  drawn  up  by  orders  of  General  Geary  to  render  the  part- 
ing salute,  and  on  December  22d  they  arrived  at  their  destination,  meeting 
with  an  enthusiastic  reception. 

After  recruiting  its  ranks  the  regiment  again  started  for  the  front  reaching 
Nashville  on  March  21,  1864. 

Taking  part  in  the  Georgia  campaign  they  engaged  the  enemy  on  the  8th  of 
May  near  Snake  Gap ;  again  from  the  12th  to  15th  of  same  month  at  Resaca, 
losing  in  killed  and  wounded  eighty-two  men.  On  Maj'  25th,  moved  against 
the  rebels  at  New  Hope  church.  Were  engaged  from  June  13th  to  15th  at  Pine 
Knob  and  in  making  the  assault  at  this  point  lost  their  colonel  by  a  serious 
wound  through  the  left  breast,  several  of  our  men  being  wounded.  General 
Hooker's  attention  being  called  by  a  member  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  to 
the  enemy  massing  their  forces  in  front  of  our  First  Division,  the  General,  tak- 
ing in  the  situation,  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  galloped  off  to  the  right  of  the 
line  and  had  the  First  Division  placed  in  readiness  for  an  attack.  The  attack 
was  made  and  the  enemy  defeated  with  a  loss  of  nearly  two  thousand  men 
killed,  wounded  and  prisoners. 

On  the  16th  the  brigade  moved  to  the  right  to  Muddy  Creek  and  threw  up 
breastworks,  the  line  of  works  being  so  close  to  the  enemy's  that  our  men  were 
compelled  to  take  turns  in  going  to  the  rear  of  our  works  to  cook  coffee.  In 
this  movement  Private  Sellman  of  Company  G  was  killed  returning  to  the 
works.  On  the  17th  the  enemy  fell  back  and  our  troops  advanced  four  miles. 
The  enemy  taking  up  a  strong  position  in  a  clump  of  woods,  the  Sixty-eighth 
New  York  Regiment  and  the  Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  Regiment  were  de- 
tailed to  support  a  battery  that  was  ordered  to  open  fire  on  the  enemy  three 
hundred  yards  in  our  front.  On  the  20th  our  corps  advanced  their  lines.  The 
enemy  fired  but  were  driven  oft'  the  field,  a  large  number  of  prisoners  falling 
into  our  hands.  In  this  encounter  Colonel  Cobham  was  killed,  our  brigade 
commander.  On  the  21st  Captain  Goldsmith  was  ordered  to  take  command  of 
the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  and  on  the  22d  moved  about  one  mile  nearer  to 
Kolb's  Farm,  thence  to  Kenesaw  Mountain,  driving  in  the  enemy  and  building 
breastworks  ;  24th,  the  members  of  the  regiment  who  did  not  re-enlist  held  a 
meeting  and  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  General  Hooker,  to  know  from 
him  if  their  three-years'  services  were  up  and  if  they  were  to  be  mustered  out 
of  the  service,  the  committee  reported  that  General  Hooker  had  promised  that 
they  would  b(;  on  their  way  home  by  the  first  of  the  month  (July). 

On  the  2Hth  our  lines  advance<l,  tho.se  who  had  not  re-enlisted  being  sent  to 
the  rear  in  charge  of  Major  Millison,  who  reported  to  General  Geary's  head- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  207 

quarters,  the  General  shakin<i;  eacli  bj'  the  hand,  and  were  then  marched  eight 
miles  to  Big  Shanty  Station  where  the  cars  were  in  waiting  to  take  tliem  home- 
ward. The  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  being  now  left  without  a  Held  officer 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Walker  was  ])laced  temporarily  in  command  of  the  regiment 
bnt  on  July  21st  was  relieved  of  the  command  by  Captain  Goldsmith.  July 
26th,  the  lines  advanced  within  view  of  Atlanta  and  on  the  2etli  General 
Hooker  tendered  his  resignation  which  action  had  a  depressing  effect  upon  the 
troops  of  his  corps.  On  the  30th  Captain  Goldsmith,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  regiment,  was  relieved  by  Captain  Frank  Zarracker,  his  term  of  service  hav- 
ing expired.  In  August  General  Slocum  resumed  command  of  the  Twentietli 
Corps  and  the  troops  advanced  slowly  but  surely  on  Atlanta,  the  shells  from  our 
batteries  thrown  into  the  city  setting  fire  to  the  buildings.  September  2d  and 
3d,  the  troops  marched  through  Atlanta  our  brigade  being  in  the  advance.  The 
Twentieth  Corps  remained  at  Atlanta  until  November  l.")tli  and  during  this 
time  the  regiment  was  sent  on  several  foraging  expeditious,  frequently  for  forty- 
eight  hours  at  a  time,  in  every  instance  returning  to  camp  with  long  trains  of 
wagons  filled  with  provisions  for  men  and  horses. 

November  5th,  received  ordere  at  two  p.  m.  to  pack  up  immediately,  moved 
out  of  the  camp  about  two  miles,  and  rested  over  night  on  the  Gth  discovered 
the  enemy's  cavalry  reconnoitering  us.  On  the  15th  broke  camp,  marching 
eastward  eighteen  miles,  the  city  of  Atlanta  ablaze  ;  the  fire  being  started  by  our 
troops.  On  the  19th  marched  through  Madison  and  on  the  23d  assisted  in  tear- 
ing up  the  railroad  tracks.  25th,  men  halted  for  twenty-four  hours  until  nine 
bridges  were  repaired  which  spanned  the  swamp  near  Davisboro.  26th  and 
27th,  continued  marching  and  destroying  railroad  tracks.  28th,  marched  back 
to  Davisboro  then  to  Holcomb,  then  to  Louisville,  Georgia,  the  troops  subsist- 
ing on  the  country. 

December  2d,  met  the  enemy's  skirmishers  and  repulsed  them  ;  on  the  11th 
brigade  advanced  within  five  miles  ot  Savannah,  our  left  resting  on  the  Savannah 
river  and  our  men  lying  in  ditches  as  a  protection  from  the  enemy's  shells. 

On  the  18th  General  Sherman  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  city  but  was  met 
by  a  refu.sal,  the  enemj'  subsequently  evacuating  their  works.  21st,  the 
authorities  came  from  the  citj^  bearing  a  flag  of  truce  to  meet  our  troops 
which  resulted  in  the  surrender  of  the  city  of  Savannah.  Our  regiment,  being 
the  first  to  enter  the  town,  was  accompanied  by  General  Gear}',  division  com- 
mander, and  Barnum,  brigade  commander. 

25th.  Christmas  dinner  enjoyed  by  the  members  of  the  Twenty-ninth 
Regiment,  the  men  being  quartered  in  houses  that  had  been  deserted  by  the 
owners.  On  the  29th  left  Savannah  and  marched,  keeping  to  the  line  of  the  Sa- 
vannah and  Charlestown  railroad,  finally  crossed  the  Savannah  river  into  South 
Carolina  on  pontoon  bridges  at  Sisters'  Ferry  on  February  7th  ;  at  Black  Swamps 
we  erected  bridges  and  constructed  roads  for  nearly  a  mile  across  the  swamp 
which  in  some  places  showed  a  depth  of  three  feet  of  water. 

On  the  15th  entered  Lexington.  17th.  Columbia  occupied  by  Fifteenth  Corps. 
23d,  marched  to  and  crossed  Catawba  river  on  pontoon  bridges,  and  on  March  4th 
crossed  the  line  into  North  Carolina. 

The  24th  witnessed  the  passage  of  the  troops  through  Goldsboro,  where  a  re- 
view took  place  by  General  Sherman  and  Slocum  and  the  reading  of  the  circu- 
lar issued  by  order  of  General  Sherman  commanding  his  army.  The  morning 
of  -\pril  27th  opened  auspiciously  to  the  men  of  the  Western  Array,  bringing 


208  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshurg. 

with  it  tlie  glorious  tidings  sd  long  contended  for  h\  them  of  the  surrender  of 
General  Joe  Johnston  and  his  army  to  General  William  Tecumseh  Sherman  ; 
cuirrying  with  it  the  dissolution  of  those  forces  and  that  inexpressibly  happy 
termination  of  our  troubles  indicated  in  the  words — Homeward  Bound. 

Between  April  30th  and  July  13th,  Twenty-ninth  Kegiment  as  a  part  of  the 
Twentieth  ,Corps  marched  through  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  and  partici- 
pated in  the  grand  review  before  the  President  in  Washington,  being  mustered 
out  on  the  latter  date. 

During  its  service  of  four  years  its  muster-rolls  contained  the  names  of  over 
two  thousand  live  hundred  men,  its  casualties  in  killed,  wounded  and  prison- 
ers being  eight  hundred  and  seventy,  and  it  returned  to  the  custody  of  the 
Governor  of  the  noble  old  State  of  Pennsylvania  which  it  represented  its  colors 
untarnished  and  its  record  pure  and  unstained. 

On  Julj'  3d,  1885,  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  erected  a 
tablet  to  mark  the  position  occupied  by  them  on  July  3d,  1863.  This  tablet  is 
of  dark  granite  with  polished  sides  traced  in  panels  upon  which  the  history  of 
regiment  is  cut,  the  whole  being  seven  feet  high  by  four  feet  square  at  the  base. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

30™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

(First  Reserves) 

BY  CORPORAL  W.  D.   STAUFFER 

THE  regiment  l)roke  camp  at  Fairfax  Station.  Virginia,  on  the  Orange 
and  Alexandria  railroad,  on  June  25,  18(53,  in  the  early  gray  of  the 
morning,  and  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  Frederick  City,  JSIaryland, 
where  we  remained  a  short  time  with  the  main  body  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  On  June  "JHth  we  marched  for  Gettysburg,  going  through  Hanover, 
York  county.  Pa.  About  live  miles  from  Gettysburg  we  struck  the  Baltimore 
pike  and  marched  direct  for  the  battle-iield,  arriving  about  11  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon  of  July  2d,  when  we  were  halted  near  General  Meade's  headquarters, 
stacked  arms  and  were  told  to  cook  our  coffee  which  we  had  not  tasted  for 
several  days.  In  a  very  short  time  the  bugle  called  us  to  fall  in,  when  we  were 
moved  off  to  the  left  at  a  double-quick  and  took  our  position  at  the  foot  of 
Little  Round  Top,  where  we  lay  on  our  arms,  bayonets  fixed.  About  3  p.  m. 
the  order  to  charge  was  given,  when  the  First  Regiment  gave  the  enemy  (who 
were  following  our  retreating  forces)  one  volley,  and  then  at  them  ^\■ith  the  cold 
steel  and  drove  them  through  the  ravine  up  tin;  side  of  the  hill  over  thestone  wall 
out  into  the  wheat  held,  killing  and  capturing  many  of  the  enemy.  We  re- 
mained at  the  otone  wall  all  night.  The  next  day  (July  3d)  the  regiment  was  in 
the  grand  charge  and  flank  movement  by  which  many  of  the  enemy  were  cap- 
tured, and  also  a  flag.  They  were  driven  off  the  field,  a  burial  party  was  taken 
by  surprise  and  a  number  w  ere  captured.  They  left  in  great  haste  leaving  many  of 
their  dead  all  reiuly  for  burial,  which  duty  our  meu  completed  for  them,  for 
which  those  who  were  present  as  prisoners  were  very  thankful.     A  member  of 


PHOTO.     B.     W.    H.    TIPTON,    GtTTYSI 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  209 

Company  E  of  this  legirapiit  was  killed  this  day  in  the  very  front  lino,  and 
about  the  hist  shot  lired  at  the  regiment  in  the  Gettysburg  battle.  We  liad  one 
company  in  the  regiment  from  Gettysburg,  Company  K,  and  many  of  the  men 
fought  within  sight  of  their  own  firesides.  On  July  4th,  in  the  morning,  we 
marched  over  Little  Round  Top  and  stacked  arms  about  where  the  railroad 
station  now  is,  at  the  foot  of  the  liill,  where  we  lay  all  day  and  General  Meade's 
order  congratulating  the  army  on  the  victory  was  read  to  us.  It  rained  a  great 
deal  that  day  and  night.  On  the  morning  of  July  5th  the  regiment  took  up  the 
march  for  Lee's  retreating  column,  marching  on  the  Taneytown  road  some  dis- 
tance when  we  left  the  main  road,  following  the  enemy  very  closely  with  con- 
siderable skirmishing  and  capturing  a  number  of  officers  and  men.  A  short 
distance  from  Falling  Waters  on  the  Potomac  they  made  a  stand  but  soon  left. 
This  was  about  July  12th  as  near  as  I  can  remember,  Avhen  the  regiment  was 
marched  by  the  double-quick  to  Williamsport,  where  we  were  assigned  to  our 
position  on  the  left  in  the  main  line  of  battle.  Expecting  to  make  the  attack 
at  any  moment,  we  lay  on  our  arms  waiting  for  orders,  when,  on  the  morning 
of  the  14th,  the  report  came  that  the  enemy  had  disappeared,  Lee  had  succeeded 
in  crossing  the  Potomac  with  his  army  intact,  which  surprised  us  very  much. 
The  regiment  took  up  the  line  of  march,  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Berlin,  follow- 
ing Lee's  retreating  forces  down  through  Virginia. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

31^^  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

(Second  Reserves) 

BY  MAJOR  E.  M.  WOODWARD 

COMRADES  :— On  the  5th  of  February,  1863,  while  we  lay  at  White  Oak 
Church,  a  telegram  was  received  from  General  Doubleday,  commanding 
our  division,  stating  ''that   in  consideration  of  the  arduous  services 

of  the  Reserves,"  the}'  were  to  be  withdrawn  to  Washington,  "to  rest 
and  recruit,"  Leaving  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  General  Hooker  command- 
ing, they  proceeded,  via  Belle  Plain,  to  Alexandria,  where  the  First  Brigade, 
under  Colonel  AVilliam  McCandless,  of  the  Second  Regiment,  marched  to  Fair- 
fa.x  Court  House  to  watch  Colonel  Mosby  and  his  guerrillas.  Being  accus- 
tomed to  the  freedom  of  soldiers  in  the  proximity  of  the  enemy,  and  being 
more  annoyed  than  interested  by  the  guerrillas,  the  constant  drilling,  restraint 
of  camp  and  absence  of  excitement  created  dissatisfaction,  and  they  longed  to 
return  to  active  service. 

On  the  15th  of  June  General  Hooker  and  staff  passed  our  encampment,  pre- 
ceded and  followed  by  the  Army  of  the  I'otomac,  To  see  our  comrades  mov- 
ing to  meet  the  enemy  who  we  knew  were  heading  for  Pennsylvania,  threaten- 
ing our  homes  and  loved  ones,  and  for  us  to  remain  behind  was  mortifying,  and 
although  we  had  sent  officers  to  AVashington  to  intercede  for  marching  orders, 
Ave  met  with  no  encouragement.  We  therefore  prepared  and  forwarded  the 
following  petition  which  was  .signed  by  all  the  officers  of  our  regiment  present . 

14 


210  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

"  Headquaktehs  Second  Regiment  Infantry.  P.  R.  V.  Corps, 
"  Fairfax  Station,  Va.,  fune,  \'th,  1863. 
"To  Colonel  William  McCandlbss. CommandinQ  First  Biigade,  Penn8ylva7iia Reserve 

Volunteer  Corps: 
"  Colonel  :  Wc,  the  undersigned,  officers  of  the  Second  Regiment  Infantry  Pennsyl- 
%-ania  Reserve  Volunteer  Corps,  having-  learned  that  our  motlier  State  has  been  invaded 
by  a  Confederate  force,  respectfullj-  ask,  tiiat  you  will,  if  it  be  in  your  power,  have  us 
ordered  withiu  the  border  of  our  State  for  her  defense. 

"Under  McCall.  Reynolds.  Meade,  Seymour,  Sinclair  and  yourself,  we  have  more 
than  once  met  and  fought  the  enemy  when  he  was  at  home.  We  now  wish  to  meet 
him  again  where  he  threatens  our  homes,  our  families  and  our  firesides. 

"  Could  our  wish  in  this  behalf  be  realized,  we  feel  confident  that  we  could  do  some 
service  to  the  State  that  sent  us  to  the  field,  aud  not  diminish,  if  we  could  not  increase, 
the  lustre  that  already  attaches  to  our  name. 

•*  W^e  are.  Colonel  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servants." 
***********  **** 

Our  petition  having  been  acceded  to,  on  the  •25tli  orders  were  received  to 
move  immediately,  and  at  .5  o'clock  that  afternoon  the  Second,  commanded  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  George  A.Woodwai'd,  left  the  station  and  marched  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  through  Fairfax  Court  House  and  Vienna,  near  which  we 
bivouacked  at  11  o'clock  that  night.  .Tust  as  we  started  it  commenced  driz- 
zling and  continued  so  to  do  all  night.  The  next  morning  at  4  o'clock  we 
resumed  our  march,  continuing  in  the  same  general  direction,  passing  between 
Dranesville,  our  first  l)attle-field  and  the  first  victory  of  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac, and  Lee.sburg,  making  Goose  Creek  that  night.  Up  to  four  o'clock  it 
was  very  warm,  and  we  were  enveloped  in  clouds  of  dust,  but  a  grateful, 
though  violent  rain  set  in,  which  was  most  refreshing  to  the  wearied  boys.  As 
we  were  making  forced  marches  quite  a  number  fell  out,  and  did  not  get  up  to 
us  until  daylight  the  next  morning.  The  Third  Brigade,  Colonel  J  W.  Fisher 
of  the  Fifth  Regiment  commanding,  joined  us  in  the  morning  from  Alexandria  : 
the  Second  Brigade,  Colonel  H.  G.  Sickel  of  the  Third  Regiment  commanding, 
being  retained  for  the  defense  of  Washington  aud  to  join  General  George  Crook 
in  his  West  Virginia  campaign.  Colonel,  afterwards  Brevet  Major-General 
Sickel,  had  commanded  the  division  of  Reserves  from  General  Meade's  assign- 
ment to  the  command  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps,  with  a  short  exception,  until 
now,  when  Brigadier-General  S.  W.  Crawford,  U.  S.  -\rmy,  succeeded  him. 

The  next  morning  at  daylight  we  resumed  our  march,  passing  near  a  portion 
of  the  field  of  ''  Ball's  Bluflf, "'  where  Colonel  Baker  so  gloriously  fell,  and 
crossed  the  Potomac  at  Edwards'  Ferry  on  pontoons.  That  night  we  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy  in  spite  of  the  heavy  roads.  On  the  28th,  at  day- 
light, we  niovcil  ofl",  and  crossing  the  aqueduct  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  ca- 
nal over  tlie  Monocacy,  passed  through  Buckeystown  and  bivouacked  about  two 
miles  from  Frederick  City.  Here  we  came  up  with  the  main  armj',  and  re- 
ported to  General  Sykes,  commanding  the  Fifth  Army  Corps,  to  which  we  were 
assigned.  This  corps  until  then  had  been  commanded  by  General  Meade,  w^ho 
had  made  application  to  have  us  .sent  to  him,  but  the  day  of  our  arrival  Gen- 
eral Hooker  was  relieved  of  the  command  oftlie  Army  ol'tlie  Potomac  and  Meade 
assigned  to  it. 

We  started  tlie  next  day  at  noon,  and,  moving  a  few  miles,  halted  in  a  hme 
nearly  all  tlie  afternoon,  and  at  7  o'clock  crossetl  the  Jlonocacj'  Bridge  on  tlie  Bal- 
timore iiike  and  turned  up  the  liank  of  the  stream,  heading  north.  Soon  after 
we  waded  the  river  and  struck  across  the  fields  and  about  10  o'clock  bivou- 
acked in  a  wood,  having  made  a  tiresome  day's  march  of  but  ten  miles.  This 
slow  marching  was  occasioned  by  our  being  in  the  rearguard  of  the  Reserve  Ar- 
tillery, which  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  Ibrty-eight  guns,  supplied  with  two 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  211 

hnndred  aud  fifty  rounds  of  ammunition  each,  making  in  all  sixty-two  thou- 
sand rounds.  Uetbre  night  tliat  day  tlie  enemy's  cavalry  entered  Frederick. 
That  night  heavy  details  were  made  iVom  our  regiment  for  a  wagon  guard. 

The  next  morning  we  marched  early,  passing  through  Lil)ert3',  Union  Bridge, 
and  Uniontown,  where  a  pontoon  train  that  accompanied  us  created  much  won- 
derment among  the  rustics,  who  did  not  believe  Ave  could  do  much  with  our 
"gun-boats"  up  in  the  mountains.  We  marched  twenty  miles  and  bivouacked 
near  dark  two  miles  beyond  Uniontown  aud  were  mustered  for  pay. 

The  next  morning,  July  1st,  we  moved  at  5  o'clock  and  learning  the  ene- 
my's scouts  had  been  in  the  neighborliood  the  day  before,  each  regiment  thr(Mv 
out  flankers  to  the  right  and  left,  in  which  way  we  advanced  until  the  nature 
of  the  country  became  such  that  cavalry  could  not  oi)erate  against  us.  About 
2  o'clock  we  halted  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
line  and  rested  ourselves.  That  day  was  one  of  the  happiest  of  our  lives,  and 
every  heart  beat  Avarm  with  the  thought  we  would  soon  press  the  .soil  of  our 
Mother  State  to  whose  defense  we  were  marching.  The  bands  and  regimental 
drum  corps  poured  forth  their  soul-inspiring  airs  from  morning  until  night, 
and  light  was  the  tread  of  our  feet  to  their  notes.  About  3  o'clock  we  were 
drawn  up  to  hear  a  patriotic  address  from  General  Crawford,  after  which  we 
marched  on,  and  as  we  cro.ssed  the  line  cheer  after  cheer  rang  out  from  the  regi- 
ments, which  rolled  over  the  hills  and  through  the  valleys  until  lost  m  the  far 
distance.  We  soon  came  to  a  fine  open  woods  where  Ave  halted  until  night,  roll- 
ing on  the  good  old  soil  of  Pennsylvania  and  listening  to  the  sweet  airs  of  the 
bands.  Abundance  of  rAtions  aud  sixty  rounds  of  cartridges  per  man  Avere  dis- 
tributed, the  former  for  ourselves  and  the  latter  for  our  friends  the  "Johnnies." 

While  lying  here,  through  the  branches  above  us,  amidst  the  bright  sunshine, 
a  large  star  was  discovered  shining  over  us  with  all  the  brilliancy  of  a  heavenly 
A'isitant,  Avhich  was  gazed  upon  Avith  great  interest  and  receiA-ed  as  an  omen  of 
victory. 

While  here  all  ourAvagons  Avere  sent  to  Westminster,  Maryland,  tA^euty- 
five  miles  from  the  battle-field,  and  the  ammunition  Avagons  and  ambulances 
Avere  pushed  forward.  At  dark  Ave  again  took  up  our  march,  and  a  long  Aveary 
one  it  proA'ed.  We  did  not  rest  until  tAvo  the  next  morning,  when  Ave  laid  down 
in  an  open  woods,  having  made  twenty  miles  and  being  aAvake  twenty-two 
hours.  But  in  an  hour's  time  the  drums  beat  the  reveille,  and  soon  we  were 
again  in  motion,  moving  sloAvly  aud  cautiously  along  the  roads  and  across  the 
fields,  and  about  noon  struck  the  Baltimore  pike,  and,  coming  to  Rock  creek, 
filed  to  the  left  and  laid  doAvu  in  rear  of  the  line  of  battle. 

The  tumult  of  battle  Avas  raging  on  our  left  front,  but  Ave  lay  at  rest  until 
about  4  o'clock  Avhen  we  moved  toAvards  the  sound  of  battle  where  our 
brigade  took  position  on  the  Avestern  slope  of  Little  Round  Top  overlooking  the 
Sickles  field.  They  remained  here  but  a  few  moments,  our  front  being  covered 
with  fugitives  from  the  field  folloAved  by  the  victorious  foe.  All  seemed  lost, 
the  right  of  our  brigade  opened  fire  almost  in  the  tiice  of  the  enemy.  At  the 
same  time  the  Bucktails  and  our  regiment  on  the  extreme  left  attempted  to 
change  front  as  we  moved  from  the  second  line  to  the  brigade  front,  Avhen  the 
enemy  broke  in  upon  us.  For  a  few  moments  a  desperate  struggle  ensued,  but 
few  shots  were  fired  on  either  side,  the  bayonet  and  butt  of  musket  doing  the 
AA'ork.  The  balance  of  our  brigade  (-harged,  Avhen  we,  with  a  yell,  pushed 
our  opponents  doAvn  the  top  aud  started  them  ovei-  the  meadoAv.     At  the  stone 


212  Pennsylvania  at  Geffyshury. 

wall  they  rallu'tl.  and  licie  again  they  showed  that  desperate  courage  that  ani- 
mated them  npon  every  tield.  But  it  was  on  Pennsylvania  soil  we  were  tight - 
in".  On  went  the  flag,  three  standard  bearers  were  shot  down,  but  up  and  on  to 
victory  it  Avent.     The  wall  was  ours  and  the  foe  driven  over  the  wheat  field. 

Plum  run  in  our  rear  was  lined  on  the  west  side  by  Sickles'  wounded  who 
could  not  cross,  and  on  the  east  side  by  the  Confederates  who  had  strength  to 
reach  it  from  Little  Round  Top,  while  the  bed  of  the  run  Avas  choked  with  the 
dead  and  dying  who  attempted  to  cross.  From  it  only  could  our  boys  obtain 
water  to  ([uench  the  sudden  and  burning  thirst  that  follows  the  excitement  of 
})attle. 

Until  late  at  night  we  were  engaged  in  caring  for  the  wouuded  who  thickly 
strewed  the  field  in  our  front  and  rear,  and  then  we  sank  to  sleep  in  line  of 
battle  with  muskets  in  our  hands.  For  a  little  while,  perhaps  an  hour,  not  a 
sound  could  be  heard,  even  the  wounded  forgetting  their  pain  in  slumber.  The 
bri<^ht  stars  twinkled  in  the  heavens  and  the  moon  shone  down  in  mild  rays. 
Peace  now  rested  over  the  field  where  the  rage  of  demons  and  of  hell  had  reigned 
supreme  a  few  hours  before.  But  the  loved  angel  of  peace  was  soon  to 
vanish,  the  demon  spirit  only  slept,  and  with  the  dawn's  light  was  to  burst 
forth  Avith  all  its  fury.  The  restless  foe  at  Devil's  Den  soon  commenced  stirring 
and  the  half-suppressed  groans  of  the  wounded  gradually  increased  as  they 
aAvoke  to  consciousness  and  the  uuAvelcome  dawn  appeared. 

At  daybreak  the  enemy's  skirmishers  opened  with  spirit,  the  noise  of 
musketry  almost  resembling  battle.  Our  pickets  were  promptly  reinforced  by 
volunteers  but  soon  the  fire  slackened  and  settled  down  to  common-place  picket 
fi'diting,  affording  the  boys  excellent  opportunities  tor  the  display  of  address 
in  maua'vring  for  good  shots  Avhich  at  times  created  considerable  amusement. 

About  11  o'clock  everything  quieted  doAvn  and  for  two  hours  no  noise 
was  heard  upon  the  field.  Suddenly  a  signal  gun  of  the  enemy  opened  the 
•^rand  cannouade  of  over  two  hundred  guns  that  hurled  their  bursting  missiles 
through  the  air  and  enveloped  the  lines  of  battle  for  tAvo  miles  in  flame  and 
smoke.  As  suddenly  all  was  hushed  and  then  Pickett's  eighteen  thousand 
men  advanced  to  the  charge.  Again  our  guns  opened  upon  them  sweeping 
destruction  through  their  ranks,  yet  they  faltered  not  until  with  bayonet  they 
met  the  fire  of  our  infantry,  when  crushed,  torn  and  bleeding,  their  scattered 
fragments  fled  from  the  field. 

As  Ave  lay  far  in  advance  ol  our  line  of  battle  Ave  had  a  full  view  of  this 
magnificent  and  thrilling  sight.  The  boys  became  restive  and  it  was  im- 
possible for  the  olflcers  to  prevent  some  of  them  from  slipping  oft^  and  firing 
upon  the  column  as  it  advanced  and  retreated.  Corporal  (rcorgc  Stewart  of 
E,  here  lost  his  life  and  John  Seadinger  of  H,  Avas  Avounded. 

It  Avas  then,  after  Pickett's  charge— one  of  the  grandest  of  earth— that  Gen- 
eral CraAvford  determined  to  raid  the  enemy's  lines  in  our  front  and  left,  and 
our  regiment  Avith  the  brigade  leaped  the  wall  and  McCandless  SAvept  over  the 
wheat-lield,  crushed  into  the  enemy's  line  and  after  a  short  fight  stampeded 
McLaws'  Division  toAvards  the  Peach  Orchard.  Benning's  Brigade  of  McLaAVs' 
Division  on  our  left,  being  cut  off  from  the  main  army,  fought  stubbornly,  but 
after  losing  many  in  killed  and  Avounded  and  over  tAvo  hundred  prisoners  and 
the  flag  of  the  Fifteenth  Georgia  Infantry  fled,  pursued  by  us  for  over  half  a 
mile  to  near  Slyder's  house.  Avhere  Ave  came  near  running  into  Hood's  Brigade, 
Avhich  piked  oflou  the  double-(iuick. 


Pennsi/lvania  at  Grffi/.shK)'(/.  213 

Night  was  now  f;xst  approaihiiig  and  McCandless  by  order  withdrew  the 
brigade  to  tlie  point  wliere  we  first  struck  the  enemy's  line  near  the  soiithei'n 
end  of  Rose's  woods.  ICere  we  buried  our  dead,  and  among  them  poor  Andy 
Ryan,  a  boy  who  had  amused  us  so  often  with  his  comic  songs.  About  2 
o'clock  on  the  "glorious  Fourth"  we  moved  over  the  wheat-field  to  the  north 
end,  and  crept  up  through  the  wood,  pushing  the  Johnnies  out,  neither  party 
caring  much  about  fighting,  in  fact  all  we  Avauted  was  the  position.  Here  we 
laid  until  daylight  when  picket  fighting  commenced.  A  few  shots  from  a. 
battery  on  our  left  came  ricochetting  over  the  field,  a  line  of  skirmishers  was 
sent  out  before  whom  the  enemy  retired,  and  the  spiritless  atiair  died  out,  the 
Reserves  winding  up  the  Imttle. 

The  Confederates  were  undou))tedly  victorious  over  .Sickles  on  the  left,  crush- 
ing out  and  driving  from  the  i\v\d  his  gallant  regiments  who.se  arms  were  un- 
tarnished by  their  defeat,  but  when  they  were  repulsed  in  their  charge  upon 
the  Round  Tops,  and  failed  to  hold  the  stone  wall,  and  when  their  lines  were 
raided  after  Pickett's  charge,  it  seems  that  the  Reserves  somewhat  tarnished 
"the  silver  lining  of  the  cloud  upon  the  left"  which  .some  of  their  authors  de- 
light in  lingering  upon. 

About  noon  we  were  relieved  by  a  brigade  of  regulars  and  moved  back  to  the 
stone  wall  where,  being  relieved  Vjy  other  troops,  we  crossed  the  meadow  to 
Little  Round  Top.  A  heavy  rain  set  in,  rations  were  distributed  and  we  rested 
in  peace  until  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  George  A.  Woodward  being  unable  to  accompany  us  on 
the  field  on  account  of  wounds  received  at  Glendale,  Major  P.  McDonough  led 
us  in  the  charges. 

Our  regiment  took  into  battle  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  officers  and  men 
of  which  ten  were  killed  and  thirty-nine  wounded,  forty-nine  in  all. 

At  five  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  .")th  we  moved  ofi"  in  a  .southwesterly 
direction  over  muddy  roads,  and  at  midnight  bivouacked  in  an  open  field,  and 
with  the  division  was  encircled  with  pickets.  The  next  morning  we  crossed 
the  State  line,  where  a  congratulatory  addre.ss  from  General  Meade  was  read 
and  we  bivouacked  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  and  night. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  7th  avc  moved  off,  passing  near  Emmitsburg  and  con- 
tinuing along  the  base  of  the  South  Mountains,  marching  on  the  fields  skirting 
the  pike  and  passing  thi'ough  Graceham  and  Creagerstown,  and  bivouacked  at 
dark  six  miles  from  Frederick,  having  marched  twenty-one  miles  over  heavy 
roads. 

On  the  8th,  at  six  o'clock,  we  marched,  heading  west,  aud  passing  over  fields 
soon  struck  the  Catoctin  Mountains,  up  the  rugged  sides  of  which  w'e  clambered 
through  a  heavy  rain  that  had  been  falling  all  night.  Arriving  at  the  summit 
we  commenced  the  descent  along  a  narrow  and  rough  road,  and  had  a  fine  view 
of  the  magnificent  valley  in  which  Middletown  is  situated,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  troops  were  laying.  Passing  through  the  town  which  was  filled  with 
moving  columns  of  troops  and  wagons,  we  turned  to  the  left  and  bivouacked  a 
mile  south  of  it.     During  the  night  rations  were  served  out  to  the  companies. 

The  next  morning  we  marched  at  .six  o'clock  and  cro.ssed  the  South  Moun- 
tains at  a  point  where  the  left  wing  of  our  army  had  gained  a  victory  on  tlie 
14th  of  September  and  Avhere  Reno  fell.  De.scending  the  western  slope  we 
bivouacked  about  two  miles  from  Keedysville,  within  sight  of  Antie'tam's 
glorious   field.     Through  the  day  we   heard  heavy  firing   in  the  direction  of 


214  Peu)hs)//cani(>  at  (TeitTjshurg. 

Williamspori.  A  lull  supply  of  shoes  uiul  stockings  was  distributed  ihrougli 
the  night. 

The  next  morning  we  commenced  our  march  at  six  o'clock  and  soon  after- 
wards heard  heavy  cannonading.  Pas.sing  near  Keedysville  and  LaRoy,  we 
struck  Antietam  creek  passing  h\  Delaraont  Mills,  where  the  enemy  had  been 
in  tlie  morning  and  sonui  of  their  officers  had  ordered  dinner  which  they  kindly 
left  for  us  to  eat.  Just  l)eyond  we  halted  and  threw  out  cavalry  and  infantry 
skirmishers  who  occasionally  exchanged  shots  with  the  enemy  for  several 
hours. 

On  the  morning  of  the  11th  we  moved  forward  cautiously  to  near  the  Sharps- 
burg  and  Hagerstown  turnpike  where  we  deployed  in  line  of  battle  and  rested 
until  four  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  time  the  division  moved  forward  in 
columns  of  companies  with  the  regiments  at  deploying  distance,  with  a  heavy 
body  of  skirmishers  in  front  and  pioneers  to  tear  down  the  fences.  Having  ad- 
Minced  about  two  miles  the  division  halted,  and  our  regiment  and  five  com- 
panies of  the  Fifth,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Woodward,  were  sent  out  on 
picket.  We  found  the  Second  Corps  pickets  engaged  with  the  enemy  on  the 
pike  for  the  possession  of  a  piece  of  woods,  and  being  in  reserve  to  them  did 
not  make  our  connection  with  their  line  until  after  dark  when  we  occupied  the 
inner  edge  of  the  woods  in  dispute.  The  Second  Corps  fell  back  and  changed 
their  line  twice  through  the  night,  and  we  had  to  alter  ours  to  correspond. 

The  next  morning,  Sundaj',  we  advanced  our  line,  occupying  the  woods  in 
dispute  without  much  opposition,  crossed  the  pike  and  posted  our  line  on  the 
elevated  ground  beyond,  sending  Companies  C,  Captain  Byrnes,  and  H,  Captain 
Mealey,  to  occupy  a  piece  of  heavy  timber  further  in  advance  and  in  close 
proximity  to  the  enemy's  picket-pits.  Soon  after  heavy  artillery  and  musket 
firing  was  heard  on  our  right,  and  about  four  o'clock  orders  were  received  to 
withdraw  our  line  about  half  a  mile  to  the  left.  Here  we  rejoined  the  division 
and  soon  afterwards  were  thrown  out  as  skirmishers  beyond  the  pike.  Some 
sharp  firing  took  place  but  without  much  result.  The  division  moved  back  to 
their  former  position  and  at  nine  o'clock  that  night  we  were  relieved  and  joined 
them.  At  a  house  behind  the  picket  line  we  found  our  friends,  the  Johnnies, 
had  again  ordered  for  us  a  fine  dinner  which  in  our  hunger  we  enjoyed  very 
much,  notwithstanding  a  ball  occasionally  whistled  through  the  Avindows  and 
one  l)roke  a  jiitcher  on  the  table. 

July  the  V.M\\  w^as  a  rainy  and  di.sagreeable  day  and  we  did  not  move  until 
nearly  three  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  marched  to  a  line  of  rifle-pits  that  the 
di  vision  had  thrown  up,  where  we  laid  all  night.  That  night  orders  were  received 
to  march  early  with  the  greatest  secrecy,  but  we  did  not  move  until  morning, 
when  it  was  discovered  the  enemy  had  evacuated  their  position  through  the  nighl . 
As  we  advanced  we  found  three  long  lines  of  formidable  rifle-pits  which  the 
enemy  had  abandoned  leaving  many  tools  behind.  They  also  found  a  number 
of  arms,  and  many  prisoners  were  brought  in.  In  this  movement  the  '"  Ihu:k- 
tails  "  were  posted  on  the  right  and  we  on  the  left  as  flankers,  and  at  ten  o'clock 
we  arrived  within  sight  of  Williamsport  on  the  upper  Potomac.  At  noon  we 
recommenced  our  march  and  proceeded  to  Falling  Waters,  where  we  arrived 
too  late  to  participate  in  the  brush  with  the  enemy.  Here  our  cavalry  under 
Kilpatrick  overtook  the  rear  guard  and  captured  two  guns,  several  flags  and  a 
number  of  prisoners  ;  Lee's  army  had  crossed  during  the  night. 

Tlic  pursuit  of  Lee's  army  was  not  yet  abandoned,  but  an  attempt  was  made 


PemiKylvmuu  (tf  Gettysburg.  215 

by  General  Meade  to  head  it  otl'tlirough  some  of  the  gaps  in  llie  nionntaiiis  to 
the  east  of  the  Shenandoah  valley,  up  which  Lee  was  marching.  The  next 
morning,  the  lilth,  at  four  o'elock,  we  commenced  our  march,  nearly  retracing 
our  steps,  passing  near  Delamout  and  down  the  Hagerstown  pike  totheKecdys- 
ville  road,  and  halted  to  make  coflee  about  noon  on  the  site  of  the  "  Smoketowu 
hospital. "  Near  by  was  the  burial  ground  of  the  Union  dead  of  Antietam,  with 
a  handsome  wooden  monument  erected  in  tlie  center  by  the  convalescents. 
We  easily  recognized  the  point  from  which  we  turned  into  the  fields  to  open 
the  battle  of  Antietam  on  the  afternoon  of  September  10,  1862.  Moving  on  we 
crossed  the  Antietam,  passed  through  Keedysville  and  over  South  Mountain  by 
the  .same  road  we  came,  and  encamped  near  its  eastern  base.  The  day  was 
verj^  warm  and  the  march  was  over  a  rough  and  hilly  country,  in  many  places 
the  roads  very  muddy,  and  the  distance  made  being  twenty-three  miles,  the 
men  were  much  fatigued. 

We  moved  the  next  morning  about  five,  skirting  along  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tains through  Burkittsville  and  Petersville  and  halting  about  two  miles  from 
Berlin,  encamped  in  a  fine  wood  about  eleven  o'clock.  The  next  day  our  wagons 
came  up  and  the  oflicers  got  a  change  of  clothing,  the  first  they  had  since 
leaving  Fairfiix  Station. 

It  rained  hard  all  night  and  through  the  day  of  the  17th  until  lour  in  the 
afternoon  when  we  moved  off  and  crossed  the  I'otomac  on  a  pontoon  bridge  at 
Berlin,  and  trod  once  more  the  soil  of  Virginia.  Moving  on  to  Lovettsville, 
three  miles  beyond,  we  bivouacked  near  it,  being  the  first  infantry  that  crossed. 

The  next  day,  the  18th,  our  regiment  was  detailed  as  corps  wagon-train  guard 
and  reached  Wheatland  at  three  p.  m.  On  the  19th  we  marched  at  six  in  the 
morning,  and  pa.ssing  through  Purcellville  bivouacked  in  a  woods  at  ten  o'clock. 
We  passed  a  number  of  prisoners  belonging  to  White's  Cavahy.  Our  move- 
ments now  were  rather  cautious,  as  we  had  a  large  train  and  the  enemy's  cav- 
alry -were  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  next  morning  we  sounded  reveille  at  two  o'clock,  and  moved  almost  over 
the  same  ground  we  did  last  year  under  McClellan,  passing  bj^  Philomont  and 
our  old  camps  near  Uniontown,  and  encamped  about  noon  on  Goose  creek. 
Our  route  laid  through  a  finely-watered  and  picturesque  country  with  fine 
farms  and  houses,  but  all  the  fences  were  gone  and  roads  blotted  out. 

The  21st  was  spent  in  camp,  the  boys  occupying  their  time  in  writing  home, 
bathing  and  wa.shing  clothes.  In  a  stone  wall  in  the  meadow  in  front  of  us, 
some  copperhead  snakes  were  discovered  and  soon  nearly  half  of  the  division 
was  at  work  with  clubs  hunting  them,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  the  wall 
Avas  leveled  with  the  ground. 

At  two  o'clock  the  next  afternoon  we  marched  oft'  over  the  fields  and  along 
by-roads  to  Rectortown  and  encamped  near  the  Manassas  Gap  railroad  in  a 
heavy  woods.  On  the  23d  we  formed  a  field  hospital,  and  left  our  wounded 
and  sick  in  charge  of  surgeons  and  guard,  with  provisions  and  medicines. 
Among  those  left  was  Sergeant-Major  Hiram  C.  Hostetter,  who  died  and  was 
buried  there.     He  was  a  good  soldier  and  exemplary  young  man. 

The  next  day  we  marched  early,  keeping  along  the  general  course  of  the  rail- 
road, passing  through  Markham,  Petersville  and  Linden.  About  three  o'clock 
we  reached  the  eastern  base  of  the  Gap,  and  soon  skirmishing  commenced  on 
Wapping  Heights,  which  lasted  until  near  dark,  when  the  enemy  were  driven 
from  the  Gap.     Soon  after  we  moved  on  past  Wapping.  which  consisted  of  a  de- 


216  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysbimj. 

I'uiK't  tavcin,  an  empty  store  and  soveral  shanties,  and  encani]>ed  about  a  half 
mile  beyond.     That  day  we  marched  twenty-live  miles. 

Being  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy  no  "calls"  were  sounded.  The  next 
morning  wo  marched  up  the  railroad  and  moving  to  the  right,  formed  in  col- 
umns of  division  and  moved  in  by  the  right  flank  and  advanced  up  the  side  of 
a  steep  mountain  covered  with  a  thick  growth  of  timber  and  underbrush.  So 
steep  was  it  that  the  field  officers  were  forced  to  dismount.  Having  reached  its 
base  on  the  opposite  side,  the  ascent  of  a  still  steeper  and  higher  mountain  was 
commenced,  which  re(|uired  great  exertion  to  accomplish,  and  by  the  time  the 
command  had  crossed  the  men  were  completely  fagged  out.  The  day  was  ex- 
cessively hot,  several  men  were  overcome  by  the  heat,  one  broke  his  neck  and 
another  was  accidentally  shot  through  the  head.  A  small  force  of  the  enemy 
could  have  held  the  mountains  against  us  as  the.y  would  have  had  every  advan- 
tage. A  line  of  skirmishers  properly  supported  would  have  been  more  effective. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  western  base,  the  men  were  collected  and  reformed  in  a 
little  valley,  and  after  an  hour's  rest  were  marched  back  and  encamped,  where 
fresh  beef  was  served  out. 

On  the  "ioth,  we  sounded  reveille  at  three  o'clock  and  retracing  our  steps  lor 
some  miles  turned  to  the  right  following  along  the  foot  hills  of  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains, and  haltingabuut  three  in  the  afternoon,  bivouacked.  The  next  morning 
at  five  o'clock  we  marched  off  in  good  spirits,  passing  a  large  number  of  prison- 
ers near  Orleans  whomi  the  boys  hailed  in  friendly  terms.  At  noon  we  halted 
in  a  clover  field  about  two  miles  from  Warrenton,  having  made  thirteen  miles 
with  but  one  halt  of  fifteen  minutes. 

We  had  been  short  of  provisions  for  several  days,  and  while  we  laid  here  Gen- 
eral Crawford  Avas  saluted  by  his  hungry  boys  with  the  cry  of  '"crackers"  as 
he  passed  by.  This  annoyed  him  and  he  rode  over  to  General  Meade  and  de- 
manded rations.  "Why  my  dear  General, "  he  replied,  "  you  should  not  let 
that  annoy  you.  One  night  at  White  Plains,  where  I  marched  the  boys  a  couple 
of  miles  out  of  road,  they  actually  called  me  a  '  four-eyed  old  devil,'  but  ui>ou 
my  soul  I  could  not  get  mad  at  them." 

Towards  dark  we  got  into  motion  and  marched  six  miles,  passing  to  the  west 
of  Warrenton  we  bivouacked  in  a  low  open  field,  where  we  were  annoyed  for  the 
first  time  dui-ing  the  war  by  mo.squitoes.  The  next  morning  we  sounded  no 
reveille,  but  woke  the  men  up  (!arly  and  marched  towards  Fayetteville,  near 
Avhich  we  halted  at  eight  in  the  morning  for  the  day  and  night.  On  the  38th 
Ave  moved  about  two  miles  to  a  new  position  where  we  laid  until  August  1st 
sjiending  one  day  on  picket.  While  here  First-Lieutenant  .John  Taylor,  com- 
manding Companj^  K,  Avas  appointed  an  aide-de-camp  on  Colonel  McCandless" 
staff.  Considerable  cannonading  was  heard  towaids  Warrenton  Springs,  our 
cavalry  skirmishing  with  the  enemy. 

From  there  Ave  moved  to  Kai)i)alianiiock  Station  where  we  lormed  a  regular 
encampment,  and  the  (iettA'sburg  campaign  closed. 

For  ten  days  jirior  to  this,  we  had  been  almost  every  night  upon  tlie  inaicli 
not  getting  iar  from  our  original  starting  point.  The  clink  of  tin  (;ups  on  the 
bayonets  and  the  rumbling  of  artillery  and  wagons  Avas  ccmtinually  heard.  At 
every  stojjping  place  orders  Avere  issued  to  lay  out  our  camps  regularly,  dig- 
sinks  and  build  bough  arbors  over  our  tents.  Orders  Avere  i.ssucd  that  the  army 
AA'ould  be,  sui)])lied  with  knapsacks  in  Avhicli  \\<'  were  expected  to  carry  a  large 
number  ot'  light  rations  and   extra  t.-miikN  ni'  minnnnition.      Troops  were  con- 


'VOTO.  OY  W.  M.  'IP'-ON.  GETTV5BUR0. 


PRINT  :  THE  F.  GUTEKUN3T  CO.,  PHILA. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  217 

tinually  arriving  from  a  short  distance  up  tlie  railroad.  Tliese  movements  im- 
pressed the  enemy  with  the  idea  we  were  being  heavily  reinforced  and  intended 
moving  towards  Richmond,  when  in  fact  large  numbers  of  troops  were  being 
secretly  sent  to  certain  points  in  the  Northern  States. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

35™   REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

(Si.vTii  Reservks) 
September  2,  1890 

ADDRESS  OF  HALSEY  LATHROP 

(COMRADES  of  the  Sixth  Pennsylvania  Reserves: — We  have  a.ssembled  on 
this  historic  battle-field  to  dedicate  this  monument,  erected  by  a  grate- 
j  ful  Commonwealth,  in  commemoration  of  your  services  as  defenders  of 
your  country,  generally,  but  especially  your  services  on  the  battle-field 
of  Gettysburg. 

There  are  two  matters  of  regret  connected  with  the.se  dedicatory  services. 
Finst,  that  one  better  qualified  has  not  been  chosen  as  orator,  and  the  second, 
that  more  of  the  survivors  of  the  old  regiment  are  not  here  to  participate  in  these 
services. 

I  am  no  orator ;  I  am  but  a  plain,  blunt  man.  I  can  onlj'  speak  right  on.  to 
tell  you  those  things  that  you  yourselves  know — point  to  the  record  you  have 
made,  and  let  it  speak  for  me. 

In  considering  what  might  be  appropriate  to  say  on  this  occasion,  my  mind 
went  back  to  the  27th  day  of  July,  1861,  when  the  one  thousand  men  and  boys 
(for  many  of  us  were  mere  boys)  stood  up  and  subscribed  to  that  oath  which 
transformed  them  from  State  militia  to  volunteer  soldiers  of  the  United  States 
army.  The  memories  of  the  three  years'  campaign  of  that  regiment  came  up, 
and  in  my  mind  I  followed  them,  first,  to  Tennallytown  where  we  built  that 
magnificent  fort  and  named  it  after  our  own  State.  It  stands  to-day  a  monument 
of  your  industry  and  skill.  Then,  just  as  we  were  congratulating  ourselves  on 
its  completion,  and  contemplating  the  ease  with  which  we  could  repel  any  force 
that  might  come  against  us,  we  were  moved  acro.ss  the  Potomac,  where,  at 
Langley's  X  Roads  we  established  Camp  Peirpoint,  where  we  entered  upon  that 
system  of  drilling  which  would  fit  us  for  the  arduous  duties  that  awaited  us. 
and  from  which  we  sallied  forth  on  the  various  foraging  expeditions,  one  of 
which  occurred  December  20,  1861.  and  resulted  in  the  battle  of  Dranesville, 
where  you,  with  the  other  regiments  of  the  brigade,  achieved  the  first  victory 
for  any  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Comrades,  I  will  not  take  the  time  to  particularize,  as  I  mention  your  various 
movements — your  minds  will  readily  fill  in  the  details.  The  memories  of  the 
knapsack  and  other  drills  you  underwent,  and  especially  of  the  battle  of  Dranes- 
■^dlle,  where  you  received  your  baptism  of  fire,  no  doubt  clings  to  you  with 
greater  tenacity  than  even  the  mud  of  Peirpoint.  You  could  not  forget  if  you 
would,  and  I  venture  to  say,  would  not  if  you  could,  the  breaking  up  of  Ciimp 
Peirpoint,  March  10,  1862,  and  j'our  march  to  Hunter's  Mills  and  return  to 
camp,  near   Alexandria,  better  known  as  Smoky  Hollow ;  then   your  advance 


218  Pennsylvania  at  Get(//shunj. 

txjwanls  Miinassas,  aud  how  easily  you  took  that  stronghold  of  the  enemy  :  then, 
after  a  lew  days,  your  march  down  the  railroad  to  Catlett's  Station.  Oh,  how 
hot  it  wiLs!  and  how  we  did  unload  those  terrible  knapsacks. 

A  few  days  later  found  us  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Eappahannock.  at 
Falmouth,  where  we  vied  with  each  other  in  fixing  up  the  picturesque  quarters 
•which  we  occupied  during  most  of  the  month  of  May. 

On  June  10,  just  three  months  after  we  l)roke  camp  at  Peirpoint,  we  boarded 
transports  for  a  voyage  down  the  Rappahannock,  up  the  York  and  Pamunkey 
rivers  to  White  House  Landing,  where  our  regiment  was  left  to  guard  the  base 
of  supplies  for  McClellan's  army,  which  was  engaged  in  the  Peninsular  cam- 
paign, which  ended  with  the  seven  days'  fight.  About  this  time  an  eagle  flew 
into  a  battery  of  Ignited  States  artillery  and  lit  on  the  shoulders  of  Lieutenant 
William  Sinclair,  and  then  it  was  Colonel  Sinclair,  of  the  Sixth  Pennsylvania 
Reserves,  who.  with  his  family,  we  are  glad  to  see  with  us  to-day. 

You,  no  doubt,  remember  the  beef  you  confiscated  while  there,  the  fort  you 
built  and  what  you  named  it,  aud  how  rapidly  you  evacuated  your  position  at 
Tunstall's  Station  and  marched  to  White  House  Landing,  where  we  again  took 
transports  for  an  excursion  down  the  Pamunkey  aud  York  rivers,  and  where  we 
met  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  returning  from  its  unsuccessful  attempt  to  take 
Richmond,  who,  when  they  knew  that  the  Sixth  Pennsylvania  had  arrived  they 
"thanked  God  and  took  courage."  Perhaps  some  of  yon  have  forgotten  the 
chickens,  pigs,  etc.,  captured  when  you  would  go  on  picket,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river  ;  but  you  .should  not  be  too  severely  censured,  for  the  beef  we  drew 
was  so  tainted  with  garlic  that  we  could  not  eat  it.  Mush  and  milk  was  not 
very  plenty,  and  even  if  we  got  the  latter,  behold  the  garlic  was  there  too. 

After  laying  there  a  little  over  a  month,  we  descended  the  James,  crossed  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  ascended  the  Potomac,  landed  at  Aquia  Creek  Landing  and 
took  up  our  march  for  Fredericksburg,  encamping  near  the  spot  where  we  had 
broken  camp  about  three  months  before.  But  we  did  not  long  remain  inactive. 
The  situation  of  affairs  demanded  action.  The  rebel  army  was  marching  north- 
ward, .so  the  campaign  commenced  which  resulted  in  what  is  sometimes  called 
the  disaster  of  second  Bull  Run. 

I  need  not  stop  to  discuss  this  battle  or  its  results,  enough  to  know  that  the 
Sixth  Pennsylvania  Reserves  faithfully  aud  gallantly  discharged  every  duty 
that  Avas  imposed  upon  them,  and  if  you  did  not  come  off  from  that  ill-fated 
field  with  flying  colors  it  was  because  the  flag-staff"  had  been  broken  by  a  mis- 
sile from  tlie  enemy  ;  but  "  our  flag  was  still  there." 

A  few  days  later  found  you  at  Arlington  Heights,  Avith  terribly  diminished 
ranks,  but  full  of  hope  and  determination  for  the  future.  The  rebels,  flushed 
with  victory,  still  iiursued  their  northward  way.  Now  came  the  march  through 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  passing  through  a  country  that  had  not  been  devastated 
by  the  ruthless  hand  of  war.  We  found  rails  were  plenty,  chickens  did  not 
roost  .so  high  as  in  Virginia,  peaches,  apples  and  other  fruit  were  in  a  most  de- 
sirable conditijon  as  to  quality  and  quantity.  Of  course  orders  against  foraging 
were  very  strict,  and  of  course  you  strictly  obeyed  those  orders  (?).  You  no 
doubt  remember  the  orders,  to  ouly  take  the  top  rail  of  the  lence.  This  order 
you  strictly  complied  with,  though  it  often  happened  that  so  many  had  preceded 
you  at  the  fence  that  the  bottom  rail  was  the  top  one. 

Sunday  morning,  September  14,  1862,  found  you  encamped  on  the  banks  of 
the  MoDOcacv,  near  Frederick  Citv,  Maryland,  with  orders  to  "move  forward." 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshirfj.  219 

You  had  taken  a  lelVeshing  l)ath  in  the  creek  the  niglit  before,  and  some  of  you 
even  went  so  far  as  to  put  on  a  clean  shirt.  But  1  will  venture  to  say  that  a 
whole  lot  more  of  you  failed  to  make  this  change,  because  of  a  lack  of  that  very 
desirable  article.  You  were  thinking  how  perfectly  lovely  it  would  be  to  at- 
tend church  in  Frederick  this  beautiful  Sabbath  day,  but,  alas!  you  were  under 
contract  for  the  magnificent  .sum  of  thirteen  (h)llars  a  month  to  obey  orders, 
though  you  perish  in  the  attempt.  The  orders  were,"  forward  march!"  and  that 
order  held  good  until  the  order  to  '"  halt!"'  was  given.  The  order  to  "  halt,"  was 
given  by  the  enemy's  guns  on  South  Mountain,  but,  not  recognizing  their  author- 
ity, you  pushed  forward,  and  ere  that  Sabl)atli  sun  had  set  behind  the  western 
hills  your  flag  floated  in  triumph  from  the  summit  of  Houtli  Mountain,  while  the 
enemy,  who  had  so  .stubbornly  resisted  your  ascent  of  the  mountain,  were  very 
rapidly  descending  the  oi^posite  slope.  But  I  must  stop  right  here  and  go  to 
the  rear,  for  one  of  my  legs  went  on  a  strike  just  as  we  reached  the  mountain 
top,  hence  your  subsequent  movements,  until  you  arrived  at  Fredericksburg, 
are  unknown  to  me  from  personal  okservation.  But  I  am  assured  that  at  An- 
tietam,  three  days  later,  you  nobly  played  your  part.  Of  your  return  march, 
through  Virginia,  I  will  not  speak.  At  Fredericksburg  you  made  a  record  that 
you  can  point  to  with  pride,  and  had  tlie  adjoining  division  and  those  who 
should  have  suiiported  you,  properly  seconded  your  efforts  the  history  of  Fred- 
ericivsburg  would  have  read  differently  from  what  it  does. 

History  records  how  gallantly  you  charged  across  that  open  field,  swept  by 
the  enemy's  fire — took  an  advanced  position  and  .stubbornly  held  it  until  all 
hopes  of  reinforcements  had  vanished,  when,  with  ammunition  nearly  gone, 
you  yielded  to  overwhelming  numbers  and  sullenly  retired  to  your  original 
position.  Again  your  humble  servant  was  knocked  out  just  as  the  long-lookod- 
Ibr  reinforcements  arrived,  and  so  I  must  necessarily  pass  over  your  return  to 
the  vicinity  of  Washington  where  you  remained  until  the  second  attempt  of 
the  rebels  to  invade  the  Northern  States,  which  resulted  in  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg. But  I  know  you  were  rejoiced  when  you  knew  you  received  the  order 
to  march,  when  you  knew  you  were  to  again  join  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in 
its  attempt  to  repel  the  advancing  hosts  of  Lee. 

Your  next  meeting  of  the  enemy,  in  hostile  array,  was  at  New  Hope  Church,  on 
the  Mine  Run  campaign  the  latter  part  of  November,  1863  (if  we  omit  the  little 
difficulty  at  Bri.stoe  Station  where,  if  memorj'^  serves  me,  we  did  not  play  an  im- 
portant part),  where  your  gallantry  in  deploying  as  .skirmishers,  under  a  with- 
ering fire  from  the  enemy,  called  forth,  as  it  deserved,  the  compliments  of  the 
commander  of  the  forces  there,  and  excited  the  admiration  of  all  who  beheld 
it ;  and  in  fact,  boys,  we  felt  a  little  proud  of  it  ourselves.  Our  advance  through 
that  tangled  second  growth  of  pine  and  cedar,  in  the  face  of  stubborn  resistance 
from  the  enemy,  you  must  remember  well.  That  night,  upon  the  skirmish 
line,  in  the  immediate  presence  of  the  enemy,  without  an  opportunity  of  making 
our  usual  cup  of  coffee,  was  one  of  the  episodes  of  active  campaigning.  How 
cheerfully  we  yielded  our  position  on  the  skirmish  line  in  the  morning,  to  our 
relief,  and  with  what  enthusiasm  we  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  a  cup  of 
coffee  as  .soon  as  opportunity  presented  itself.  Then  up  and  away  for  the  main 
body  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  from  which  our  brigade  had  been  separated, 
for  a  short  time,  while  on  a  scout  with  Gregg's  division  of  cavalry.  We  found 
them  on  the  banks  of  Mine  Run,  confronted  by  Lee's  army,  strongly  fortified 
in  a  naturally  strong  position,  and  preparing  for  what  bade  fair  to  be  the  most 


220  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

desperate  battle  of  the  war.  The  contemplated  charge  was  not  made  and  we 
returned  to  winter  quarters,  near  Bristoe  Station  and  Broad  liim.  Your  record 
in  tlie  Wilderness  in  May,  1864,  is  one  of 

"  Picket  line  and  battle  fray. 
And  weary  marcbing  night  and  day," 

gloriously  winding  up  your  three  years'  term  of  service.  ^Nlay  30,  1864,  at 
Bethesda  Church,  where  you  probably  killed  more  rebels  in  one  hour  than  you 
killed  in  any  one  battle  in  which  you  were  engaged. 

May  30,  you  bade  your  comrades,  who  re-enlisted  and  who  were  to  ( on- 
tinue  in  the  service  with  the  One  hundred  and  ninety-first  Pennsylvania  Xol- 
luiteers,  farewell,  taking  with  you  the  glorious  old  flag  that  Governor  Curtin 
had  given  you  at  Tennallytown  in  1861,  faded  and  battle-torn  to  be  sure,  but  no 
stripes  missing,  and  its  stars  all  there.  You  returned  it  to  Harrisburg  where 
you  can  .see  it  to-day,  a  silent  but  eloquent  testimonial  of  your  service  in  the 
war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

Thus,  comrades.  I  have  briefly  spoken  of  what  is  a  tithe  of  your  service  in 
putting  down  the  rebellion.  I  have  not  spoken  of  the  terrible  lo.sses  you  sus- 
tained in  the  battles  I  have  mentioned.  That  is  the  sad  side  of  the  picture. 
Your  heroic  dead  lie  on  every  battle-field  on  which  you  were  engaged. 

8upix>se  we  could  .see  arrayed  in  line  before  us  now,  the  old  regiment  of  1861, 
only  with  places  vacant  where  would  stand  those  who  lost  their  lives  in  battle 
and  died  of  disease  during  the  war?  What  a  spectacle  it  would  present! 
Then  let  the  survivors  appear  in  their  present  condition — what  a  change  ! 
Truly,  we  would  say  Avith  the  old  song, 

"  The  boys  in  blue  are  growing  gray. 
Thin  grows  our  ranks  and  thinner ; 
We've  faced  Death's  battle  many  a  day. 
But  Death  to-day  is  winner."' 

And  how  many  empty  sleeves  and  missing  legs?  Those  strong,  athletic  forms 
have  become  bowed  by  premature  old  age.  The  hardship  of  soldier  life  in 
camp,  battle  and  prison  pen,  has  done  its  work.  .  But  we  must  not  pau.se  to 
contemplate,  lest  we  be  overcome  with  emotion.  While  we  drop  a  tear  to  the 
memorv  of  the  dead,  let  us  dedicate  this  monument  to  the  living.  So  remove 
the  drapery  and  let  there  appear  the  record  of  your  services  and  yonr  losses. 
Yes,  cut  the  strings  so  that  all  who  behold  may  see  what  the  Sixth  renn.syl- 
vania  Reserves  suflered,  that  the  "government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
and  for  the  people,  might  not  perish  from  the  earth." 


ADDRESS  OF  COLONEL  IL   li.  McKEAN 

COMRADES  :  You  have  met  to-day  on  this  heroic  ))attle-field  to  perform  a 
most  interesting  ceremony.     The  place  where  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago  the  nio.st  terrific  battle  was  Ibught  that  has  been  recorded  in 
history.     Allow  me  to  congratulate  you,  my  comrades,  that  you  were 
niemljers  of  that  grand  old  regiment— the  Si.xth  Pennsylvania  Reserves. 

Its  officers  and  men  were  courageous  in  battle  and  courteous  in  civil  life.  Your 
timely  arrival  at  Washington,  D.  C,  with  the  other  regiments  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Reserves,  immediately  after  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  in  1861,  saved 
the  Capital.     The  Tliinl  llrigade  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps,  consisting 


Pennsylvania  af  Gettyshurg.  221 

of  four  regiments,  was  a  grand  body  of  men,  coninianded  by  that  grand  soldier, 
General  E.  U.  C.  Ord,  who  was  made  the  lirst  major-general  of  the  l)rigade. 
Commanders  Generals  George  G.  Meade,  J.  F.  Keynolds  and  Ord,  you  know 
were  in  the  tirst  successful  engagements  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  At 
Dranesville,  Va.,  December  20,  IHfJl,  Captain  Eiit,  commander  of  a  company  in 
the  Sixth  Regiment,  lired  the  tirst  shot,  his  company  acting  as  skirmishers. 

The  Sixth  made  the  first  charge,  then  ordered  by  General  Ord  to  charge  the 
Confederate  battery  under  the  command  of  the  "  Little  Adjutant."  How  well 
you  obeyed  the  order,  capturing  the  battery  and  several  prisoners.  Your  loss 
was  slight — two  killed  and  a  number  wounded.  Among  the  wounded  were 
Captain  Bradbury  and  Halsey  Lathrop.     That  was  your  first  baptism  of  fire. 

Comrades,  the  great  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  erected  tliis  granite  monument 
to  perpetuate  the  heroism  of  the  members  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  on  this  field  of 
battle.  A  grateful  people  remember  your  heroic  deeds  here  on  that  hot  day, 
July  2,  1863.  You  with  the  other  regiments  of  the  Penn.sylvania  Reserves. 
Third  Division,  Fifth  Corps,  arriving  in  on  the  north  side  of  yonder  Little 
Round  Top,  charging  the  advancing  Confederates  and  driving  them  back  to  the 
point  where  this  monument  stands.  You  held  it  as  you  always  did,  .saving 
Little  Round  Top  from  capture  and  the  field.  During  the  three  years  of  ser- 
vice you  were  in  all  the  principal  engagements  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — 
the  first  in  and  the  last  out. 

Comrades,  j-our  military  liistory  is  written  in  letters  of  gold  .so  higli  on  the 
tablet  of  fame  that  no  one  can  erase  it,  and  my  congratulations  shall  be  :  Brave 
in  battle,  chivalrous  in  peace  and  heroic  in  every  trait  that  develops  true  man- 
hood. 


ADDRES.S  OF  MAJOR  W.  H.   H.  GORE 

COMRADES  : — The  history'  made  by  the  Sixth  Regiment  you  helped  make, 
and  are  as  familiar  with  it  as  I  am.     What  I  aaj  here,  or  what  we  do 
here,  will  not  alter  the  facts  as  they  are  handed  down  to  future  genera- 
tions by  the  historian.      I  propose,  on  account  of  time,  to  give  but  a 
brief  history  of  the  regiment  : 

Organized  as  it  was,  from  companies  recruited  from  the  three  months' service, 
the  companies  were  all  recruited  in  the  month  of  April,  1861,  and  consisted  of 
two  companies  from  Bradford,  one  each  from  Tioga,  Susquehanna,  Wayne, 
Columbia,  Montour,  Snyder,  Dauphin  and  Franklin  counties.  Owing  to  the 
call  being  filled  they  remained  in  Camp  Curtin  until  after  the  pas.sage  of  the 
act  creating  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  when  thej'  Avere  organized  into  the 
Sixth  Regiment,  with  W.  W.  Ricketts,  colonel  ;  W.  M.  Penrose,  lieutenant- 
colonel  ;  H.  .1.  Madill,  major  ;  H.  B.  ]\IcKeau,  adjutant  :  R.  H.  McCoy,  quarter- 
master ;  Charles  Bower,  surgeon,  and  Z.  Ring  Jones,  assistant  surgeon.  They 
were  sent  to  Greencastle  and  placed  in  a  camp  of  instruction  under  Major 
Harshberger  as  instructor.  After  the  di.sastrous  battle  of  Bull  Run,  a  call  was 
made  on  Governor  Curtin  for  troops,  and  the  Reserves  were  rushed  to  Washing- 
ton ;  the  Sixth  was  the  first  regiment  to  arrive  and  was  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  July  27,  1861,  and  sent  to  Tennallytown,  D.  C.  While  in 
this  camp  over  one-half  of  the  regiment  was  stricken  with  typhoid  fever,  greatly 
retarding  the  efficiency  of  the  regiment.  While  in  this  camp  the  Reserves  were 
formed  in  three  brigades,  the  Sixth  with  the  Ninth,  Tenth  and  Twelfth  formed 


222  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

the  Third  lirijiade.  October  9,  18(jl,  thedivihioii  was  moved  a<!ross  the  river  into 
Virginia  and  went  into  camp  Tiear  Langle}'. 

December  20,  the  Tliird  Brigade  and  First  Ivifles  fought  the  l)attle  ofDranes- 
viUe — gained  the  lirst  victory  for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

March  KJ,  1862,  they  broke  camp  and  marched  to  the  vicinity  of  Hunters 
Mills,  then  back  to  Alexandria.  In  the  meantime  Colonel  Kicketts  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Penrose  had  resigned  and  their  places  were  filled  by  William 
Sinclair  as  colonel  and  H.  B.  McKean,  lieutenant-colonel.  The  quartermaster 
also  resigned  and  A.  A.  Scudder  was  appointed. 

The  division  was  attached  to  McDowell's  Corps,  and  in  April  marched  to 
Manassas,  Catlett's  Station,  thence  to  Fredericksburg.  In  June  they  were  on 
transports  and  went  down  the  Pappahannock,  up  the  York  and  Pamunkey 
rivers  to  "White  House  and  attached  to  the  Fifth  Army  Corps.  The  Sixth  was 
halted  at  Tunstall's  Station  to  guard  the  road  and  keep  open  the  communication 
with  the  front.  AVhile  here  Colonel  Sinclair  joined  us  and  assumed  command  ; 
the  left  wing  of  the  regiment  was  sent  to  White  House  to  guard  the  stores  ;  the 
Seven  Days'  battle  opened  at  Mechanicsville,  and  the  regiment  was  cut  off  from 
the  main  army,  and  after  destroying  the  vast  accumulation  of  .stores,  was  taken 
bj^  boat,  via  Fortress  Monroe  and  James  river,  to  Harrison's  Lauding,  where  they 
were  joined  by  the  balance  of  the  division.  The  Sixth  Regiment  was  here 
transferred  to  the  First  Brigade  which  now  consisted  of  the  Fir.st,  Seeond, 
Sixth,  Ninth  and  Bucktails. 

The  next  move  was  by  boat  from  Harrison's  Landing  to  Aquia  Creek,  thence 
by  rail  to  Fredericksburg,  thence  by  way  of  Kelly's  Ford  to  Warrenton,  where 
they  joined  Pope's  armj  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  battle  of  second  Bull 
Run.  Falling  back  with  the  army  to  Washington  they  marched  through  Mary- 
land to  South  Mountain,  and  in  that  battle  was  on  the  extreme  right  of  the 
army,  and  was  attached  to  the  First  Corps  ;  at  this  battle  and  Antietam  the 
regiment  met  with  severe  loss,  especially  in  officers.  Major  Madill  was  now 
promoted  to  the  colonelcy  of  the  One  hundred  and  forty-first  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  and  Captain  Ent  was  promoted  to  major. 

in  Novejuber  tlie  march  was  again  resumed,  ending  at  Fredericksburg,  where, 
on  the  13th  of  December,  the  regiment,  in  connection  with  the  balance  of  the 
Reserves,  made  the  most  gallant  charge  of  the  war.  Had  I  time  I  would  say 
more  about  this  battle,  but  I  will  pass  it  by  leaving  to  future  historians  to  give 
us  the  honors  that  we  that  day  earned. 

Our  losses  here  were  greater  than  any  other  battle  we  ever  fought ;  we  were 
but  a  handful  left  for  duty,  and  the  Reserves  were  ordered  to  Washington  and 
vicinity  to  rest  and  recruit,  the  Sixth  was  sent  to  Fairfax  Station,  where  it  re- 
mained until  June,  18fi3,  when  it  again  joined  the  army— was  attached  to  the 
Fifth  Corps  and  marched  for  this  liistoric  field  ;  and  here,  on  this  ground,  wh(*re 
we  are  dedicating  this  monument,  we  aided  infighting  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
Moving  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  marching  and  skirmishing,  we  finally 
went  into  winter  quarters  at  Bristoe  Station.  In  the  meantime  Colonel  Sinclair 
had  resigned  and  field  offices  were  filled  by  promoting  Ent  to  colonel,  Dixon  to 
lieutenant-colonel  and  Gore  to  major. 

In  the  spring  of  ISGl,  they  took  in  all  the  fighting  under  General  Grant, 
through  the  Wilderness,  Spotsylvania,  North  Anna  river  to  lielhesda  Church, 
doing  their  full  share  of  the  work  in  that  arduous  (•ani])aign,  ending  their  service 
with  the  brilliant  victory  of  Bethe.sda  Ciiurch. 


PMOro      B^    W.    H.    TIPTON,    G-TTysa 


PHINT  :    TMU    F.    GUTLKUNST    CO.,    PNM 


Pennsylvania  at  Geti/jshnrg.  223 

And  now,  comrados,  I  have  brielly  sketclied  the  history  of  your  regiment,  its 
marches  and  hardships,  its  gallant  fighting;  it  never  disgraced  itself;  there 
were  other  regiments  as  good  as  yours,  but  none  better.  We  liave  met  here 
to-day  to  dedicate  tliis  shaft  as  a  monument  of  your  valor,  but  your  history  will 
be  a  monument  that  will  last  as  long  as  the  American  nation  exists,  and  until 
after  those  stones  shall  have  crumbled  into  dust. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

38™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

(Ninth  Reserves) 
September   ii,  18S9 

ADDRES.S  OF  HONORABLE  ELL  TORRANCE 

COMRADES  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Reserves  : — We  have 
met  upon  historic  ground,  ground  as  sacred  as  our  feet  will  ever  tread. 
For  more  than  one  hundred  years  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill  have  sent 
forth  a  resplendent  light  to  all  lovers  of  liberty,  but  to  us  and  our  chil- 
dren at  least,  nothing  can  eclipse  this  field  of  glory. 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  pas.sed  away  since  we  last  stood  here. 
Then  angry  clouds  hung  over  our  heads,  and  the  ground  was  convulsed  under 
our  feet  with  the  shock  of  battle,  but  to-day  the  skies  are  peaceful,  and  the 
sounds  of  war  have  ceased  to  reverberate  among  these  hills. 

We  have  met  upon  a  most  auspicious  occasion,  and  for  a  ijurpose  which  falls 
only  to  the  lot  of  patriots.  I  am  not  insensible  to  the  honor  you  have  conferred 
upon  me.  Having  for  more  than  a  score  of  years  resided  in  a  distant  Common- 
wealth, and  never  having  had  the  privilege  of  meeting  with  you  since  the  close 
of  the  war,  it  gives  me  inexpressible  pleasure  to  again  return  to  my  native  State, 
and  once  more  look  into  your  faces  and  bring  to  and  receive  from  you  fraternal 
greetings.  At  such  a  time  and  place  as  this,  how  inadequate  is  language  to 
frame  our  thoughts,  or  give  expression  to  the  emotions  of  our  hearts. 

This  monument,  which  we  to-day  dedicate,  though  beautiful  in  its  propor- 
tions and  workmanship,  is  of  little  intrinsic  value,  but  who  can  estimate  what 
it  cost  to  lay  the  four  dations  for  its  erection.  As  we  look  upon  it  Ave  see  and 
read  much  more  tliau  the  simple  and  appropriate  inscriptions  it  bears.  It  rep- 
resents great  sacrifices — sacrifices  so  great  that  they  cannot  be  computed — sac- 
rifices, the  co.st  of  which  lies  outside  the  domain  of  any  arithmetic.  It  repre- 
sents the  scattered  graves  of  our  comrades  who  died  in  defense  of  their  country. 
As  we  stand  here  our  memories  are  quickened  and  our  vision  enlarged,  so  that 
we  look  back  through  the  intervening  years,  as  if  it  were  but  yesterdaj^,  when 
Ave  parted  company  forever  with  our  comrades,  Avho,  on  the  field  of  battle,  paid 
the  full  measure  of  their  devotion  Avith  their  lives.  WehavegroAvn  old  since 
then,  but  their  faces  are  unchanged.  iVIanj'  of  them  .sleep  in  unknoAvn  graves 
that  loving  feet  haA'e  never  yet  been  able  to  find,  but  they  are  not  forgotten, 
and  as  Ave  look  upon  this  polished  shaft,  Ave  can.  underneath  its  shining  surface, 
read  the  names  of  every  one. 

True  men  they  fell ;  and  faithful  to  the  last. 

Though  overpoA>'ered  by  death,  yet  still  in  death  unconquered, 

ForeA-er  sacred  be  their  memories, 

And  imperishable,  their  heroic  names. 


224  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

History  records  no  sacrifices  more  sublime  than  that  i)f  the  dead  of  tlie  vol- 
unteer armies  of  the  United  States,  and  this  monument  will  bear  perpetual 
testimony  to  tlieir  devotion  to  a  cause  which  they  loved  better  than  their  lives. 

It  stands  not  only  for  the  dead,  but  the  living  as  well,  quickening  their  sense 
of  duty,  stimulating  their  patriotism,  and  making  it  impossible  that  the  memory 
of  such  sacrifices  should  perish  from  the  hearts  of  men. 

It  will  stand  long  after  we  have  passed  away,  to  speak  with  a  persuasive 
voice  to  generations  yet  unborn,  educating  them  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
safety,  prosperity  and  perpetuity  of  our  country,  and  inspiring  them  with  an 
exalted  patriotism,  and  an  unflinching  courage  in  the  defense  of  her  institutions. 

The  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  has  acted  wisely  in  providing  for  the 
erection  of  these  monuments  and  setting  apart  this  day  for  their  dedication,  and 
in  calling  together  her  sons  to  bear  witness  to  the  solemn  and  impressive 
services.  Upon  this  loyal  soil  the  defiant  army  of  treason,  under  General  Lee, 
was  defeated.  Around  the  l)ase  of  these  Round  Tops,  and  upon  the  slopes  of 
Cemetery  and  Gulp's  Hill,  broke  the  topmost  wave  of  the  great  Rebellion.  The 
beginning  of  the  end  was  Gettysburg,  and  from  the  4th  day  of  July,  1863,  the 
friends  of  liberty  were  confident  of  triumphant  victory.  Eighteen  States 
were  represented  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  upon  this  famous  field,  and 
most  appropriately  we  fiud  the  Keystone  State,  in  the  person  of  her  soldiers, 
everywhere  present  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle,  from  its  commencement  to 
its  close.  During  those  three  memorable  days  her  voice  was  never  silent,  and 
through  cannon,  musket  and  sabre,  she  spoke  in  defense  of  human  rights  and 
constitutional  law  with  a  power  and  eloquence  that  time  will  only  glorify. 
Behold  her  three  score  and  ten  regiments  of  infantry,  in  battle  array,  stretch- 
ing from  right  to  center  and  from  center  to  left.  See  those  lines  of  blue,  with 
banners  unfurled,  steady  and  undismayed,  in  the  whirlwind  of  strife.  Listen 
to  the  thunder  of  her  cannon  as  they  answer  the  brazeu  mouth  of  treason.  Hear 
the  sharp  clash  of  sabre  as  her  squadrons  ride  down  to  death  the  ruthless  in- 
vader. Well  may  our  beloved  State  glory  in  the  record  made  by  her  chival- 
rous sous,  and  perpetuate,  not  only  in  bronze  and  marble,  but  in  the  hearts  of 
her  children,  their  deeds  of  valor  and.  sacrifice.  As  we  look  around  us  to-day, 
we  are  conscious  that  one  thing  yet  remains  to  be  done  by  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania— one  duty  is  yet  unperformed,  and  that  is  the  erection  upon  this 
battle-field  of  a  suitable  nronument  to  our  illustrious  and  distinguished  com- 
mander. General  George  G.  Meade,  and  until  that  is  done,  the  anthems  of  praise 
that  continually  ascend  from  these  hills  will  never  reach  their  sweetest  and 
most  complete  harmony.  General  Meade  commanded  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac for  almost  two  years,  or  about  one-half  the  period  of  its  entire  exis- 
tence. He  was  a  brave  soldier  and  a  true  gentleman.  His  patriotism  was  of 
the  highest  and  purest  type,  and  he  was  trusted  and  beloved  by  the  entire  army. 
He  gave  to  his  country,  in  her  hour  of  peril,  his  best  services,  with  a  willing 
heart,  and  with  rare  courage  and  patience  did  he  bear  the  heavy  resixtnsibilities 
that  were  placed  upon  him.  On  the  soil  of  his  native  state  he  won  undying 
fame,  and  upon  this  "field  of  monuments,"  made  forever  sacred  by  the  blood 
of  so  many  of  his  .soldiers,  should  he  erected  to  his  memory,  a  monument  that 
would  bind  together,  and  be  the  Keystone  of  them  all.  And  with  the  name  of 
Meade  must  forever  stand  associated  the  name  of  that  magnificent  soldier  and 
Pennsylvanian,  General  John  F.  lieynolds.  who  laid  down  his  life,  as  a  morn- 
ing sacrifice,  at  the  very  opening  of  the  battle.     These  two  names  are  insepar- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  225 

able  and  their  fame  is  imperishable.  Their  tirst  commands  were  composed 
ol  a  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  and  their  military  glory  we  claim  as  a 
part  of  our  own  i)ecnliar  i^iheritance. 

Hut  time  will  not  permit  me  to  speak  of  Geary  on  the  right,  of  Hancock  in 
the  center,  of  Crawford  on  the  left  and  of  the  host  of  brave  men  who  filled  the 
gaps  between. 

As  we  withdraw  our  thoughts  iVom  the  past  and  turn  our  faces  toward  tlic 
future  we  behold  a  pleasing  i)rospect.  We  feel  assured  that  in  the  providence 
of  God  this  country  is  destined  to  occupy  a  preeminent  place  among  the  natioTis 
of  the  earth.  This  year  marks  the  completion  of  our  fii-st  <;entury  of  constitu- 
tional liberty,  and  within  no  other  period  of  the  world's  history  has  such  pro- 
gress been  made  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  highest  civilization  of  man.  We 
are  amazed  when  we  contemplate  the  rapidity  and  solidity  of  the  growth  ot 
this  republic.  There  is  no  halting  in  her  onward  march.  Each  generation 
pushes  rapidly  forward  and  takes  a  higher  i)lace  than  the  one  occupied  by  its 
predecessor. 

Education  has  opened  wide  the  door  of  hope  and  usefulne.ss  to  all  cla.sses  and 
conditions  of  men,  and  liberty  has  widened  her  domain,  until,  under  the  pro- 
tecting fold  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  representative:?  of  all  nationalities,  races 
and  civilizations  dwell  together  as  free  men,  and  you  look  in  vain  for  -serf  or 
slave. 

Behold  this  nation  of  American  Freemen  I  No  titled  nobility,  but  in  its 
place  the  true  nobility  of  manhood  and  womanhood.  For  regal  splendor  and 
the  moated  castle  is  substituted  the  quiet  home  with  its  hearth-stone,  and  the 
virtues  and  sturdy  patriotism  of  the  common  people. 

It  is  not  ottr  rulers  that  have  made  this  country  great — they  are  our  servants — 
but  the  people  themselves,  who,  each  in  his  day  and  generation,  well  and  faith- 
fully perfoims  his  allotted  task. 

As  we  have  been  inspired  by  the  example  of  our  God-fearing,  liberty-loving 
and  self-sacrificing  forefathers,  and  have  been  able  in  the  hour  of  trial  to  stand 
the  supreme  test  of  loyalty  to  our  country,  so  will  the  generations  that  follow 
us  take  new  inspiration  as  they  look  upon  this  battle-field  of  monuments,  and 
listen  to  the  voice  that  comes  in  one  mighty  chorus  from  the  countless  graves 
of  the  loyal  dead,  imploring  them  to  be  true  to  the  trust  committed  to  their 
keeping. 

Tremendous  was  the  price  we  paid  for  an  unbroken  Union,  but  it  was  worth 
all  it  cost,  for  who  can  foretell  the  position  of  power,  honor  and  usefulness  to 
which  the  nation  may  attain.  Those  who  gave  their  lives  that  the  country 
might  live  did  so  without  a  murmur  or  regret. 

Those  of  us  who  survive  enjoy  the  consciousness  of  duty  done.  We  are  con- 
tent with  the  record  as  it  stands,  and  have  high  hojie  for  the  future.  It  will 
not  be  long  until  our  work  is  ended  and  we  shall  finally  be  mustered  out  to 
join  the  mighty  host  that  has  preceded  us.  Soon  we  also  shall  sleep  in  the 
majesty  of  eternal  repose,  but  we  shall  in  our  latest  houi-s  be  sustained  by  an 
unfaltering  trust  in  the  stability  of  our  institutions  and  in  the  continued  pros- 
IK'rity  and  welfare  of  our  beloved  country. 


15 


226  Pennsylvanid  uf  (ti  fft/s/mrg. 

ADDRESS  OF  ROBERT  TAGGART,  i:S(^). 

COMRADES: — The  Legislature  of  our  State,  during  the  session  ol'  lHH<i  and 
1887,  piissed  an  act  appropriating  certain  public  moneys  to  be  expended 
in  the  erection  of  memorials  or  monuments  with  which  to  mark  the 
positions  occupied  ))y  Pennsylvania  commands  on  this  battle-field.     A 
Commission,  composed  of  leading  and  intelligent  citizens  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  spirit  of  the  act,  was  appointed  to  carry  out  its  provisions. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  members  of  this  Commission,  individually  and  col- 
lectively, have  devoted  much  time  and  careful  study  to  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  impo.sed  on  them  ;  and  yet,  their  actions  in  some  instances  have  been 
severely  criticised.  Kut  this  is  not  surprising  when  we  reflect  that,  in  the  line 
of  their  duty,  they  have  been  called  upon  to  decide  questions  as  to  the  locations 
o\'  regiments,  and  other  details  of  the  battle,  about  which,  in  most  cases,  they 
could  know  nothing  personally,  and  in  the  decision  of  which  they  were  con- 
fronted with  conflicting  testimony — on  the  one  hand  that  of  individuals  ba.sed 
solely  on  memory,  and  on  the  other,  the  published  reports  of  the  battle  made 
at,  or  immediately  after  its  occurrence.  No  doubt,  in  the  excitement  initident 
to  the  engagement,  or,  possibly,  through  a  desire  to  appropriate  to  themselves 
and  those  under  them,  at  least  a  lull  share  of  the  honors  of  victory,  .some  of  the 
brigade  and  regimental  commanders  may  have  exceeded  the  bounds  of  accurate 
knowledge  in  making  out  their  reports.  But,  at  this  late  day,  these  reports, 
in  the  absence  of  positive  evidence  of  their  inaccuracy,  should  be  accepted  in 
preference  to  mere  statements  which  may  have  percolated  through  twenty-five 
years  of  treacherous  memory,  and,  doubtless,  absorbed  much  of  the  prejudice  or 
partiality  of  the  minds  through  which  they  passed.  The  Commission  seems  to 
have  been  governed  by  this  view  of  the  matter ;  and,  while  their  actions  in 
some  cases  may  have  created  dissatisfaction  on  the  j^artof  a  few,  it  will  be  gen- 
erally conceded  that  they  have  acted  faithfully,  intelligently  and  impartially 
in  the  discharge  of  their  delicate  and  responsible  duties,  and,  I  believe,  in  the 
end,  it  will  be  acknowledged  by  all  wlio  desire  to  preserve  intact  the  history  of 
this  battle,  that  so  much  of  the  act  providing  for  the  erection  of  these  memorials 
jjs  requires  that  all  imjjortant  details  shall  be  subject  to  the  inspection  and  a])- 
proval  of  the  Commission,  is  a  wise  and  an  important  provision — one  which  has 
shielded  the  work  from  much  inaccurate  and  discordant  proclamation,  and  im- 
parted to  it  something  of  true  historic  value. 

I  refer  to  this  matter  for  the  reason  that  certain  of  the  regimental  committees 
of  the  "  Reserve  Corps  '" — our  own  included — have  had  some  di.scu.ssion,  if  not 
controversj%  with  the  Commission  touching  the  matter  of  consolidating  the  ap- 
propriations to  which  the  respective  organizations  are  entitled,  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  a  single  nu'uiorial  building.  You  will  rememeber  that,  at  the  re- 
union held  in  New  Brighton  two  years  ago,  the  committee  then  and  there  ap- 
))ointed  was  instructed,  if  practicable,  to  join  with  the  committees  of  other  regi- 
ments of  the  corps  in  the  erection  of  a  division  nu'uiorial ;  or,  failing  in  that, 
to  proceed  and  erect  a  regimental  monument.  "S'our  committee  made  an  honest 
effort  to  meet  j'our  preference  in  this  matter;  but,  after  a  careiul  studj'  of  the 
question  in  all  its  bearings,  found  they  could  not  do  so  and  avail  them.selves 
of  the  State  api)n)i)riation.  This  conclusion  was  arrived  at  by  the  State  Com- 
mission, was  sustained  })y  the  Attorney-CJeneral  of  the  State,  and  reluctantly 
accepted  by  your  committee  as  the  nltiniatiini   for  their  guidance.     And  now, 


Prnnsyl i-diiid  at   (reii ifshnnj.  'I'll 

having  ooinpleted  the  work  ussijiinMl  iis.  vou  liavc  been  invited  to  meet  liere 
to-day,  and  1  liave  been  requested,  in  lieliaU' of  (lie  cDinmit  tee,  tu  make  Ibrnial 
presentation  of  this  monument  to  you. 

In  di.scharging  the  duty  wliicli  tln^  partiality  ol'  my  comrades  has  a.ssigned 
me,  I  am  well  aw'are  there  are  many  (^lianiiels  in  which  our  thoughts  might  be 
led  with  propriety  and  prolit  ;  Imt  I  led  that  oui-  i)resenoe  here,  or  aught  that 
we  might  .say  or  do,  would  be  l)iil  enii)ty  nothingness  did  we  fail  to  grasp  the 
true  signiiicanee  of  Ibis  oceasion.  And  what  is  this?  If  there  is  one  more  than 
another  that  we  should  learn  as  a  lesson  of  the  civil  war,  of  which  the  battle 
fought  here  was  the  decisive  conflict,  it  is  that  God  reigns  and  holds  within  His 
hands  the  destinies  of  nations  and  of  worlds,  whilst  we,  If  is  t-reatures,  are  but 
instruments  whereby  Jlis  })ower  is  manifest  and  purposi^  wrought.  If  we  seek 
His  guidance  and  follow  His  ap])oijited  ways  we  have  assurance  tliat  He  will 
not  for.sake  tis  :  but  if  we  strive  to  build  a  Babel  tower  to  mock  His  sovereign 
Avill.  there  are  a  thousand  ways  whereby  confusion  and  disaster  may  .set  at 
naught  our  mightiest  human  eliorts. 

That  "Man  of  destiny  '"so  called  whose  meteoric,  rise  from  humble  .station 
to  an  empire's  throne  .so  astonished  and  dazzled  the  world  but  a  century  ago, 
exemplified  in  his  brief  career  the  hlasphemy  of  his  own  lips"  utterance  Avhen 
he  declared  that  ""  Providence  is  always  on  the  side  of  the  heaviest  battalions. " 

In  a  burst  of  confidence  he  unfolded  to  one  of  the  favorites  of  his  court,  the 
plan  of  a  campaign  on  which  he  was  about  to  enter,  and  spoke  with  arrogance 
of  certain  victory.  Being  reminded  that  man  might  propose,  but  that  God  dis- 
jjoses,  he  replied  ""I  propose  and  I  also  dis]X).se.'"  Within  a  twelvemonth  more 
than  one-half  of  that  grand  arm}'  of  five  hundred  thou.sand  men  with  which  he 
invaded  Russia  had  fallen  victims  to  the  casualties  of  battle  or  exposures  of  the 
march,  whilst  he,  in  advance  of  his  retreating  columns,  was  hurrying  back  to 
transfer  the  tidings  of  disaster  to  hopeful  and  expectant  France  :  and  within  two 
years  thereafter  the  "vain  froward  child  of  empire''  Avas  an  exile,  shorn  of 
power  and  fretting  his  life  awaj'  on  a  barren  isle. 

From  the  time  that  the  stripling  .son  of  Jesse,  with  but  sling  and  smooth 
stones  gathered  from  the  brook,  went  forth,  in  the  name  of  Lsrael's  God,  to  meet 
and  vanquish  the  boasting  giant  mailed  in  brass  and  armed  Avith  sword  anil 
spear  and  shield,  on  to  the  time  when  the  little  army  of  the  Athenian  and  Pla- 
teau patriots,  chanting  their  battle-hymn  along  the  mountain  .slopes  of  their 
native  laud,  bore  down  in  triumph  on  the  invading  hosts,  ten  times  their  num- 
ber, of  Mede  and  Persia,  down  through  the  ages  to  the  time  when  our  fathers, 
untrained  and  untried  in  the  art  of  Avar,  achieved  their  independence — through 
all  these  centuries  history's  pages  are  Avritten  over  Avith  refutations  unmistak- 
able and  conclusiA'e  of  the  Najwleonic  bla.sphemy,  and  abound  in  re<;orded  tri- 
umphs of  men  and  nations  engaged  in  seemingly  hopele.ss  though  righteous 
endeaA'ors. 

From  the  sacred  aisles  of  old  "St.  .John's  ''  in  Richmond,  there  comes  to  us 
through  more  than  a  centurv'  of  years,  the  echoings  of  that  sentiment  which 
filled  our  fathers'  hearts  Avith  hope  and  nerved  their  arms  to  action.  Trusting 
not  in  their  human  strength,  or  martial  .skill  or  prowess,  but  in  firm  reliance  on 
the  God  of  nations,  they  Aveut  forth  to  battle  in  a  righteous  cause,  Avhilst  one 
Avas  chosen  as  their  leader  of  Avhom  it  has  been  truly  said  "  belief  in  God  and 
trust  in  an  OA'erruling  power  formed  the  essence  of  his  character." 

We  speak  of  Gettysburg  as  the  most  important  V)attle  of  the  civil  war,  in  that 


228  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

sec-ession  here  reeeiv<'(l  its  fatal  avouikI.  A  wound  from  which  it  lingered,  by 
virtue  onlv  of  inherent  force  and  courage  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  listened  to 
its  siren  voice  and  followed  its  deceptive  l)anner.  And  we  glory  in  the  fact 
that  he  who  led  us  on  to  victory  here  received  liis  first  promotion  as  one  of  our 
brigade  commanders — one  whom  we  had  learned  to  love  and  honor  for  his 
patriotic  virtues,  his  martial  skill  and  manly  courage.  Does  it  not  increase  our 
admiration  for  General  Meade,  to  know  that,  as  commander,  he  counselled  all 
his  .soldiers  to  reliance  on  an  all-controlling  Providence,  and  that  h\  the  hour 
of  triumph  he  gave  to  (lod  all  thanks  for  victory  y 

Then,  comrades,  as  we  unveil  this  monument  which  speaksof  the  great  event 
enacted  liere  in  years  gone  by.  let  us  not  exalt  the  human  eftbrt  that  gave  to 
Gettysburg  renown,  above  the  cause  and  vital  principles  which  were  at  issue 
in  the  contest,  and  above  all  let  us  not  forget  to  acknowledge  with  becoming 
reverence  the  favor  of  the  God  of  nations  which  gave  to  us  the  victory. 

In  giving  special  prominence  to  such  thoughts  and  feelings,  it  does  not  fall 
on  us  that  we  should  ignore  the  personal  efforts,  or  lightly  estimate  the  per- 
sonal sacrifices  that  are  interwoven  with  the  history  of  the  war. 

It  was  our  jirivilege  to  belong  to  a  regiment  which  took  part  in  the  battle 
fought  here,  and  to-day  we  have  assembled  to  dedicate  this  monument,  wrought 
from  imperishable  granite  and  erected  on  the  spot  Avhere,  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago,  we  contended  for  what  we  then  believed,  for  what  the  lapse  of 
time,  the  logic  of  events  and  the  just  verdict  of  mankind  have  since  demon- 
strated to  be  right. 

It  is  a  grand  thought  and  glorious  feeling  to  know  that  in  great  emergencies 
of  life  or  of  history  Ave  have  had  the  privilege  and  embraced  the  opportunity  of 
contending  in  a  righteous  cause.  For  the  world's  great  crises  are  numbered  not 
at  stated  intervals  or  by  the  changing  years,  but  are  born  of  epochs  often  hoary 
with  the  frosts  of  centuries,  and  to  realize  that  we  have  been,  though  humble, 
actors  in  such  a  crisis  is  something  that  comes  not  in  the  course  of  every  human 
lif.'. 

The  battle  fought  here  during  those  memorable  .Inly  days  of  1863,  was  oneof 
many  in  a  more  than  four-years'  contest  between  the  North  and  South  of  our 
land,  Avhich  lias  been  aptly  described  by  the  lamented  and  martyred  Lincoln 
as  a  test  of  the  endurance  of  human  government  based  on  the  equality  of  man. 
In  that  marvellous  epic  delivered  by  liim  at  the  dedication  of  the  Cemetery  on 
yonder  heights,  November,  1863,  he  made  use  of  this  language. 

"  Four  .score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathcis  brought  forth  on  this  continent 
anew  nation — conceived  in  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all 
men  are  created  equal.  We  are  now  engaged  in  great  a  civil  war,  testing  whether 
that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure."' 

Such  in  truth  was  the  nature  of  the  conflict  which  took  ])lace  here ;  and  who 
can  now  doubt  that  a  decision  adverse  to  the  ])rinciple  for  which  we  contended 
would  have  proved  a  dire,  if  not  an  irreparable,  calamity  to  mankind.  To  have 
testified  to  the  world  that  this  latest  and  most  auspicious  example  of  i)opular 
government  based  on  universal  intelligeuce,  free  conscience  and  moral  power, 
had,  within  the  first  century  of  its  existence,  generated  within  itself  the  ele- 
ments of  ils  own  destruction,  would  have  been  to  confess  to  the  world  that  man- 
kind in  the  most  advanced  state  of  civilization  and  under  the  most  favorable 
<-onditions  is  incapable  of  self-government.  Our  name  as  a  nation  blotted  from 
the  regi.stry  of  time  would   have  checked  the  onward  march  of  civilization  for 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  229 

centuries  to  come,  uiul  the  (l;uk  pall  of  ulilivioii  umild  liavr  (•iishroudcd  alike 
freedom's  glory  and  man's  earthly  liopes. 

That  we  were  right  in  that  contest  is  a  feeling  not  only  hoiiie  in  the  inner 
consciousness  of  every  Union  soldier  wlw)  took  part  in  tlie  civil  war,  but  is  even 
now  testified  to  by  many  of  the  best  and  l)ravest  of  those  who  differed  Irom  us 
in  the  past,  and  the  courage  of  wiiose  convictions  was  proved  on  many  a  hard- 
Ibught  field.  At  a  meeting  held  during  the  recent  centennial  observance  in 
New  York  city,  a  noted  Confederate  general  publicly  declared  his  belief  that 
the  result  of  the  war  was  fortunate  for  all  concerned.  At  the  same  meeting  the 
Governor  of  that  State  within  the  borders  of  which  was  first  unfurled  the  banner 
of  secession  and  along  the  shores  of  which  re-echoed  the  first  gun  of  the  rebellion 
publicly  said  : 

■'We  may  have  been  wrong,  (!od  only  knows,  and  it  now  does  seem  as  though 
His  decision  is  against  us."' 

When  time  shall  have  healed  the  wounds  and  smoothed  the  asperities  of  the 
^^ar,  the  utterances  of  these  two  representative  men  of  the  New  South  will  have 
become  crystallized  into  positive  truth,  accepted  in  good  faith,  and  glorified  in 
patriotic  endeavors  by  all  citizens  of  the  republic;  and  there  shall  be  found 
none  in  this  broad  land  to  question  the  righteousness  of  that  verdict  which 
settled  in  all  minds  and  for  all  time,  the  questions  of  the  indissolubilitj'  of  the 
American  Union. 

It  is  therefore  a  matter  of  intei'est  to  us  to  meet  here  after  the  lapse  of  many 
veal's,  to  dedicate  this  monument  which  testifies  to  where  we  stood  in  the  great 
crisis  of  our  country's  history.  True  it  speaks  to  us  in  a  special  sense  of  Gettys- 
burg ;  but  who  can  read  the  inscriptions  of  other  battles  in  which  we  took  no 
unimportant  part,  and  not  indulge  in  retrospective  thought  of  all  the  thrilling 
scenes  and  incidents  of  the  three-years'  service  of  the  regiment. 

One  of  America's  gifted  .sons  has  characterized  ' '  midnight's  holy  hour  ' '  of  the 
clo.sing  year  as 

"  A  time  for  memory  and  for  tears." 

If  our  feelings  may  be  moved  to  such  a  depth  In"  reflection  on  the  changing 
scenes  and  incidents  of  one  brief  year,  what  must  be  the  emotions  of  our  hearts 
a,s  we  contemplate  to-day  the  most  important,  the  most  eventful  period  of  our 
lives,  between  which  time  and  this  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  intervened.  In 
memory  we  recount  the  many  times  Ave' ve  tramped  along  the  mountain  slopes, 
across  their  crests  and  through  the  valleys  from  here  to  Richmond  ;  and  as  we 
review  the  hard.ships,  the  trials,  the  dangers,  the  sorrows  ;  and  weigh  them  in 
the  balance  with  the  joys  and  hallowed  recollections  of  those  years,  and  see 
around  us  in  the  growing  greatness  and  glory  of  our  country,  such  grand  frui- 
tion of  our  hopes  and  efforts,  we  might  ask  ourselves,  would  we,  with  knowl- 
edge of  all  we  then  endured,  again  enlist  as  soldiers  should  our  country  call  to 
arms?  I  think  I  hear  you  answer  yes,  as  then,  from  a  sense  of  duty,  but  not 
otherwise.  And  yet  as  I  look  into  your  faces  and  see  in  furrowed  cheeks  and 
whitened  hairs  sad  premonition  of  declining  years,  I  am  afraid  you'd  not  re- 
spond to  every  roll-call  after  weary  marches  such  as  those  that  we  were  wont 
to  make.  But  they  are  over — those  daj^s  have  passed,  and  the  great  events  with 
which  they  were  prolific  are  written  on  the  pages  of  our  country's  history, 
whilst  the  .surviving  actors  in  the  bloody  drama  are  journeying  down  life's 
slope  towards  the  setting  sun.  But  of  one  thing  we're  assured.  There  is  no 
regret  in  any  soldier's  heart  for  having  served  his  country  in  that  hour  of  danger. 


230  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburfj. 

There  is  a  well-grounded  attachraent  on  the  part  of  the  surviving  members 
of  the  old  Ninth  Kegiment  to  the  memories  that  cluster  around  its  history. 
But  this  is  not  surprising  when  we  rellect  that  each  member  of  that  organiza- 
tion was  animated  by  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  to  unite  in  the  defense  of  our  com- 
mon country  Each  .shared  in  the  common  dangers  of  camp  and  held,  and  all 
were  bound  by  the  ties  of  a  comradeship  that  were  "  welded  in  the  tires  of  bat- 
tle." Not  least  among  the  treasured  recollections  of  our  army  life  is  the  one 
that  our  regiment  was  among  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call  of  the  President 
for  troops.  It  is  worth  something  at  this  time  to  know  that  the  men  who  en- 
listed in  the  early  days  of  1861,  when  there  was  no  enticement  of  large  bounty 
b'efore,  and  no  coercive  power  of  conscription  behind,  them,  represented  the 
typical  American  soldier,  the  free  citizen  of  a  Iree  land,  understanding  and  ap- 
preciating the  blessings  and  privileges,  and  willing  to  share  the  responsibilities 
and  duties  of  citizenship.  Of  such  were  the  men  who  took  their  first  lessons  in 
the  school  of  the  soldier  in  old  Camp  Wilkiiis  and  who  were  there  organized  as 
the  Ninth  Regiment  of  the  "Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps,"  an  army  in  it- 
self conceived  in  the  wisdom  and  created  through  the  energy  of  our  then  war 
Governor,  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  who  still  lives,  ripe  in  years,  honored  by  all 
patriotic  citizens  and  beloved  by  all  surviving  soldiers  of  the  war. 

It  may  well  give  us  pride  now  to  look  back  on  those  years  and  feel  that, 
throughout  our  term  of  service,  the  regiment  was  second  to  no  other  of  the  di- 
vision in  the  good  opinion  of  brigade  and  division  commanders,  and  that,  at 
times,  it  pleased  them  to  make  public  acknowledgment  of  the  fact.  And  it  must 
certainly  add  to  our  appreciation  of  such  opinions  to  know  that  they  came  from 
such  sources  as  General  Meade,  the  hero  of  Gettysburg  ;  General  Reynolds,  whose 
life  blood  hallowed  the  memories  of  this  field;  General  McCall,  our  organizer 
and  first  commander,  and  our  own  General  Ord,  under  whose  dashing  leader- 
ship the  Third  Brigade  won  the  first  laurels  of  victory  at  Dranesville,  that 
crowned  any  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  These  brave  soldiers  have 
all  fought  their  last  battles,  and  gone  to  their  rewards,  as  have  also  our  first 
field  officers,  Jackson.  Anderson,  and  Snodgrass.  May  their  memories  be 
cherLshed  by  all  true  patriots,  as  I  know  they  are  by  all  surviving  members  of 
the  old  Ninth  Regiment.  But  it  was  not  only  our  officers  and  commanders  who 
shed  a  haloof  glory  around  the  regimental  history.  There  was  to  be  Ibund  among 
the  private  .soldiers  a  degree  of  intelligence,  courage,  patriotism  and  moral 
standard,  at  least,  unsurpassed  by  any  other  similar  organization  of  the  war. 

It  would  be  impossible,  without  more  complete  data  than  I  have  at  command, 
to  mention  all  the  many  conspicuous  instances  of  gallantry  and  devotion  to  duty 
that  might  be  gathered  and  woven  into  heroic  or  pathetic  story  if  we  could 
obtain  I'rom  friends  and  comrades  the  true  heart  histories  of  all  Avho  fell  from 
our  ranks.  Of  these  there  are  a  few  still  fresh  in  memory  to  which  I  may  be 
permitted  to  refer  as  illustrating  something  of  the  character  of  the  boys  of  the 
regiment. 

On  the  eve  of  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  a  number  of  enlisted  men,  having 
been  promoted  for  meritorious  service  on  the  Peninsula,  received  their  commis- 
sions, with  instructions  to  report  at  headquarters  for  assignment  to  duty.  They 
were  entitled  tf).  and  could  have  claimed,  their  di.scharges,  but  with  that  high 
sense  of  honor  characteristic  of  the  true  soldier  and  Ijrave  man  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, they  declined  to  turn  their  backs  on  their  comrades  in  the  liom  of 
imiK'uding  danger,  and  went   into  that   fight,  carrying  their  guns  as  enlisted 


Pennsyivmda  at  Gettysburg.  231 

men,  while  they  held  their  commissions  as  oHicers  in  their  pockets.  One  of 
their  number,  the  brave  John  Dannals,  of  Company  A,  was  killed  in  the  tight, 
while  two  others  that  I  know  of,  who  are  still  living,  honored  citizens  of  the 
country  they  helped  to  save,  were  seriously  wounded. 

Just  before  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  the  l)riglit  and  brave  young  soldier, 
John  Westlake,  having  been  for  a  long  time  on  detached  service  with  tlie  Signal 
Corps,  reported  to  his  comi>an5'  for  duty.  I  see  him  to-day,  as  he  had  just  re- 
turned from  a  visit  to  his  liome,  his  trim  form,  handsome  boyish  face  and  bright 
new  uniform,  ready,  willing  and  anxious  to  share  witli  his  comrades  whatever 
<)f  danger  there  might  be  in  the  line  of  duty.  Fredericksburg  was  his  first  and 
last  battle.  Those  who  took  part  in  the  charge  on  tlie  left  of  our  line  that  day, 
will  remember  with  what  reluctant  regret  we  relinquished  the  advantage  we 
had  gained,  because  of  the  failure  to  send  us  the  needed  and  promised  suiiport. 
Many  were  the  brave  boys  who  fell  with  Jack.scm,  our  general  and  leader  in  that 
terrible  charge  and  disastrous  retreat — and  among  them  young  Westlake. 
Where  his  body  was  afterwards  found,  there  were  three  or  four  of  the  company 
rifles  which  the  boy  soldier  had  gathered  and  endeavored  to  bring  from  the  tield, 
showing  that  the  pledge  given  to  the  citizens  of  Pittsburg  who  had  presented 
tho.se  rifles  to  tbe  company,  was,  with  him.  no  unmeaning  obligation,  but  one 
in  the  fulfilment  of  which  he  ottered  up  his  lil(,>. 

The  night  before  that  same  battle,  Lieutenant  Long,  whom  you  all  lemember, 
sat  beside  the  camp-fire  with  a  friend  and  comrade,  and  talked  of  a  i)remonition 
he  had  that  he  would  fall  in  the  approaching  engagement.  His  comrade  tried 
to  lead  his  mind  away  from  such  forebodings,  but  he  continued  to  talk  of  his 
approacliing  death,  as  that  comrade  afterwards  informed  me,  in  a  brave,  calm 
manner  ;  and  the  last  words  he  said  that  night  were  :  ■'  1  teel  sure  this  will  be 
my  last  night  with  the  boys  of  the  company  and  regiment."  He  had  given  his 
watch,  letters,  and  other  tokens  of  value  to  the  hospital  steward,  with  instruc- 
tions to  send  them  to  his  mother  after  the  battle.  He  fell  mortally  wounded 
in  the  front  of  the  fight  and  lived  but  a  few  hours.  1  had  known  Reuben  Long 
from  the  time,  when,  as  lads  in  our  teens,  we  attended  the  same  school,  and  as 
boy  and  man  he  was  ever  noble,  true-hearted  and  brave.  It  matters  not  what 
you  or  I  may  think  of  premonitions  such  as  .so  impressed  his  mind  that  night 
before  the  battle.  This  we  know.  As  he  sat  beside  the  cam]>-tire.  and  calmly, 
bravely,  as  his  friend  expressed  it,  talked  of  his  approaching  death,  he  felt 
within  his  soul  that  to-morrow's  sun  would  light  his  j)athway  to  the  tomb. 
Yet,  when  the  mist  was  lifted  from  the  field  of  Fredericksburg,  and  the  battle 
line  was  formed  on  that  December  morning,  he  was  present  at  the  post  of  duty, 
nor  faltered,  though  he  heard  his  death  knell  in  the  command  to  charge  across  that 
fated  field.  It  is  easy  to  understand  how,  in  the  whirl  of  the  battle's  mad  fury, 
one  may  encounter  and  desjiise  danger,  or  even  death  with  all  its  terrors.  But 
in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  to  calmly  contemplate  the  giving  up  of  home,  and 
friends,  and  kindred,  and  life  it.self  with  all  its  hopes  and  joys  and  aspiration.'^, 
and  yet,  in  honor's  name,  resolve  to  make  the  sacrifice,  is  something  that  the 
truly  brave  of  heart,  and  only  they,  can  understand.  In  such  heroic  conduct  in 
the  very  face  of  death,  we  have  a  clearer  view  of  how  a  brave  man  may  approach 
his  grave 

"  Like  one  wtio  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

In  my  own  company  there  were  three  brothers — -sons  of  a  widow — one  of  whom, 
the  brave,  cheerful,  noble-hearted.  William  Mahaffev  was  aniotig  the  first  to 


232  Pennsylvania  of  (rettyaJmrg. 

lall  in  that  learl'ul  rliarge  at  Gaines  Mill ;  and  to-day  hi.s  mouldering  remains  lie 
somewhere,  in  an  unknown  and  unmarked  grave,  ou  the  Peninsula.  At  the 
battle  of  Bull  Run  that  gallant  soldier.  Captain  Shannon,  received  a  leaden  mes- 
.senger  of  death  in  his  forehead.  Lieutenant  Kirkpatrick,  ever  foremost  and 
fearless  in  the  path  of  duty,  was  at  lionie  seriously  wounded.  The  first  lieu- 
tenant, complaining  of  .some  bodily  infirmity,  I  know  not  what,  was  at  Wash- 
ington city  pleading  for  a  discharge  from  the  service.  Robert  Mahafiey,  one  of 
the  two  remaining  brothers  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  was  first  .sergeant  and  in 
command  of  the  company.  Though  sufl'ering  Ironi  a  severe  wound  in  the  arm, 
received  from  the  flying  fragment  of  a  .shell,  he  refused  to  act  on  the  advice  of 
Dr.  Phillips  and  go  to  the  hospital  for  treatment.  But,  with  his  arm  bound  and 
carried  in  a  sling,  he  led  the  company  on  that  tiresome  march  through  Mary- 
land, up  the  rugged  steeps  of  South  Mountain,  and  on  to  the  battle-field  of 
Antietam,  where,  with  Snively,  Swartzlander,  Scott.  Lemon,  McLain,  Vanlier, 
and  other  lirave  boys  like  himself,  who  fell  around  the  regimental  colors,  he 
poured  out  his  life's  blood  in  defen.se  of  the  flag. 

Who  that  lay  beside  this  stone  wall  when  first  erected  will  ever  forget  the 
piteous  cries  for  water,  that  came  as  an  aftermath  of  the  charge  in  this  swale, 
from  the  wounded  Confederates  Avho  lay  in  our  front.  They  were  in  armed  re- 
bellion against  the  legally-constituted  authorities  of  our  government — sworn 
enemies  of  our  country,  bent  on  its  destruction.  But  they  were  our  brothers, 
and  the  ethics  of  our  Christian  civilization  not  only  forbade  that  we  should 
needlessly  torture  them,  but  demanded  that  we  should  use  all  reasonable 
measures  to  prevent  their  suftering,  and  there  Avas  common  assent  and  appro- 
bation when  Sergeant  McMunu  volunteered  to  carry  to  those  wounded  men  the 
Avatfer  for  which  they  prayed.  But,  oh  !  the  cruel  treacherous  greeting  with 
which  that  act  of  Christian  charity  was  met,  in  the  worse  than  rebel  bullet  that 
came  crashing  through  his  face  as  he  bent  to  cool  with  water  the  burning  lips 
of  a  Avounded  helpless  foe.  It  did  not  prove  a  fatal  wound,  but  it  would  have 
been  a  blessing  to  our  comrade  had  that  bullet  struck  a  vital  spot,  for  who  can 
measure  the  depth  of  pain  and  sorrow  and  mental  anguish  in  which  it  ])lunged 
his  after  life,  at  last  dethroning  reason  and  ending  in  his  self-destruction. 

I  have  spoken  but  of  the  dead,  and  not  of  the  many  Avounded  living  Avho  l)ear 
in  their  liodies  painful  reminders  of  their  deA'otion  to  (iountry  and  duty,  and 
those  of  Avhom  I  havt^  .spoken  were  not  ofiicers  of  e.xalted  positions,  command- 
ing divisions  and  army  corps,  l)ut  all  of  them,  at  the  time  of  their  enlistment, 
numbered  among  the  rank  and  file  of  the  regiment.  But  I  need  not  .say  to  you 
that  there  marched  in  the  ranks  of  our  volunteer  soldiers  many  Avho,  as  to 
moral  and  intellectual  force,  social  standing  and  all  the  elements  of  true  no- 
bility of  character,  Aveie  peers  of  any  and  niore  than  peers  of  many  of  those  to 
whom  they  owed  obedience  in  the  line  of  dutj',  and  do  you  tell  me  that  these 
men  in  the  huml)ler  stations  Avho  so  faithfully  and  courageously  performed  the 
oV)ligations  of  their  soldier  life  are  deserving  of  honor  or  gratitude  in  le.ss  degree 
than  those  Avho,  by  chance  or  favor,  or  even  by  virtue  of  their  talents,  were  more 
e.xalted  in  j)osition  'i  Though  such  a  sentiment  seems  to  accord  Avith  the  spirit 
of  the  times  1  cannot  V)elieve  it.  The  general  avIio  rode  at  the  head  of  the 
columns  Avith  groom  and  orderly  to  pildi  his  tent  Avherein  to  .sleep  at  night  did 
his  duty  no  more  and  no  less  than  the  private  soldier  who,  foot-.sore  and  Avcary, 
under  the  burden  of  his  arms  and  accoutrements,  marched  through  summer's 
heat  or  Aviiilcr'^  cold,  content  io  bivouac  under  licavcn's  blue  Aault  for  a  tent. 


Pennsylvania  at  Geffysburg.  233 

with  but  a  single  l)Ianket  as  a  martial  chiak  in  sliit>l(l  liiiii  iVom  tlie  snows,  lli<- 
rains  and  the  cliilly  airs  of  night. 

In  a  letter  which  tlic  treasurer  ot'our  association  received  I'rom  the  late  William 
Thaw  of  Pittsburg,  and  which  accompanied  a  liberal  contribution  toward  the 
erection  of  this  monument,  the  spirit  which  animated  the  -boys  of  ISGl  is  re- 
ferred to,  though  briefly,  in  a  manner  alike  eUuiuent  with  truth  and  creditable 
to  the  patriotism  of  that  great  and  good  man,  an<l  tliis  suggests  a  thought  to 
which  it  is  proper  1  should  refer  here. 

The  fState,  as  you  are  aware,  appropriated  the  sum  of  liftccn  hundred  dollars 
to  each  separate  command  that  participated  in  this  battle.  Your  committee, 
de^siring  to  erect  a  more  imposing  monument  than  this  sum  would  justify,  made 
an  appeal,  by  circular  letter,  to  members  and  friends  of  the  regiment,  for  con- 
tributions to  a  supplemental  fund.  Mr.  Thaw  w  ho  was  one  ol  the  early  patrons 
of  the  regiment  and  especially  of  Company  A.  in  which  he  took  a  special  in- 
terest, sent  his  check  for  a  large  contribution,  and  wrote  Mr.  Murdock,  our 
treasurer,  as  follows  : 

~  *  *  -'Meanwhile  1  send  you  a  check  lor  five  hundred  dollars,  for  the 
fund  for  erecting  a  monument  at  Gettysburg  to  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Ee- 
.serves,  as  a  memorial  of  Mrs.  Thaw  to  her  brother,  John  S.  Copley,  killed  at 
South  Mountain,  September  14,  18()2,  and  from  myself  also  as  a  memorial  ol'  a 
large  number  of  personal  young  friends  who  went  away  with  the  'Pittsburg 
Rifles'  (Company  A)  that  summer  morning  in  isfjl  i^whom  I,  with  other  of 
their  friends  and  relatives  marched  up  Penn  street  by  their  side),  and  who  never 
came  back,  leaving  their  bodies  scattered — and  in  some  cases  unmarked — sac- 
rificed for  their  countrj'  with  an  intelligent  and  spontaneous  patriotism  such  as 
Avas  not  surpassed  by  any  organization  that  went  into  the  war." 

A  few  weeks  ago,  in  a  Ibreign  city,  tlie  immortal  spirit  of  William  Thaw 
passed  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  but  recently  his  body  was  entombed  in  his 
native  city.  While  living,  because  of  his  generous  spirit  and  unbounded  chari- 
ties, he  was,  perhaps,  the  best  loved  man  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to- 
day his  memory  is  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  thousands,  not  only  of  those  who 
were  sharers  of  his  bounty,  but  also  those  who  were  admii-ers  of  his  character. 

A1.S0,  widely  known  for  large  beneficence  and  purity  of  life,  is  the  widow  to 
whom,  in  her  sad  bereavement,  a  multitude  of  mourning  hearts  go  out  in  sym- 
pathy ;  and  'I  know  that  the  hearts  of  all  who  are  here  assembled  will  respond 
with  quickened  impulse  to  a  sense  of  gratitude  and  sympathy  when  it  is  learned 
that  this  noble  woman's  present  interest  in  our  organization  is  born  of  Avhat  to 
each  of  us  is  a  sad  but  hallowed  memory  of  the  war — the  heroic  death  of  our 
brave  and  -worthy  comrade,  her  brother,  I  leel  that  I  but  meet  the  wishes  and 
voice  the  sentiments  of  all  the  comrades,  when  to  her,  and  to  all  the  friends  who 
have  so  generously  contributed  to  the  erection  of  this  monument.  I  make  public 
acknowledgment  of  their  liberality  and  friendly  interest. 

This  letter  of  the  grand  man  whose  I'riendship  is  one  of  the  memories  of  which 
we  may  well  feel  proud,  refers  to  an  '"  intelligent  and  spontaneous  patriotism  " 
as  the  inspiration  that  prompted  the  young  men  of  the  country  to  respond  to 
the  call  of  duty  in  1861.  I  know  there  are  man\'  of  intenselj'  practical  tem- 
perament, whose  views  of  life  and  measure  of  its  duties  are  l)Ounded  by  the 
narrow  circle  of  selfish  interests,  desires  and  pleasures,  wlio  cannot  comprehend 
the  full  and  true  meaning  of  ''  intelligent  patriotism. '"  or  understand  how  such 
a  sentiment  can  have  a  dwelling  ])lncc  in  the  licnrtol  man.      lint,  thank  Cod.  it 


234  I*eiinsylvaul<i  at   (icffiitihiirg. 

has  pleased  lliiu  lo  implant  in  the  liearts  of  the  great  majority  of  His  rational 
creatures  a  feeling  that  patriotism  in  its  trne  sense,  as  signifying  those  virtues 
■which  grow  out  of  a  love  of  country,  is  as  much  a  divine  attribute  in  the  human 
soul,  as  is  that  love  to  God  and  humanity,  on  which  the  Master  assures  us. 
"hang  all  the  law  -and  the  prophets."  .Sentiment  it  may  be,  and  doubtless  is, 
but  not  such  according  lo  Ilumeand  his  class  of  metaphysicians — a  mere  feeling — 
but  rather  a  resultant  of  the  co-operation  of  rational  power  and  moral  feeling. 
Why,  I  can  no  more  conceive  of  those  young  men — boys  in  years,  but  men  in 
deeds — whose  familiar  forms  rise  in  memory  before  me  to-day,  as  I  have  seen 
them  in  the  hour  of  deadly  conflicts,  their  pale  fixces  seamed  with  the  smoke  and 
sweat  of  battle — doing,  daring,  dying  for  their  country.  I  can  no  moreconceive  of 
them  as  being  actuated  In-  a  wild  and  irrational  impulse  or  unreasoning  sentiment 
•when  they  exchanged  tlie  cDinforts  of  good  homes  and  the  companionships  of  kind 
friends,  for  the  rough,  bare  and  common  dangers  of  a  soldier's  life,  than  I  can 
conceive  of  them  as  being  moved  by  mercenary  considerations  in  abandoning 
protitable  and  congenial  employments  for  the  distasteful  and  profitless  calling 
of  arms.  Say  if  you  will,  that  they  were  moved  by  sentiment.  It  was  such  an 
one  as  has  been  the  inspiration  of  martyrs  and  patriots  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
when  they  have  counted  their  lives  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  their  convic- 
tions of  right  and  the  demands  of  duty.  Such  a  sentiment  as  has  proved  an  in- 
spiration to  the  noblest  deeds  of  philauthiopy,  of  which  the  world  lias  had 
knowledge,  and  through  which  mankind  has  been  blessed. 

The  liberal  contribution  which  accompanies  this  letter  from  our  honored 
friend,  whose  lips  are  now  sealed  in  death,  coming  as  it  does  as  the  joint  gift  of 
husliand  and  wife,  suggests  a  thought  which  very  seldom  receives  that  consid- 
eration its  importance  demands,  and  this  is,  that  there  were  heroines  as  well  as 
heroes  in  our  civil  war  ;  and  they  apart  from  the  many  noble  women,  whose 
heaven-born  mission  led  them  as  ministering  angels  to  hospital  and  battle-field. 
where  with  tender  loving  care  they  nursed  the  sick,  or  prayed  beside  the  couch 
of  dying  soldier  boy. 

We  are  apt  in  estimating  the  cost  as  well  as  in  apportioning  the  honors  of  the 
civil  war,  to  become  so  absorbed  in  the  financial  and  military  problems  wrought 
out  in  halls  of  legislation  and  on  the  battle-field  to  overlook  the  patient,  though 
silent,  infiuence  that  went  out  from  the  home  circles  of  our  laud,  Avhere  mothers, 
sisters,  wives  and  sweethearts  toiled  with  willing  hands  and  prayed  with  fer- 
vent spirits  in  our  behalf  Many  of  you  have  heard  one  of  our  comrades  tell 
how,  having  enlisted  when  under  age,  his  father  tried  to  prevent  him  from  con- 
tinuing in  the  .service.  During  his  first  visit  to  camp  the  father  failed  to  shake 
the  boy's  purpose,  and  the  day  following  he  returned,  bringing  his  wife  along 
to  plead  for  their  .son's  return.  Failing  again  to  make  the  desired  impression, 
and  finding  that  a  threat  to  exercise  his  legal  authority  to  compel  the  boy  to 
return  home  was  of  no  avail,  the  father  turned  in  despair  to  the  little  woman  at 
his  side.  Ueaching  up  and  placing  her  haiuls  on  the  broad  shoulders  of  her 
bo}',  she  said  :'  ''My  son,  you  are  dearer  to  me  than  the  apple  of  mine  eye,  and 
yet  if  you  feel  it  to  be  your  duty  to  enlist  and  should  lail  to  respond  to  your 
country's  call,  in  this  hour  of  the  tuition's  peril,  all  I  can  say,  is,  you  would 
then  have  none  of  vonr  mother's  lilood  in  your  \«!ins." 

Who  can  tell  how  mucli  that  feeling  of  patriotism  referred  to  in  the  letter  of 
William  Thaw  as  the  animating  spirit  of  tlie  boys  of  1861  was  inspired,  en- 
couraged and  cmitmlled  by  tlie  loyal  women  of  our  land,  and  to  what  extent  its 


Pennsylvania  at  Geiiyslniry.  235 

siwutaneity  was  owing  to  their  active  earnest  synipatlij' and  ettbrts.  An<l  is  it 
not  true  that  the  tiresome  niarcli  was  made  with  less  latigue,  that  privations 
were  borne  more  willingly,  and  dangers  encountered  with  courage  strengthened 
because  of  loved  ones  praying  for  our  safety  and  the  triumph  of  our  cause? 

We  rejoiced  that  they  were  far  rcmoNcd  from  the  scene  of  conflict  and  were 
blessed  with  comforts  to  us  doni(i(i  :  luit  he  lias  yet  to  learn  the  depth  and 
power  ot  woman's  love,  who  knows  not.  that,  in  sleepless  nights,  in  anxious 
fears,  in  patient  waitings  and  in  Intter  sorrow  for  tlie  loved  ones  lost,  they  suf- 
fered more  than  tongue  can  tell.  God  bless  these  mothers,  sisters,  wives  and 
sweethearts  of  the  war  in  whose  approving  smiles  and  sympathizing  hearts  we 
found  such  patient  inspiration  in  the  i)ath  of  duty  and  the  hour  of  danger. 

Eut,  comrades,  the  hours  of  the  day  are  passing,  many  years  have  come  aiul 
gone  since  first  we  looked  upon  the  field  of  Gettyshurg  ;  and  this  is,  perhaps, 
the  last  time  that,  as  an  organization,  we  shall  gather  here. 

Without  pretense  to  powers  of  divination,  I  think  I  nuiy  safely  .say  your 
minds  have  largely  dwelt  to-day  upon  the  strange  and  striking  contrast  be- 
tween the  scene  as  here  pre.sente(l  and  that  which  met  the  view  when  first  we 
came  upon  this  field.  Then  this  ground,  crimsoned  with  the  mingling  blood 
of  friend  and  foe,  trembled  beneath  the  .shock  of  battle  as  hostile  Ibrces  charged 
and  counter-charged  across  the.se  fields.  These  hills  were  ablaze  with  the  very 
flame  of  death  as  it  belched  from  cannon  mouth.  The  air  was  rent  with  can- 
non roar,  with  shriek  of  bursting  shell  and  whistling  bullets  sound,  all  playing 
to  the  sad  accompaniment  of  moan,  and  groan,  and  prayer,  and  imprecation  from 
the  lips  of  wounded,  dying  men,  while  from  out  the  pandemonium,  none  knew 
how  soon  might  come  to  him  the  summons  to 

"  Take  his  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death." 

To-day  the  air  is  filled  with  peaceful  sounds  and  odors.  The  ripened  harvests 
have  been  gathered  from  the  fields  where  the  reaper  death  mowed  with  bloody 
.scythe  and  fiendish  joy  the  cannon's  swath.  The  chirp  and  song  of  bird  are 
undisturbed  by  gun  report  or  shout  of  hostile  army,  and  everywhere  around  we 
may  see  a  token  of  that  promised  coming  of  the  Lord,  when  sword  and  spear, 
the  implements  of  war,  .shall  be  beaten  into  share  of  plough  and  pruning  hook. 
"When  nation  shall  not  lift  np  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn 
war  any  more." 

Until  Ave  shall  behold  the  glory  of  this  prophetic  vision,  may  we  not  indulge 
the  hope  and  prayer  that  never  again  may  we  be  called  upon  to  resort  to  the 
<head  arbitrament  of  arms  to  defend  the  honor  of  our  country's  flag. 

A  nd  now,  comrades,  as  we  part  to-day,  what  thought  or  les.son  of  the  hour  shall 
we  take  with  us  to  our  homes  to  ,«erve  as  an  incentive  to  renewed  devotion  in 
the  line  of  patriotic  duty? 

When  the  first  great  leader  and  lawgiver  of  the  children  of  Israel  was  laid 
to  rest,  "  in  a  vale  in  the  land  of  Moab,"  Joshua,  his  successor,  directed,  as  the 
hosts  were  passing  over  Jordan,  in  the  presence  of  the  priests  who  bore  aloft  the 
ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord,  that  twelve  men  be  chosen — one  from  each  of 
the  tribes  that  had  journeyed  in  the  wilderness,  and  that  these  men  take,  each, 
a  stone  from  the  bed  of  the  river  where  the  bearers  of  the  ark  had  stood,  and 
that  these  stones  be  carried  to  the  place  on  the  east  side  of  Jordan  where  they 
should  encamp  that  night,  and  be  there  erected  as  a  memorial  unto  the  children 
4)f  Israel  forever.  Not  as  testifying  to  the  courage  and  endurance  of  the  chosen 
people  who  had  wandered   tor  forty  years  in  a  barren  land,  luit  as  testifying  to 


236  l'<nn.syh-aitla  af  Gclfysburg. 

thf  luightiiie.ss  of  Ood  and  liis  laithruliie.ss  in  tlic  Hiltilini-iir of  his  inoini.s&s. 
And  when  the  stones  were  placed  as  diiected,  Joshua  spake  unto  thy  people 
saying : 

"When  vour  <liil(lren  shall  ask  theii-  fathers,  in  time  to  eome,  saying  what 
mean  these  stones? 

"Then  >e  sliall  let  your  children  know,  sayinji.  Israel  came  over  this  Jor- 
dan on  dry  land." 

"That  all  tlie  people  ot  tlie  earth  might  know  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  that  it 
is  mighty." 

Standing  within  the  shadow  of  these  hills  which  were  silent  witnesses  of  the 
contest  waged  here  in  the  ever-to-be-remembered  past,  and  in  the  presence  of 
this  monument  which  speaks  of  where  we  stood  in  that  hour  of  trial  and  dan- 
ger, and  seeing  the  scitlptured  granite  with  which  this  tield  is  dotted,  may  we 
not  imagine  our  children  and  our  children's  children  in  the  years  to  come,  ask- 
ing their  lathers,  as  did  the  Israelitish  children  of  old  :  "Whatmeanthe.se 
stones?" 

Truly  may  it  be  said  to  them  that  "  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  mighty ''  and 
though  they  may  not  be  told  that  their  lathers  "  came  over  this  on  dry  land," 
but  rather  on  ground  drenched  with  the  blood  of  wounded  and  .slain  comrades, 
yet  may  it  be  said  they  stood  here  devoted  to  the  cause  of  human  liberty  and 
upholding  the  "  Ark  of  our  Covenant"  of  Perpetual  Union  ;  and  if  ever  the  un- 
righteous hand  of  political  ambition  shall  again  remove  that  ark  from  oitr  midst 
may  worse  than  Assyrian  calamities  afflict  the  plunderers  till  our  treasure  be 
re.stored.  If  ever  the  genius  of  human  liberty  be  driven  from  our  shores,  like 
Noah's  dove  may  she  tind  no  rest  for  the  soles  of  her  feet  until  she  return  and 
tind  a  glad  people  ready  and  willing  to  receive,  to  cherish  and  to  love  her. 

As  testifying  to  the  restoration  of  that  Ark  of  our  Covenant — to  the  re-en- 
thronement of  that  presiding  genius  of  our  nation,  and  to  the  heroic  endeavors 
of  those  who,  under  God's  favor — ^though  it  may  have  been  in  tears,  in  sorrow 
and  blood,  wrought  out  the  triumph  of  a  righteous  cause,  may  this  monument 
remain  a  memorial  unto  your  children  lorever. 


ADDRESS  OF  SERGEANT-MAJOR  A.  P.  MORRISON 

TWENTY-SIXyearshaveswiftly  roUedaway,  old  comrades  of  the  "  Ninth," 
since  w(;  stood  here  on  this  very  spot  in  battle  line,  bearing  our  part 
in  that  momentous   three-days'  struggle  between    the  armies  of  the 
North  and  South,  which  hi.story  has  already  recognized  and  recorded  as 
one  of  those  great  battles  of  the  world,  which  change  or  fix  and  determine  the 
destinies  of  nations,  and  the  character  of  their  civil  institutions  for  all  tinie. 

Here,  on  this  bloody  field  of  Getty.sburg,  the  surging  tide  of  "  Secession  ''  was 
stayed  and  turned  l)ack,  and  the  "'vinion  "  of  these  states  was  saved  from  im- 
pending dissolution,  and  for  all  time  made  sure  and  strong.  Here  tlie  most 
costly  sacrifice  of  patriot  blood  was  jjoured  out  a  willing  offering  liy  the  nation's 
sons,  to  the  end  tliat  this  great  nation  might  live,  and  continue  to  live  on  and 
on,  "to  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time." 

Yes,  comrades,  the  "Ninth"  stood  here  then,  in  name  and  fame  strong  as  in 
other  days  of  Viattle,  to  meet  the  foe — Vjut  in  numbers  how  reduced.  Where 
now — in  this  the  v<'ry  crisis  of  the  great  conflict — wheie  no\\-,  are  those  fen  hun- 


Pennsiflvama  at  Gettysbuyij.  237 

dred  men  and  more,  who  two  short  yoais  before  had  niarchcMl  beneath  the  l)at- 
talion  banner  of  the  'Xintli,"  with  l)Ounding  hearts  and  buoyant  step,  away 
from  home  and  friends,  and  all  the  Joys  of  peaceful  life,  to  battle  for  the  right? 

Here,  but  a  handful  of  those  brave  ones  stood  to  meet  the  onset  of  the  in>- 
petuous  foe,  whose  feet  had  dared  invade  the  borders  of  their  native  State. 
Where  had  the  others  gone?  Let  Dranesville  tell  ;  let  the  gory  fields  of  the  seven- 
days'  fight  from  Beaver  Dam  to  Malvern  Hill  make  truthful  answers.  Let  the 
fierce  fighting  in  the  Pope  campaign  from  Rappahannock's  l)anks  to  Chantilly's 
woods  be  heard — letSouth  Mountain  and  Antietam  mournfully  reply  ;  and  Fred- 
ericksburg with  solemn  voice  from  hill  and  i)lain.  report  the  numljer  of  the 
fallen  there — let  all  the  wearing  marches  and  the  exhausting  toils  of  duty  in  the 
field,  whether  the  summer  sun  was  scorching,  or  the  frosts  and  piercing  winds 
of  winter  chilled  the  lonely  picket's  blood — let  all  that  this  imports  of  hardship 
and  physical  disability  and  sickness  unto  death,  make  up  account  for  the  absent 
ones  on  this  great  day. 

Ah,  comrades,  what  a  small  space  of  ground  among  these  grey  and  rugged 
loi-ksand  boulders,  could  our  good  regiment  cover  and  fight  for  and  defend  when 
the  "battle  was  set  in  array,"  on  that  second  and  third  day  of  July,  186:^.  Its 
ten  companies,  all  told,  could  only  place  about  three  hundred  men  in  line. 

We  believed  in  the  inherent  and  ever-abiding  justice  of  the  cause  for  whi<;h 
we  lought.     We  felt  in  our  inmost  being,  then,  as  ever,  that, 

"  Right  is  right— since  God  is  God, 
And  right  the  day  must  win  ; 
To  doubt  would  be  disloyalty. 
To  falter,  would  be  sin." 

And,  notwithstanding  its  depleted  ranks,  the  "Ninth"  went  forward  iio  its 
place  in  the  line  of  battle,  as  steadily  and  firmly  as  if  it  had  been  itself  a  whole 
ai  ray  corps. 

In  the  Gettysburg  campaign  the  glory  of  our  regiment,  and  of  the  brigade  as 
\\ell,  consisted  not  so  much  in  what  might  be  called  the  actual  clash  of  arms 
in  conflict  with  the  rebels,  as  in  its  always  getting  to  the  right  place,  however, 
perilous  that  place  might  be,  at  the  right  time — however  long  and  exhausting 
the  marches,  the  effort  might  require,  and  in  its  tenaciously  holding  the  position 
to  which  it  was  assigned,  against  the  very  flower  of  the  Confederate  army. 

The  march  from  the  defenses  of  Washington,  begun  on  the  25th  of  June,  to 
the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg,  not  far  from  Little  Round  Top — taking  into  con- 
sideration the  frequent,  almost  incessant,  rains,  and  the  heav}'  and  slippery  con- 
dition of  the  roads — was  a  very  remarkable  one  indeed.  It  tested  the  vigor  and 
endurance  of  the  men  to  the  utmost  limit  of  their  strength.  If  in  the  daj'time 
we  moved  slowly  and  with  difficulty  through  lields  and  woods,  guarding,  it 
miglit  be,  long  trains  of  ammunition  and  supplies  or  batteries  of  heavy  guns, 
which  occupied  and  oftentimes  blocked  up  the  soft  and  deeply-rutted  roads, 
-when  the  sun  went  down  we  were  pushed  forward  tar  into  the  night  to  make 
up  for  our  retarded  progress  in  the  day. 

To  you,  all  soldiers  of  the  "Ninth,"  I  need  not  enter  into  details  of  that  seven- 
days'  march.  Here,  on  this  historic  spot,  where  its  goal  was  reached,  it  comes 
back  to  every  mind,  with  all  its  incidents  fresh  and  vividly  as  if  a  thing  of 
yesterday.  But  you  will  bear  with  me  while  I  read  from  the  dim  and  faded 
pages  of  my  own  little  pocket  diary  these  few  brief  extracts  of  memoranda  re- 
lating to  that  march  ; 


238  Pennsi/Jvauia  at  Gfitysburg. 

June  24tli.  l>(j;>.     Our  legiiueut  ■was  lying  (juictly  at  Vienna. 

On  the  evening  ol"  that  day  we  got  orders  to  rejoin  our  brigade  at  Upton's 
Hill  some  eight  miles  back.  We  marched  about  9  o'clock  and  reached  our 
destination  a  little  after  midnight. 

Thursday.  .J\ine  35th.  The  ''Ninth"  inarching  with  the  brigatle  at  1 
o'clock  p.  ni.,  moved  out  in  the  direction  ol'  Vienna  on  the  same  road  we  of  the 
"Ninth"  had  come  in  on  the  night  l)etbre.  and  halted  not  far  from  where  we  had 
V)een  encamijed.  This  marching  up  the  liill  simply  to  marcli  down  again  did 
not  seem  exactly  right  to  our  boys.  It  meant  for  them  si.xteen  miles  of  un- 
necessary tramping  through  the  rain. 

Friday,  26th.  Reveille  at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  on  the  march  at  (i. 
Kaining  hard  all  day  ;  roads  very  slippery  and  heavy.  Made  about  sixteen 
miles  and  halted  in  the  evening  at  Goose  creek  not  very  far  from  Edwards' 
Ferry. 

Saturday,  27th.  Reveille  at  4  o'clock  ;  to  inarch  at  ").  Crossed  the  Poto- 
mac at  Edwards'  Ferry  on  a  i)ontoon  bridge  and  foiind  ourselves  once  more  in 
Maryland,  a  part  of  Hooker's  army.  Day  showery  and  roads  muddy.  Halted 
at  night  near  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy  river  having  made  at  least  fifteen  miles. 

Sunday,  28th.  Reveille  at  3.30;  on  the  march  at  5;  ci'ossed  the  Monocacy  ; 
day  cloudy  with  a  little  rain  ;  joined  the  Fifth  Array  Corps  ;  our  '"Pennsyl- 
vania Reserves  "  having  been  assigned  to  that  corps  on  the  request  of  General 
Meade,  its  theii  commander  ;  halted  near  Frederick  after  marching  about 
twelve  miles.  Here  we  learned  of  the  appointment  of  General  Meade  to  the 
command  of  the  "Army  of  the  Potomac."  Great  news  this  for  us  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corp.s.  We  were  proud  to  know  that  one  of  our  own 
generals,  one  for  whom  we  felt  that  wc  had  won  the  "stars,"  should  be  placed 
in  this  very  highest  position  in  the  army  in  the  very  crisis  of  the  nation's  fate. 

We  had  confidence  in  him  for  we  knew  him  1o  be  an  energetic.  l)rave,  cool 
and  determined  leader. 

Monday.  29th.  Reveille  again  at  4  a.  in.  ;  the  "Ninth"  fell  in  about  8, 
but  did  not  move  forward  until  about  1,  and  then  marched  slowly  all  the 
afternoon  ;  the  day  was  rainy  and  the  road  was  filled  up  with  wagon  trains  ; 
aV)Out  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  road  was  cleared  before  us  and  we  started 
off  almost  on  a  "double  quick  ;"  crossed  the  Monocacy  and  turned  dire(;tl} 
northward  towards  Pennsylvania,  marching  over  very  bad  country  roads  •  lialted 
about  midnight,  having  made  .some  fifteen  miles. 

Tuesday,  June  30th.  Reveille  at  4  o'clock  ;  it  rained  on  us  very  liard  last 
night  and  this  morning  ;  marched  at  7  a.  m.  :  found  the  road  exceedingly 
heavy  and  slippery  ;  pas.sed  through  Liberty,  Johnsville,  Union  Bridge,  I'nioii, 
and  halted  near  Union  Mills,  having  made  a  big  day's  march,  not  le.ss  than 
twenty  miles  ;  the  "Reserves"  are  all  in  high  spirits  about  going  into  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Wednesday,  July  l.st.  On  the  march  by  0.30  this  morning,  moving  lathei 
slowly  all  day  ;  cro.ssed  the  State  line  into  old  Pennsylvania  about  4  p.  m.  amid 
glad  cheering  and  loud  hurrahs  ;  heard  the  dull  boom  of  distant  cannon  from 
time  to  time,  V)ut  did  not  then  know  tliat  the  great  battle  was  already  on  : 
about  0.30  o"clo(;k  in  the  evening  the  division  was  massed,  rations  were  issued 
and  extra  ammunition  distributed  to  the  men,  and  all  signs  indicated  a  coming 
fight  ;  there  was  not  much  rest  in  this  short  halt,  and  by  8  o'clock  we  were 
again  on  the  move  :  marched  on  without  sloi)ping  until  about  2  o'clock  ol  the 


Peiinsylvama  at  Gettysburg.  239 

morning  of  tlip  :2(1,  lialtinji  ;v1  last,  al'ti  r  jnissinf;  throujih  Hanover,  near  Mc- 
Shen-ystown. 

Thursday,  July  2d.  Alteronly  two  hours  re.st,  reveille  at  4  a.  ni.,  and  niarclied 
immediately  without  waiting  even  to  make  a  cup  ol  collee.  Pretty  hard 
this,  but  the  weary  men  now  understanding  that  the  emergency  was  pres- 
sing, and  forgetting  the  want  of  much-needed  sleep  and  food  and  rest,  pu.shed 
forward  cheerfully  and  eagerly  towards  what  they  knew  must  be  a  bloody  battle. 
After  marching  about  an  hour  we  were  halted  long  enough  to  make  our 
coffee,  and  then  once  more  moved  rapidly  forward  until  about  10  o'clock  we 
reached  Rock  creek,  some  two  miles  southeast  of  the  town  of  (lettysburg.  Here 
we  learned  of  the  disixstrous  fortunes  of  the  preceding  day  to  the  Union  forces, 
and  worst  news  of  all,  the  untimely  death  of  one  of  our  best  loved  generals,  one 
whom  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Volunteer  Corps  was  proud  to  have  claimed 
as  its  own  commander — the  beau  ideal  soldier,  the  gallant  General  Reynolds. 

From  7  o'clock  a.  m.,  of  July  1st  to  11  o'clock  on  the  2d,  twenty-eight  hours, 
with  only  about  three  hours  given  to  sleep  and  rest,  our  regiment  had  marched 
forty-two  miles.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  when  the  halt  was  sounded  the  weary 
men  threw  themselves  upon  the  ground,  under  that  burning  July  sun  and  slept 
away  the  hours,  while  the  battle  was  preparing? 

About  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  tiery  storm  suddenly  burst  in  fierce 
fury  on  Sickles'  Third  Corps.  Immediately  the  Fifth  under  Sykes  was  hru'ried 
forward  to  the  succor  of  the  Third,  then  badly  broken  up  and  forced  back  in  shat- 
tered fragments  from  its  too-far-ad vauced  position.  It  must  have  been  about 
o  o'clock  when  our  division,  the  Third  of  Hykes'  Corps,  under  the  gallant  Gen- 
eral Crawford,  passed  over  the  crest  of  the  ridge  out  yonder  to  the  right  of  Little 
Round  Top,  aud  first  came  under  fire.  How  vividly  the  fearful  scene  of  that 
dread  hour  comes  back  to  you  old  soldiers  of  the  "Ninth,"'  as  you  now  look  out 
over  yonder  quiet  woods  and  peaceful  fields.  The  sun,  a  dull,  red  ball  of  fire, 
was  going  down  "wrapped  in  drifts  ol  lurid  .smoke."  The  appalling  roar  of 
cannon  ;  the  screaming  shells  exploding  in  mid-air  ;  the  sharp  rattling  and  con- 
tinuous crash  of  infantry  firing  ;  the  charging  masses  of  the  enemy  ;  the  broken 
columns  of  our  side  slowly  falling  back,  contesting  every  foot  of  ground,  and 
yielding  one' position  only  to  make  a  more  stubborn  stand  for  another  ;  the  whole 
atmosphere  thick  and  heavy  with  the  sulphurous  smoke  of  battle.  Yon  field 
of  ripened  grain  just  ready  for  the  harvest,  "blasted  below  the  dun  hot  breath 
of  war  ' ' 

Oh,  comrades,  it  was  not  a  cheering  scene  that  then  opened  on  our  view.  On 
the  contrary,  we  might  truly  .say  that  at  that  moment  "disaster  stared  us  in 
the  face."  The  two  brigades  of  United  States  Infantry,  the  "Regulars."  had 
just  advanced  across  yon  piece  of  level  ground,  while  oui-  two  brigades  of  Penn- 
sylvania Reserves,  by  General  Crawford's  orders,  were  "massed  in  column  l)y 
division,"  in  the  open  space  just  north  of  this  rocky  spur  of  Round  Top. 

Vincent,  and  O'Rorke,  aud  Hazlett,  and  Weed,  with  their  gallant  commands. 
had.  but  a  few  moments  before  Avrestcd  this  master-post  of  Little  Round  Top 
from  the  grasp  of  Hood. 

But,  oh  !  at  what  a  cost !  Vincent  and  O'Rorke.  Hazlett  aud  Weed,  all  lour, 
laj'  dead  upon  this  mount  of  glory. 

The  question  then  was,  could  the  survivors  of  the  terrible  struggle  to  secure 
this  vantage  ground,  thus  bereft  of  all  their  leaders,  could  they  withstand  an- 
other impending  chai-ge  of  the  now  exulting  rebels?  The  stake  was  great,  too 
great  to  be  left  iu  doubt. 


240  Pennfif/lrania  at  Gettysbuty. 

Humphreys  was  "■  {liangiiig  front  to  the  rear,'"  but  to  no  <rood  purpose. 
Sweitzer's  Brigach-  fiercely  iK'set  on  its  flank  anil  rear  was  forced  from  its  posi- 
tion.    The  ' '  Regulars, ' '  attacked  in  front  and  tlank,  were  compelled  to  fall  back. 

You  all  remember  how  they  looked.  How  firmly  they  held  themselves  to- 
gether, firing  and  falling  back,  firing  and  falling  back,  their  front  diminishing 
at  every  volley  until  only  one-half  of  their  charging  column  was  left  to  fire  ! 

It  was  just  at  this  critical  moment  that  our  gallant  General  Crawford  put  his 
two  brigades  of  Penusylvania  Reserves  in  motion,  our  Third  Brigade  in  front. 
Advancing  rapidly  we  were  very  soon  within  range  and  under  a  heavy  fire  from 
the  enemy.  But  we  had  not  gone  more  than  fifty  yards  when  the  urgent  call 
for  re-inforcement  for  the  lew  survivors  of  the  gallant  regiments  that  had  at  such 
a  heavy  cost  plucked  Little  Round  Top  from  the  clutch  of  Hood  and  his  Con- 
federate veterans,  and  who  now  crippled,  and  exhausted  by  the  deadly  struggle, 
their  leaders  cold  in  death,  still  lying  where  they  fell,  awaited  among  these 
rocks  and  on  this  rugged  hill,  the  still  more  desperate  charge  the  baffled  rebels 
were  preparing  to  overwhelm  their  decimated  ranks  and  seize  this  granite  key 
of  the  battle-field — reached  General  Crawford.  He  was  not  slow  in  responding 
to  the  call.  Ours,  the  leading  brigade,  was  halted  and  ordered  to  go  at  once  to 
the  succor  of  the  exhausted  comrades  of  the  Vincent  and  O'Rorke's  commands. 
Without  a  moment's  delay,  the  Fifth,  Ninth,  Tenth  and  Twelfth  Regiments  of 
Reserves  changed  direction  and  moved  by  tlie  left  flank,  almost  on  a  double- 
quick  over  the  hill,  to  this,  its  western  slope,  and  joined  the  remnant  of  Vin- 
cent's Battalion.  The  movement  was  in  the  very  nick  of  time.  The  plan  of 
Hood  and  Law,  to  seize  this  '"  coigneof  vantage,''  was  foiled,  for  with  the  acces- 
sion of  Fisher's  Brigade  to  the  gallant  men  who  had  so  desperately  fought  for 
and  so  tenaciously  held  this  almost  impregnable  position,  any  new  attack  would 
be  madness,  and  could  only  result  in  a  repulse  more  sanguinary  and  crushing 
than  the  first  had  ))eeu. 

Little  Round  Top.  found  and  proclaimed  by  Warren  to  be  the  key  to  the 
•whole  Union  battle  line,  was  saved — and  safe — for  General  Meade,  whatever 
might  Ijefall  on  other  portions  of  the  field. 

A  little  later  when  darkness  had  settled  over  these  woods,  the  Fifth  and 
Twelfth  Regiments  were  taken  by  Colonel  Fisher,  with  other  troops,  to  drive 
the  enemy  from  Round  Top  and  occu})y  its  lofty  summit,  while  the  Ninth  and 
Tenth  were  left  to  hold  and  guard  this  gap  which  Hood  and  Law  had  deemed 
their  open  gateway  to  our  left  and  rear.  We  did  not  then  know  the  supreme 
importance  of  the  position  we  had  to  protect,  but  we  do  know  now  froTU  Gen- 
eral Hill's  official  report  that  "  Hood's  right  was  held  as  in  a  vise.'' 

About  10  o'clock  that  night,  our  line  being  establislied  and  our  pickets  set 
a  few  yards  in  advance,  we  lay  down,  each  soldier  in  Iiis  place  and  "'  with  all 
his  armor  on  "  ready  for  any  night  attack  the  rebels  might  attempt  ;  and  not- 
withstanding an  occasional  shot  from  a  picket  post  to  remind  us  of  impending 
danger,  and  the  pitiful  moaning  of  tlie  wounded  all  around  us,  we  slept  as  only 
exhausted  soldiers  can.  With  the  earliest  dawn  of  day  on  July  :5d,  our  line  was 
up  and  on  the  alert.  How  vigorously  you  all  worked,  comrades,  on  tliis  stone 
wall  !  A  labor  of  love  it  was,  of  love  of  liie,  of  honor,  of  country  ;  for  well  you 
knew  how  this  low  breast-work,  rude  and  rough  in  form,  might  help  to  gain  and 
save  them  all,  in  the  .storm  i>f  battle  tliat  then  seemed  sure  to  burst  upon  u^ 
ere  the  sun  was  high. 

And  here  we  lay  all  that  long  summer  day  awaiting  calmly,  yea  hoping,  for 


P('inis///va)ii((  at  Gettysburg.  241 

the  charginfi  columns  of  the  rel)el.s.  But  no  attack  in  force  was  made  on  our 
position.  Skirmish  tiring  in  our  front  and  tlie  crack  of  the  sharpshooters'  rifh> 
were  the  only  sounds  of  war  tliat  l)roke  the  stillness  of  these  woods,  until,  sud- 
den Jis  a  flash  of  lightning  in  the  sultry  afternoon,  these  "rock  ribb'd  hills  '" 
were  made  to  shake  and  quiver  by  that  terrific  roar  of  three  hundred  cannon 
thundering  from  the  opposing  lines.  Oh  !  how  great  and  grand  it  was,  and  yet 
how  dreadful.  These  rocks  and  woods  that  seemed  to  promise  refuge  and  safety 
became  an  added  element  of  danger  when  the  iron  hail  that  filled  tlie  air  cut  off 
large  limbs  from  these  tall  trees  and  hurled  among  us  granite  fragments  when- 
ever a  heavy  round  .shot  struck  and  .shattered  some  protruding  boulder.  But 
with  all  that  fearful  .shelling  the  casualties  in  the  Ninth  were  very  few.  The 
records  show  we  had  but  two  men  killed  and  live  men  wounded  in  this  great 
battle. 

But  the  wounding  of  one  of  our  comrades,  one  who  but  lately,  "  after  life's 
fitful  fever,"  has  gone  to  his  long  rest,  was  an  incident  of  that  day  whicli  may 
have  special  mention.  Here  it  was,  right  here,  that  brave  and  generous  Ser- 
geant McMunn  of  Company  G,  moved  only  by  an  impulse  of  pity  for  a  suftering 
man,  laying  aside  his  gun  and  holding  up  his  hand  in  token  that  he  went  only 
on  a  deed  of  peace  and  mercy,  stepped  out  from  the  protection  of  our  wall  of 
stones,  to  carry  to  the  parched  lips  of  a  sorely  wounded  foe,  a  cup  of  water. 
And  while  bending  over  the  death -stricken  body  of  the  rebel  soldier  in  this 
ministration  of  pity  and  compassion,  a  bullet  from  the  rifle  of  some  ruthless 
rebel  sharpshooter  hidden  in  the  tree  top  crushed  through  his  face.  It  was  a 
most  dastardly  deed  !  But  sudden  and  sure  vengeance  followed  on  the  instant, 
and  the  rebel  miscreant  fell  pierced  by  more  than  one  ball  from  the  sergeant's 
comrades  of  Company  G. 

The  battle  ended  with  the  setting  sun  of  that  third  day  of  mighty  conflict 
and  "slaughter,  and  victory  at  last  rested  with  the  side  which  was  contending 
for  the  righteous  cause  of  our  national  unity  and  the  perpetuation  of  that  bene- 
ficent system  of  government  which  had  been  handed  down  to  us,  a  precious 
legacy,  by  the  patriotic  fathers,  the  wise  and  far-seeing  statesmen  and  sao-es  of 
the  old  revolutionary  times. 

When  the  morning  sunlight  gilded  these  mountain  heights  and  rugged  rocks 
and  spread  in  splendor  over  all  these  blood-stained  plains  and  ridges  on  that 
4th  of  July,  1863,  the  ever-joyous  anniversary  of  our  nation's  natal  day.  the 
nation's  existence  which  had  been  ruthlessly  threatened  and  imperiled  bv  its 
Confederate  enemies,  was  once  more  firmly  established  on  its  sure  foundation, 
its  underlying  corner-stone,  strong  and  enduring  as  this  great  rock  of  Round 
Top  under  whose  shadow  we  now  stand — that  ever-living  principle  which  aj)- 
peals  to  the  common  sense  of  the  common  people  among  all  races  and  in  all 
times — the  principle,  namely.  "  of  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for 
the  people." 

That,  comrades,  was  the  great  stake  for  which  we  of  the  Union  army  battled 
here  and  on  a  hundred  other  glorious  fields  all  over  the  I'nion's  wide  extended 
realm. 

And  may  I  not  now,  after  the  lapse  of  these  many  years,  adopt  the  l)eautiful 
language  of  Edward  Everett,  the  venerable  and  eloquent  orator  on  the  occasion 
of  the  dedication,  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  of  yonder  National  Cemetery  to  the 
sacred  dust  of  the  martyr  heroes  who  gave  up  their  lives,  ''that  wheresoever 
throughout  the  civilized  world  the  accounts  of  that  great  warfare  are  read,  and 
16 


242  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshurf/ 

down  to  the  latest  period  of  recorded  time,  in  the  ulorious  annals  of  our  common 
country,  there  will  be  no  brighter  page  than  that  which  relates  The  Battle  of 
Gettysburg.''' 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

.  39™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

(Tenth  Reserves) 
September  2,  1890 
ADDRESS  RY  GEORGE  W.  McCRACKEN,  ADJUTANT 

COMRADES  and  friends  :— It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  remark  that  the  time, 
to  which  lam  limited  on  thisoccasion,  entirely  precludes  anything  that 
could  be  fairly  denominated  history.  The  history  of  the  Tenth  Regi- 
ment would  require  a  volume  of  several  hundred  pages.  What  I  offer 
is  a  brief  sketch  of  its  organization,  what  might  be  called  an  itinerary  of  its 
campaigns,  and  a  few  .statistics. 

During  the  month  of  June,  1861,  there  assembled  in  the  old  "'Fai"  Grounds," 
on  Penn  street,  in  Pittsburg  (for  the  time-being  called  "  Camp  Wilkins")  seven 
companies  of  young  men,  who  had  enrolled  themselves,  at  as  many  different 
places,  scattered  over  territory  embraced  in  six  of  the  counties  of  western  Penn- 
svlvania.  Three  others  of  the  same  make-up  had,  at  the  same  time,  come  to- 
gether at  Camp  Wright,  at  Hulton  Station,  about  ten  miles  up  the  Allegheny 
river.  On  the  28th  of  June  these  companies  were  organized  as  a  regiment  of 
infantry.  John  S.  McCalmont  of  Venango  county,  was  colonel  :  James  T.  Kirk 
of  Washington  county,  lieutenant-colonel,  and  Harrison  Allen  of  Warren  county, 
major.  This  organization  was  designated  by  the  Governor  of  Penn.sylvania, 
"  The  Tenth  Regiment  of  Infantry  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Volunteer  Corps. " 
The  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps  was  a  military  organization  then  being  formed 
in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  the  general  assembly,  approved  May  15,  1861,  and 
designed  primarily  for  the  defense  of  the  State,  but  subject  at  any  time  to  be 
called  into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

To  bring  the  regiment  into  one  camp,  the  companies  at  Camp  Wilkins.  wliich 
were  those  known  during  their  service  as  Companies  A,  B,  C,  D,  G,  I  and  K, 
marched  on  the  afternoon  of  July  1.  to  Camp  Wright. 

In  Camp  Wright,  along  with  Colonel  J.  W.  McLane's  old  Erie  Regiment,  and 
the  Ninth  and  Eleventh  regiments  and  Battery  B.  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve 
Corps,  the  Tenth  was  exercised  in  drill  and  instructed  in  guard  duty  until  the 
afternoon  of  July  18,  when  it  marched  aboard  a  train  of  twenty-one  cars.  and. 
after  an  all-night  ride  over  the  Penn.sylvania  railroad  to  Huntingdon,  and  thence 
over  the  Huntingdon  and  Broad  Top  railroad,  landed  at  Hopewell.  Bedford 
county,  Pa.,  next  morning. 

In  afternoon  nuirched  to  Bloody  Run,  near  Everett  ;  next  evening  marched 
back  to  Hopewell ;  again  took  the  cars  ;  about  midnight  were  bountifully  fed  l)y 
the  good  ladies  of  Huntingdon,  and  shortly  after  daylight,  July  21,  1861  (day  of 
battle  of  Bull  Run),  landed  in  Harrisliurg.  jnit  up  at  Camp  Curtin.  That  after- 
noon the  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  for  the 
term  of  three  years,  being  the  first  of  the  Penn.sylvania  Reserve  Corps  so  mus- 


fHOTO.    CY  '.v.  H.  TIPTON.  GETTVSCI 


PRINT:   THE    F.  GUTEKUNST   CO..   PHiLA. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettt/tihurg.  243 

teied.  The  mustering  officer  was  lieutenant-colonel,  afterward  General  T.  AV. 
Sherman,  United  States  Army.  On  the  afternoon  of  22d,  again  marclied  aboard 
the  cars,  and  next  morning  at  an  early  hour  arrived  in  Baltimore.  INIarched 
across  the  city  with  muskets  loaded,  and  camped  for  a  night  at  Mount  Clare. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  .July  24,  the  regiment  embarked  on  a  train  of  box 
cars,  and  in  the  night  arrived  at  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  station,  in 
Washington.  In  and  around  the  depot  the  men  made  themselves  as  comfortable 
as  circumstances  would  allow  until  noon,  then  bivoucked  lor  two  nights  on  the 
Capitol  grounds  (then  enclosed  by  a  high  fence),  near  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  Capitol  building,  and  then  cami)ed  a  few  days  on  the  commons  near  Eastern 
Branch  of  Potomac.  On  the  5th  of  August,  marched  up  Pennsylvania  avenue 
and  out  through  Georgetown  to  Tennallytown.  The  day  was  intensely  hot,  and 
probably  more  of  the  men  suffered  from  exhaustion  and  the  effects  of  heat 
on  this  short  march  (six  or  seven  miles),  than  on  any  other  day  in  tlie  history 
of  the  regiment.  At  Camp  Tenally  the  Tenth  Regiment  remained  more  than 
two  months,  occupied  in  drilling,  guard  and  picket  duties.  Ijuildiug  fortifica- 
tions, being  reviewed,  etc.;  included  in  this  time,  one  week.  August  13-20, 
was  employed  as  advanced  guard  at  Great  Falls.  The  marcli  to  that  place  was 
made  in  a  terrible  down-pour  of  rain,  the  old  turnpike  being  flooded  in  many 
places,  some  of  them  several  feet  in  depth. 

The  entire  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps  was  assembled  at  Tenallytowii,  Gen- 
eral George  A.  McCall  commanded  the  division,  which  was  organized  as  three 
brigades,  commanded  respectively  by  Brigadier-Generals  John  F.  Reynolds, 
George  G.  Meade  and  Colonel  .Tohn  S.  McCalmont.  Colonel  IMcCalmont  continued 
in  command  of  Third  Brigade  which  was  constituted  of  the  Sixth,  Ninth,  Tenth 
and  Twelfth  regiments,  until  November  20,  1861,  when  Brigadier-General  E.  (). 
C.  Ord  was  assigned  to  its  command.  Of  this  brigade  the  Tenth  Regiment  con- 
tinued to  be  a  part  during  its  entire  term  of  service. 

October  9,  1861,  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  crossed  the  Potomac,  at  Chain 
Bridge,  and  first  trod  the  soil  of  Virginia,  few  of  the  boys  dreaming  how  much 
tbey  were  to  come  in  contact  with  that  sacred  article  during  the  three  j-ears 
that  were  to  follow.  The  division  now  encamped  at  Langleys,  on  the  Old 
Georgetown  and  Leesburg  pike,  called  their  camp  "Camp  Pierpont,'"  and  oc- 
cupied it  just  five  months,  engaged  in  drill,  guard  and  picket  dnty,  with  occa- 
sional variety  in  the  way  of  expeditious  beyond  the  lines  to  obtain  infornuition 
of  the  enemy  or  gather  forage.  Sometimes  these  encountered  similiar  parties 
of  the  enemy.  Of  these  encounters  the  most  important  occurred  at  Dranesville. 
December  20,  1861.  Ord's  Brigade,  that  day,  met  a  brigade  of  rebels  com- 
manded by  the  famous  cavalry  leader,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  and  in  the  engagement 
which  followed,  the  enemy,  consisting  of  the  First  Kentucky,  Sixth  South  Caro- 
lina, Tenth  Alabama  and  Eleventh  Virginia  regiments,  Avere  very  decidedly 
worsted.  General  Stuart  reported  his  loss  as  forty-three  killed,  one  hun- 
dred and  forty -three  wounded  and  eight  mi.s.sing.  The  loss  on  our  side  was 
seven  killed  and  sixty-one  wounded.  Of  the  Tenth  Regiment  only  one  platoon 
of  Company  B,  and  the  Pioneersunder  command  of  Captain  Thomas  IMcConnell 
were  engaged,  and  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  with  no  loss,  though  per- 
forming well  a  very  important  part,  and  occasioning  great  loss  and  demoraliza- 
tion to  the  enemy.  This  detachment  was  sent  by  Colonel  McCalmont  to  ob- 
serve and  if  opportunity  offered  attack  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy.  It  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  possession  of  a  washout  or  ravine  in  the  thick  ]nne  woods, 


244  Pennsylvania  at  Getty sburg. 

close  u])  OH  the  flank  ol'  tlu'  Kleventh  Virginia  and  Tentli  Alabama  regiments. 
which  were  engaged  with  the  Bucktails  in  their  front,  and  at  once  opened  a 
very  destructive  lire,  which  doubtless  hastened  the  dei)arture  of  those  regiments 
from  that  part  of  the  Held. 

On  the  10th  of  March.  18tJ:>,  participating  in  the  general  advance  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  the  division  moved  out  to  Hunter's  Mills ;  Centerville  and  the 
line  of  Bull  liim  having  been  abandoned  by  the  rebels,  the  I'ennsylvania  Re- 
serves w^erc  ordered  to  Alexandria,  and  marched  to  reach  that  destination  by  a 
circuitous  route,  over  fi^elds  of  mud,  during  a  day  of  constant  snow  and  rain. 
This  march  was  always  remembered  as  one  of  the  times  of  unmitigated  discom- 
fort and  exposure,  in  the  experience  of  the  regiment.  The  division  halted  near 
Fairfax  Seminary,  being  assigned  to  the  First  Army  Corps,  of  which  Major-Geu- 
eral  Irviu  McDowell  was  commander,  and  remained  near  Alexandria  while  tlie 
other  corps  were  embarking  for  the  Peninsula.  The  First  Army  Corps  was 
originally  composed  of  the  divisions  commanded  by  Generals  Franklin,  McCall 
and  King.  Franklin's  Division  was  sent  to  Yorktown  in  April  and  became  the 
First  Division,  Sixth  Army  Corps.  April  10,  the  Third  Brigade  Pennsyl- 
vania Eeserves,  marched  by  way  of  Fairfax  Court  House  and  Center\ille,  cross- 
ing Bull  Run  at  Blackburn's  Ford,  and  arrived  at  Manassas  on  the  11th. 
The  Tenth  Regiment  was  assigned  quarters  in  a  rebel  camp  about  a  mile  south- 
east of  jNIanassas  Station,  but  in  a  few  days  marched  to  Catlett's,  where  it  en- 
dured nearly  three  weeks  of  extremely  disagreeable  weather,  and  on  May  4. 
to  Falmouth  via  Hartwood  Church.  Though  out  of  .season,  some  bee  products 
and  some  turkeys  were  contiscated  on  this  march,  even  the  dignified  colonel  ol 
the  Tenth  Regiment  being  said  to  have  been  implicated  in  the  turkey  business. 
After  a  few  days  near  Falmouth,  the  Tenth  Regiment  moved  to  the  vicinity 
of  Potomac  Creelc  and  fitted  up  a  camp  in  very  tine  style,  the  other  regiments 
of  the  brigade  doing  likewise  Heavy  details  were  here  employed  in  cutting 
and  hauling  timber,  building  bridges  and  repairing  the  railroad  from  Aquia 
Creek  Landing  on  the  Potomac  to  Fredericksburg  and  beyond.  These,  with 
drill,  guard  and  picket,  kept  the  men  very  fully  employed.  Here  the  brigade 
lost  the  leadership  of  treneral  Ord,  who  was  promoted  to  be  a  major-general 
and  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  new  division  attached  to  the  First  Army 
Corps.  Brigadier-General  Truman  Seymour  was  assigned  to  command  the  bri- 
gade, a  change  of  commanders  that  was  never  appreciated  by  the  command. 
The  Tenth  Regiment  aLso  lost  its  honored  chief  Colonel  McCalmont's  per- 
sonal affairs  rendered  it  imperative  that  he  should  resign,  and,  much  to  the  re- 
'net  of  both  officers  and  men,  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  service.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Kirk  became  colonel,  and  Captain  A.  .T.  Warner  of  Company  G  was 
promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel. 

June  13,  the  Tenth  Regiment  embarked  on  the  Rappahannock  river  above 
Port  Royal,  on  the  steamer  Thomas  Jefferson  and  the  schooner  T.  Raymond 
which  Avas  towed  by  the  steamer.  There  was  considerable  novelty  in  the  trip. 
(Kcupyingmostof  twodaj's,  down  the  Rappahannock,  both  steamer  and  .schooner 
often  finding  the  bottom  of  the  river.  On  the  morning  of  the  Ujth,  the  Tenth 
landed  at  White  House,  on  the  Pamunkey,  and  marched  out  the  railroad,  pass- 
ing Tuustall's  Station,  just  mi.ssing  J.  E.  B.  Stuart's  cavalry  in  its  famous  raid 
around  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  Third  Brigade  was  here  temporarily  re- 
duced to  three  regiments,  the  Sixth  Regiment  being  detached  to  guard  the 
railroad.     .hiin-  IH,  the  division  marched  from  Dispaich  Station  up  the  north 


Pemisijicania  af  Getlyshnnj.  '       245 

side  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  passing  Porter's  Provisional  Fifth  Army  Corps, 
at  Gaines'  Mill,  took  post  as  the  advance  of  the  right  wing  of  the  army,  on 
Beaver  Dam  run,  about  a  half  mile  east  of  the  village  of  Mechanicsville,  which 
village  (entirelj^  deserted  by  its  inhabitants)  was  occupied  by  our  pickets  as 
their  reserve  post,  and  is  only  five  miles  from  Richmond.  The  intrenchments 
and  camps  of  the  rebels  were  in  plain  view  across  the  Chickahominy. 

Some  small  earthworks  were  thrown  up  by  the  Third  llrigade  along  the  east 
bank  of  the  Beaver  dam.  and  the  timber  bordering  tliat  .stream  mostly  cut  down, 
the  enemy  meanwhile  keeping  us  .stirred  up  by  an  occasional  shot  or  shell, 
which  they  could  throw  from  their  works  Ijeyond  the  Cliickahominy  entiiely 
over  our  camps. 

In  the  afternoon  of  June  26,  the  rebel  divisions  ol'  1).  11.  Hill  and  A.  P.  Hill, 
having  cro.ssed  the -Chickahomiuy  above  and  at  Mechanicsville,  capturing  mo.st 
of  the  pickets,  appeared  on  the  high  ground  west  of  the  Beaver  dam,  and  so(jn 
advanced  furiously  to  attack  our  position.  Our  line  was  held  by  the  First 
Brigade,  General  John  F.  Reynolds,  on  the  right,  on  its  left  two  companies,  A 
and  B  of  the  Tenth,  then  the  Twelfth  Regiment  completing  the  line  to  the 
Chickahominy  flats,  on  our  left.  The  other  companies  of  the  Tenth  and  Ninth 
regiments  were  in  reserve,  and  the  Second  Brigade,  General  George  G.  Meade, 
held  the  line  of  the  Chickahominy  to  left  and  rear.  Archer's  and  Field's  brig- 
ades of  A.  P.  Hill's  Division,  attempted  to  carry  the  right  of  the  line,  and  Rip- 
ley's and brigades  of  D.  H.  Jlill's,   were   hurled  against  our  left. 

At  every  point  they  were  most  severe!}'  repulsed,  the  First  North  Carolina 
and  Forty-fourth  Georgia  regiments  of  Ripley's  Brigade  meeting  with  losses 
exceeded  in  very  few  in.stances  during  the  war.  Official  report  gives  loss  of 
Forty -fourth  Georgia  as  three  hundred  and  tweuty-tive  killed  and  wounded  in 
this  engagement.  The  whole  rebel  loss  wasoiie  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  killed  and  wounded,  and  that  of  tlie  Peunsylvania  Reserves,  the  only  troops 
engaged  on  the  Union  side,  was  two  hundred  and  lifty-six  killed  and  wounded, 
and  one  hundred  and  five  missing,  the  missing  including  the  captured  pickets. 
Next  morning  the  division  marched  back  about  four  miles,  and  rested  behind 
the  lines  of  Morell's  Division  at  Gaines'  Mill.  The  rebels,  reinforced  by  Long- 
street's  Division  and  the  three  divisions  under  Jackson,  followed  the  movement 
closely,  and  in  the  afternoon  assailed  JNIorell's  and  Sykes'  positions  in  heavy 
force,  bringing  on  one  of  the  most  stubbornly  contested  battles  of  the  war.  The 
regiments  of  the  Thud  Brigade  were  sent  into  action  separately,  as  their  pres- 
ence seemed  to  be  needed  to  support  the  hard-pressed  front  line.  The  Tenth, 
going  to  the  assistance  of  Griflin's  Brigade,  took  a  gallant  part  in  repulsing  re- 
peated assaults  of  Pender's,  Gregg's  and  Anderson's  brigades  of  A.  P.  IlilPs 
Division,  holding  its  ground  until  late  in  the  evening,  when,  with  ammunition 
exhausted  and  ranks  sadly  thinned,  the  whole  line  was  forced  to  give  way,  be- 
fore the  overwhelming  onslaught  made  upon  it  by  Longstreet's,  Jackson's  and 
Whiting's  divisions.  The  loss  suftered  by  the  Tenth  Regiment  at  Gaines'  Mill 
was  numerically  the  greatest  it  ever  sustained,  although  the  percentage  of  loss 
out  of  number  engaged  was  much  greater  at  Mana.s.sas,  and  also  at  Fredericks- 
burg, and  was  the  heaviestof  any  regiment  in  the  division  except  the  Eleventh — 
being  forty  killed  and  one  hundred  severely  wounded  During  the  night  of  tlic 
27th  Porter's  command  cro.ssed  the  Chickahominy  to  Trent's  Hill,  where  we 
remained  during  the  following  day.  On  the  29th,  marched,  passing  Savage'.s 
Station  and  White  Oak  swamp,  to  Charles  (.'ity  Cross  Roads,  called  also  (ilcndale. 


246  Pennsylvania  at  Gettjishurg. 

where,  on  the  oUlh,  the  Tenth  Regiment  was  again  engaged  with  tlie  enemy, 
pel  lormed  with  entire  success  the  difficult  manoeuvre  of  making  a  left  half  wheel, 
under  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery,  and  in  the  presence  of  an  attacking  column  of 
infantry,  and  immediately  charging,  completeh'  broke  up  the  Seventeenth  Vir- 
ginia Regiment  of  Kemper's  Brigade,  capturing  nearly  half  its  numl^er,  and 
itself  sufil'ring  very  slight  loss  in  doing  so.  But.  a  little  later,  h\  somebody'.s 
blundcror  want  ofjudgment,  it  was  placed  in  an  exposed  and  untenable  position, 
where  it  sulfered  severe  loss.  Its  loss  this  day  was  twenty-four  killed  and  forty 
severely  wounded.  July  1,  the  division  enjoj-ed  the  position  of  lookers-on  at 
the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  and  at  night  led  the  army  in  its  march  to  Harrison's 
Landing,  on  the  James  river.  Here  it  rested,  suffering  from  the  heat  of  the 
weather  and  the  badness  of  the  water — all  who  were  there  doubtless  remember 
vividly  the  pork-barrel  wells  that  were  dug,  also  the  shelling  by  the  "rebs" 
from  the  south  side  of  the  James,  on  the  night  of  July  31.  After  the  latter  oc- 
currence the  Third'  Brigade  was  sent  across  the  river,  and  spent  a  pleasant  week 
'at  Coggin's  Point,  the  old  Edmund  Ruffin  x)lantation. 

On  the  withdrawal  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  Harrison's  Landing  we 
embarked  on  a  steamer,  two  regiments,  Tenth  and  Seventh  on  one  boat,  landed 
at  Aquia  Creek  August  19,  and  were  at  once  transported  by  rail  to  Freder- 
icksburg. Late  in  the  evening  of  the  21st  the  division,  now  commanded  by 
General  John  F.  Reynolds,  started  out  upon  what  tried  to  the  utmost  its  powers 
of  endurance — the  march  to  Warrenton,  to  join  the  army  of  General  Pope.  We 
rested  at  Warrenton  until  afternoon  of  August  27,  1862,  Avhen  departure  was 
taken  in  haste  by  the  old  turnpike  toward  Bull  Run  and  Centerville,  the  division 
again  forming  ^mrt  of  the  First  Army  Corps — commanded  by  INIajor-lieneral 
McDowell.  We  came  in  contact  with  the  enemy  on  the  morning  of  the  28th 
near  Gainesville  and  again  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  the  night  made  a  long  cir- 
cuitous march  nearly  to  Manassas  and  back  nearly  to  the  Henry  House  on  the 
old  battle-field  of  Bull  Run. 

On  the  29th  the  Third  Brigade  especially  was  used  as  a  detachment  to  feel  for 
the  enemy's  position  in  front  of  the  left  of  Pope's  army  and  open  communica- 
tion with  Fitz  John  Porter's  command  should  it  advance  upon  the  enemy.  On 
the  afternoon  the  Third  Brigade  with  General  G.  K.  Warren's  Brigade  of  the 
Fifth  Corps  and  McLean's  Brigade  of  Sigel's  Corps  were  the  only  infantry  left 
on  the  south  side  of  the  pike,  and  bore  the  brunt  of  the  overwhelming  charge 
of  Longstreet's  whole  corps.  The  loss  sufiered  here  by  these  brigades  testify 
to  the  fact  that  they  did  all  that  men  could  do  to  hold  their  groiuid.  The 
Tenth  lost  in  this  battle  twenty-two  killed  or  mortally  wounded  and  about 
forty  others  wounded.  The  last  day  of  the  month  was  spent  at  Centerville,  the 
division  i)icketing  along  Cub  run  at  night.  September  1,  we  reached  Chan- 
tilly  late  in  the  evening,  and  in  an  outpour  of  rain  halted  in  support  of  Kear- 
ny's Division,  in  the  engagement  in  which  that  dashing  leader  lost  his  life. 
Next  day  marched  from  Fairfax  Court  House  to  Arlington,  where  we  rested  until 
the  night  of  the  (Jth  during  whicli  we  marched  again,  cro.ssing  Long  Bridge,  and 
through  the  city  of  Washington  to  Leesboro,  Md.  After  here  receiving  some 
much-needed  supplies,  our  march  was  continued  nortlnvard,  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  13th  we  bivouacked  at  the  cro.ssing  of  tlie  ^Slonocacy  by  the  Frederick 
pike.  Next  day  pushed  forward  through  Frederick  and  ISIiddletown,  and  in 
the  afternoon  took  an  active  part  in  di.slodging  the  enemj'  from  his  formidable 
position  on  South  Mountain.     At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  the  division  filed 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  247 

off  to  tlie  right  about  a  mile,  and  fliar<;ing  up  tlic  face  of  the  ridge  quickly  dis- 
h)dged  tlie  enemy,  completely  dispersing  Kodes'  Alabama  Brigade.  Loss  in 
regiment,  seven  killed  and  thirteen  wounded.  Next  morning  followed  the  re- 
treating rebels  to  the  Autietam  just  beyond  Keedysville. 

After  waiting  until  the  evening  of  the  16th,  the  First  Corps,  which  since 
leaving  Washington  had  been  commanded  by  General  Joseph  Plooker,  moved 
up  the  creek  a  short  distance,  crossed  by  a  stone  bridge,  ])ushed  on  to  the  Ilagers- 
towu  and  Sharpsburg  pike,  and  Meade's  Division  being  in  advance,  we  got 
sharply  into  action  with  the  enemy  just  before  dark,  and  the  opposing  lines  of 
battle  passed  the  night  only  a  lew  yards  apart.  The  attack  by  Hooker's  Corps 
was  resumed  at  dawn  on  the  17th,  King's  Division  going  to  the  front,  immedi- 
ately followed  by  the  Third  Brigade  of  Meade's,  and  at  once  began  the  bloodiest 
forenoon's  work  of  the  war.  Fortunately  for  the  Tenth  Regiment,  the  confi- 
dence of  the  corps  commander  either  in  its  reliability  or  in  the  skill  of  its  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, in  a  situation  that  might  require  the  exercise  of  those  qualities 
in  an  unusual  degree,  was  here  the  occasion  of  our  escaping  the  very  fiercest  of 
the  conflict.  Just  as  it  was  entering  the  i'amous  cornfield,  Colonel  Warner 
was  ordered  by  an  aide  of  General  Hooker  to  move  his  regiment  hj  the 
right  flank  across  the  turnpike,  go  as  far  to  the  right  and  front  as  pos.sible,  and 
watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  This  duty  it  performed,  itself  suffering 
but  little,  except  the  very  serious  wounding  of  its  gallant  commander. 

The  regiment  encamped  near  Sharpsburg  until  the  26th  of  October,  on  which 
da-  it  marched  to  the  summit  of  South  Mountain  at  Crampton's  Gap,  a  day  and 
night  of  experience  with  mud  and  rain  and  fierce  searching  wind  on  the  dreary 
mountain  top.  We  crossed  the  Potomac  again  into  Virginia,  at  Berlin,  October 
30,  marched  across  Loudoun  county  by  way  of  Lovettsville,  Philomont,  Union 
and  Middleburg  to  White  Plains  and  Warreutou,  and,  sheep  and  hogs  beino- 
numerous  and  in  prime  condition,  we  fared  as  well  as  at  any  time  during  the 
service.  The  First  Corps  moved  from  Fayetteville  near  Warrenton,  November 
17.  and  next  evening  camped  at  Stafford  Court  House,  soon  moving  again  to 
Brooke's  Station,  and  after  some  two  weeks  of  extremely  cold  weather  for  so 
early  in  the  season  spent  there,  moved  on  the  6th  of  December  to  White  Oak 
Church,  from  whence,  at  2  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  11th,  we  started  for  the 
Rappahannock,  the  Tenth  being  detailed  to  guard  the  laying  of  pontoon  bridges 
at  Franklin's  Crossing,  about  two  miles  below  Fredericksburg.  The  enemy's 
pickets  were  quickly  driven  from  the  opposite  bank  and  two  bridges  soon  com- 
pleted. The  Sixth  Corps  cio.ssing  on  them  during  the  afternoon,  and  the  First 
Corps  on  the  12th  ;  the  latter  corps  moved  down  the  river  to  Bernard's  planta- 
tion, where  it  bivouacked.  Nothing  was  visible  on  the  morning  of  the  13th 
but  a  most  remarkably  dense  fog.  The  division  however  moved  out  across  the 
Bowling  Green  road  finding  there  the  skirmishers  of  the  enemy.  The  lines  of 
the  First  Corps,  which  was  now  commanded  by  General  John  F.  Reynolds, 
were  soon  formed,  the  Finst  Division  on  the  left  faced  nearly  east,  the  Third  Di- 
A'ision  (Pennsylvania  Reserves),  General  George  G.  Meade  commanding,  on  its 
right  fronting  nearly  to  the  south  at  almost  a  right  angle  with  the  First,  faced 
the  enemy's  batteries  and  lines  of  infantry  on  the  wooded  hills  beyond  the 
railroad,  the  Second  Division  on  its  right  extending  in  the  same  direction,  and 
the  Sixth  Corps  prolonged  the  line  still  farther  to  the  right.  The  assault  on 
the  enemy's  position  was  made  by  the  Third  Division,  now  consisting  of  the 
thirteen  old  regiments  of  Pennsylvania  Reserves  and  two  new  regiments,  the 


248  Pennsylvania  at  Geftys/nc/y. 

One  liimdred  and  iwenty-tiist  and  One  hundred  anil  lorty -second  reginients 
Ptunsylvania  Voluuleers,  incorporated  respectively  in  the  First  and  iSecond 
Brigades.  The  First  Brigade  was  deployed  on  the  right,  the  Third  ou  the  left 
and  the  Second  massed  in  rear  of  the  center.  The  Tenth  Regiment  formed  the 
e.xtreme  left  of  the  line.  It  had  only  eight  companies  in  line,  Company  B  having 
l)eeu  sent  out  as  skirmishers  down  the  Bowling  (ireen  road,  where  the  cavalry 
skirmishers  of  the  enemy  had  become  troul)lesom(',  and  Company  I)  being 
provost  guard  of  division. 

About  2  o"(;lock  they  moved  forward  as  steadily  and  in  as  (complete  order  as 
though  its  ranks  were  not  being  plowed  by  shot  and  shell  from  the  enemy's 
batteries.  The  distance  to  be  traversed  was  about  a  half  mile  over  a  treeless 
])laiu.  which  was  found  to  be  crossed  by  fences  bordered  with  briars,  and  a  wide 
ditch  about  five  feet  deep  with  nearly  perpendicular  sides,  and  water  and  ice  at 
the  bottom,  but  these  obstacles  scarcely  occasioned  a  break  in  the  line  as  it  swept 
on  toward  the  enemy.  After  crossing  the  railroad  the  Tenth  Regiment  found 
itself  exposed  to  u  heavy  cross-fire  from  the  left  as  well  as  the  fire  in  its  front. 
In  tact  the  left  of  our  line  had  struck  near  the  center  of  Archer's  Brigade,  and 
the  right  of  that  command  overlapped  our  left,  thus  compelling  the  left  of  the 
Tenth  to  fall  back  to  the  railroad,  which  it  held,  engaging  the  enemy,  and  keep- 
ing silent  a  section  of  artillery  ix)sted  about  two  hundred  yards  to  its  left  and 
front.  The  riglit  of  the  Third  Brigade  dislodged  the  Nineteenth  Georgia  Regi- 
ment forming  the  left  of  Archer's  Brigade,  almost  annihilating  it,  and  capturing 
its  colors,  and  swinging  forward  to  the  left,  widened  the  interval  between  it  and 
the  left  of  the  First  Brigade.  This  interval  was  at  once  occupied  by  the  Second 
Brigade,  which,  pushing  directly  forward,  badly  worsted  the  famed  South  Caro- 
hna  Brigade  of  General  Maxcy  Gregg,  and  causing  the  death  of  General  Gregg. 
The  ground  thus  wrested  from  the  enemy  the  division  held  for  about  two  hours, 
repulsing  all  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  retake  it,  until,  after  nearly  half  its  num- 
bers were  killed  or  wounded  and  its  ammunition  entirely  expended,  it  retired 
over  the  same  ground  it  had  made  its  advance,  bringing  back  every  one  of  its 
colors,  and  also  several  others  taken  from  the  enemy.  The  division  entered  the 
engagement  with  less  than  four  thousand  five  luindred  men  and  lost  therein 
over  two  thousand  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  The  Tenth  Regiment,  out  of 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  engaged,  lost  eleven  killed,  eighty-one  wounded 
and  forty-sevenmissing,as  reported  immediatelj'^  alter  the  battle  ;  of  the  wounded, 
twelve  died  of  their  wounds.  Althougli  the  Tenth  did  not  penetrate  the  enemy's 
line  as  for  as  .some  of  the  other  regiments,  it  held  most  determinedly  a  position 
that  was  all  important  to  the  .safety  of  the  whole  division,  and  it  was  only  by 
the  greatest  possible  effort  that  the  unemployed  enemy  on  its  left  were  held 
back  from  closing  the  gap  in  the  rear  of  those  who  had  advanced  into  the  woods. 
Asa  military  movement,  for  dash  and  gallanfry  in  making  the  advance,  for 
steadiness  and  determination  in  holding  a  position  gained  within  the  lines  of 
an  enemy  much  superior  in  numbers  to  the  attacking  force,  and  especially  lor 
the  adhesiveness  shown  in  retiring  without  a.ssistance,  and  without  loss  of  or- 
ganization, from  so  exposed  a  situation,  this  charge  of  .Meade's  Division  cer- 
tainly compares  creditably  with  anything  recorded  in  history. 

The  division  crosse«l  back  to  the  north  side  of  the  river  on  the  night  of  ihe 
l.'ith  of  December,  and  after  a  few  days  moving  about  .settled  down  in  a  camp 
among  the  sand  hills  near  Belle  Plain  Landing,  where  it  remained,  with  the 
f.\(<)ition  iif  Wwc.c  (lays  loUowing  .January  '215.  IHfi!!.  diiriiiir  which  it  particii)ated 


l^ennsylvania  at  Geityshurtj.  249 

in  tlic  no  way  pleasant  experience  of  "  Burnside's  Sturk  in  tl\e  Mud,"  nntil 
February  9,  wheu  it  embarked  on  tlic  Potomac,  and  next  day  landed  at  Alex- 
andria, marched  to  Minor's  Hill,  and  was  employed  in  picketing  in  front  of 
the  fortifications  of  Washington,  nntil  April  20,  when  the  Third  Brigade  moved 
into  Washington,  occnpied  barracks  on  East  Capitol  street,  and  np  to  the  1st  of 
June  was  engaged  in  various  duties  pertaining  to  tlie  .Military  District  of  Wash- 
ington. 

June  1,  1863,  the  Third  Brigade  marched  to  Upton's  Hill,  and  thence,  on  the 
25th,  along  vvith  First  Brigade  (the  Second  being  left  at  Alexandria),  set  out  to 
join  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  coming  up  with  iton  the  28th  at  Ballinger's 
creek  near  Frederick,  Md.  The  two  brigades  now  iKcanie  the  Third  Division, 
Fifth  Army  Corps,  and  so  remained  until  expiration  <il'  their  service.  .June  29, 
we  marched  to  Liberty,  (m  the  30th  to  Union  Mills,  Md..  and  on  July  1,  cros.sed 
into  Pennsylvania,  and  were  pushed  on  toward  York,  so  far  Irom  Gettysburg 
that  the  sound  of  battle  did  not  reach  us  at  all,  and  we  were  entirely  unaware 
of  the  desperate  conflict  going  on,  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  news  was 
received  that  a  battle  was  in  progress  and  that  (General  Reynolds  had  been  killed . 
The  news  of  the  death  of  General  Reynolds  caused  a  universal  feeling  of  sadness 
throughout  the  division,  which  had  known  hini  from  the  beginning  as  brigade, 
division  and  corps  commander,  and  all  honored  and  respected  him  in  the  very 
fullest  sense. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  July  1,  the  head  of  column  of  the  Fittli  Corps  was 
turned  toward  Gettysburg,  the  Third  Division  passing  through  Hanover  after 
dark.  The  weary  march  was  until  after  midnight,  when  near  the  village  of 
Bonneauville  a  halt  was  made,  and  the  tired  soldiers  laid  down  and  slept  by 
the  roadside  until  day,  which  came  at  a  very  early  hour.  After  a  hasty  break- 
fast the  corps  was  again  on  the  march,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  skirmishers 
ot  the  enemj',  who  held  possession  of  that  road  to  the  town  of  Gettysburg.  We 
let  them  keep  it,  and  filed  to  the  left  down  a  small  stream  until  we  reached  the 
Baltimore  turnpike,  which  we  followed,  toward  Gettysburg.  After  crossing 
Rock  creek  the  Fifth  Corps  filed  otf  the  pike  to  the  left,  lay  do'ivn  and  rested 
until  about  5  o'clock  in  the  evening,  at  which  hour  the  sound  of  battle  came 
loud  from  this  part  of  the  field.  Quicklj'  under  arms  the  corps  was  soon  in 
motion  toward  the  sound,  crossing  the  Taneytown  road,  we  ascended  the  slope 
of  Little  Round  Top.  meeting  many  wounded  from  the  battle  which  was  fiercely 
raging  bej'ond  the  hill. 

The  First  and  Second  Divisions  had  preceded  us,  and  the  Third  Brigade  of 
each  had  been  left  to  hold  Little  Round  Top  and  drive  the  enemy  from  the 
rocky  valley  between  the  two  hills,  while  the  other  brigades  had  jjassed  on  to 
the  wooded  broken  ground  and  the  wheat-field  beyond. 

A  wonderful  scene  met  the  gaze  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  when  they 
reached  the  crest  of  Little  Round  Top.  It  was  near  the  close  of  what  General 
Longstreet  has  denominated  "the  be.sttwo  hours'  fighting  that  ever  took  place 
on  this  planet."  It  was  the  moment  just  before  exhaustion  ot  the  tremendous 
and  desperate  effort  by  the  divisions  of  Hood,  IVIcLaws  and  Anderson,  com- 
prising thirteen  brigades  of  the  very  flow-er  of  the  rebel  army,  under  the  per- 
sonal direction  of  Generals  Lee  and  Longstreet,  to  crush  the  left  wing  of  the 
Union  army,  and  gain  possession  of  Little  Round  Top.  It  should  be  remarked 
that  the  brigades  of  the  rebel  armj^  at  this  time  were  just  alniut  one-third 
heavier  than  those  of  ours.     The  two  lieing  nearly  equal   in   numbers,  theirs 


250  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

was  composed  ol"  tliirty-eight  infantry  regiments  and  ours  of  fifty -one.  So  that 
while  our  brigades  averaged  about  one  thousand  and  five  hundred  men,  theirs 
exceeded  two  tliousand.  In  repelling  this  mighty  assault  there  had  been  en- 
gaged the  six  brigades  of  the  Third  Corps,  four  brigades  of  First  Division,  Second 
Corps,  and  li^■e  brigades  of  the  Fifth  Corps. 

When  the  rennsylvania  Ixcserves  looked  down  the  western  slope  of  Little 
Eound  Top.  the  skirmishers  of  the  enemy  were  almost  at  its  foot  and  his  some' 
what  broken  and  disordered  but  exultant  lines  not  far  in  their  rear.  The  First 
Brigade  dashed  down  the  slope,  deploying  as  it  went,  drove  back  the  skirmishers 
and  nearest  brigade  of  the  enemy,  and  the  mighty  effort  put  forth  to  wring 
from  the  Union  army  the  key  to  its  position  was  over,  and  with  it  had  passed 
the  highest  wave  of  the  rebellion.  From  those  two  hours  fighting — 5  to  7  o'clock 
July  ri,  1863,  may  be  dated  the  commencement  of  its  ebb-tide.  When  the  First 
Brigade  charged  down  the  slope  of  Little  Round  Top,  the  Third  Brigade  was 
sent  to  the  Iclt  into  the  valley  at  the  foot  of  the  larger  hill,  the  Ninth  and 
Tenth  regiments  forming  line  of  battle  perhaps  over  one  hundred  yards  in  rear 
of  the  position  marked  by  the  stone  wall  which  they  subsequently  built  and 
which  is  marked  hy  their  monuments,  and  the  Fifth  and  Twelfth  regiments 
dislodged  part  of  Law's  Alabama  Brigade  and  occupied  the  summit  of  Big 
Round  Top.  At  daylight  next  morning  the  Tenth  Regiment  advanced  to  the 
position  now  marked,  and  at  once  commenced  and  in  surprisingly  .short  time 
completed  the  construction  of  this  wall  ;  in  pushing  back  the  skirmishers  of 
the  enemj"  from  this  position,  two  men  of  the  Tenth  were  killed  and  three 
wounded.  The  sharpshooters  of  the  enemy  under  cover  of  the  rocks  and  trees 
were  xevj  troublesome,  but  volunteers  from  the  Tenth  were  readj^  to  meet 
them,  and  they  were  very  soon  receiving  as  good  as  they  sent.  Major  J.  C. 
Rogers,  commanding  Fifth  Texas  immediatelj'  in  our  front,  says  in  his  report, 
"just  before  day  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  orders  reached  me  that  breastworks 
must  be  thrown  up  and  the  position  held.  During  the  day  constant  skirmish- 
ing was  kept  up  with  the  enemy  which  resulted  in  the  loss  to  ns  of  many  of  our 
best  scouts. ' '   . 

On  the  5th  of  July  the  regiment  marched  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  with  whom 
we  came  up  and  skirmished  on  the  12th  and  13th  near  St.  James  College  and 
\Villiainsi)ort,  Md.,  The  rebels  having  esca])ed  across  the  Potomac,  we  uuirched 
back  over  South  Mountain  and  on  the  17tli  of  July  again  cro.ssed  into  Virginia 
at  Berlin.  Here  Colonel  Warner,  who,  though  sufiering  from  his  wound  re- 
ceived at  Antietam  to  a  degree  that  would  have  entireh'  disabled  almost  any 
other  man,  had  up  to  this  commanded  the  regiment,  gave  up  the  command  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  B.  Knox.  July  23,  we  reached  Manassas  Gap  or  Wap- 
piiig  Heights, where  we  advanced  over  the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  line  of 
battle,  Vuit  the  enemy  retired  without  causing  us  any  loss.  From  the  gap  we 
marched  to  Warrenton  (blackberries  being  about  all  the  provender  in  sight), 
then  on  down  Ijy  Fayetteville  to  Rappahannock  Station,  where  we  rested  until 
the  UJth  of  September,  wlien  advance  was  made,  the  Fifth  Coips  locating  be- 
yond Culpeper,  and  again  we  took  things  easy  in  a  very  pleasant  camp  until 
the  10th  of  October.  The  rebel  army  then  commenced  a  movement  by  way  of 
Warrenton,  toward  our  rear.  We  got  into  action  with  Hill's  Corps  at  Bristoe  on 
the  14th.  The  enemy  in  his  eagerness  to  attack  the  Filth  Corps  which  was  in  a 
rather  exposed  itosition,  exposed  himself  to  the  Second  Corps,  and  lost  heavily  ; 
two  brigades.  Cooke's  and  Kirklaiid's  of  Heth's  Division,  being  almo.st  annihil- 


Pennsylvania  at  Getiyshurg.  251 

atedaud  a  battery  captured.  The  Tenth  Kegiment  here  performed  the  duty  ol"  rear 
guard  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  holdiug  the  euemyin  check  while  the  corps  withdrew 
toward  Manassas.  Its  loss  was  one  killed  and  two  wounded.  We  retired  to 
Manassas,  then  returned  to  Bristoe  after  night,  to  assist  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Second  Corps,  then  again  passed  Manassas,  crossed  Bull  Run  at  llhicklxirn's 
Ford  and  next  morning  were  at  Centerville.  In  the  advance  which  followed 
we  marched  by  way  of  Bull  Run  battle-field  and  Greenwich  to  Warrenton 
Junction,  where  we  halted  from  October  21  to  November  7,  when  the  Fifth 
and  Sixth  corps  advanced  to  Rappahannock  Station,  a  brigade  of  the  Sixth  as- 
saulting the  enemy's  entrenchments  captured  almost  entire  Haj's'  and  Hoke's 
brigades  of  Early's  Division,  one  thousand  six  hundred  men  with  their  arms, 
a  battery  and  pontoon  Vjridge. 

Crossing  the  Rappahannock  at  Kelly's  Ford  we  moved  out  to  Mountain  run, 
and  occupied  new  and  commodious  quarters  just  built  b}'  Battle's  Alabama 
Brigade,  but  left  them  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  November,  on  which  day 
we  crossed  the  Rapidau,  at  Culpeper  Mine  Ford,  and  l)ivouacked  that  night  at 
the  junction  of  the  Germanna  and  Orange  Plank  roads  ;  next  day  marched  by 
old  Plank  road  toward  Orange  Court  House,  and  in  the  afternoon  came  up  with 
Gregg's  Cavalry  Division  engaged  with  the  enemy  at  New  Hope  Church,  and 
at  once  proceeded  to  take  part,  but,  thanks  to  good  luck  or  good  dodging,  none 
of  the  Tenth  were  seriously  hurt. 

Next  day  moved  to  the  right  to  where  the  old  Fredericksburg  and  Orange 
Court  House  turnpike  crosses  Mine  Run.  On  the  29th  remained  in  position, 
looked  at  rebs  building  works  on  their  side  of  the  run  and  worked  .some  at  same 
on  ours.  The  morning  of  the  30th  was  extremely  cold  ;  moved  verj'  early  about 
two  miles  to  right,  where  Fifth  and  Sixth  Cor])s  massed  and  prepared  to  assault 
the  enemy's  works,  but  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  everybody  the  order  to  attack 
was  countermanded  and  we  returned  to  the  position  of  the  previous  day.  De- 
cember 1  continued  to  fortify,  and  .so  did  tlie  enemj-.  The  Tenth  was  on 
the  .skirmi-sh  line,  was  relieved  after  dark  and  .started  to  the  rear  by  the 
old  turnpike,  recrossed  the  Rapidan  at  Germanna  Ford  at  daylight,  and 
crosstd  the  Rappahannock  at  Kelly's  Ford  and  continuing  on  to  'Warrenton 
Junction,  there  built  winter  quarters  and  went  to  guarding  the  railroad.  After 
changing  several  times,  the  Tenth  finally  was  located,  December  30,  1863,  to 
pass  the  winter  at  Manassas.  Divided  into  detachments  to  guard  the  railroad 
we  were  constantly  annoyed  ))y  guerrillas,  In*  whom  at  one  time  two  men  were 
wounded  and  captured,  and  two  were  killed  April  15.  1864. 

During  the  winter  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  of  the  regiment  re-enlisted, 
and  were  given  furlough  for  thirty-five  days.  April  29.  the  Tenth  Regiment 
bade  final  farewell  to  Manassas,  and  on  the  30th  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  and 
joined  the  Filth  Corps  near  Stevensburg. 

Very  early  in  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  May,  the  Fifth  Corps  (now  including 
the  First)  set  out  for  its  last  trip  across  the  Rapidan,  cro.ssing  it  about  noon  at 
Germanna  Ford,  it  pushed  on  to  old  Wilderness  Tavern.  Next  morning  Third 
Division  started  on  by  a  cross  road  toward  Parker's  Store,  but  soon  came  up 
Avith  the  enemy,  and  after  .some  skirmishing  fell  back  nearly  to  the  old  tavern. 
On  morning  of  6th,  pushed  to  the  front  on  both  sides  of  the  turnpike,  captiu- 
ing  a  heavy  line  of  skirmishers,  until  we  found  ourselves  facing  a  line  of  earth- 
works and  in  a  very  exposed  position.  Plere  we  held  on.  however,  until  even- 
ing, losing  five  killed  and  several  severelv  w-ounded,  among  the  latter  \qy\ 


252  Pennsylvania  af  Getfi/sh>in/. 

nnlortnnately  l)cing  Colouel  Aver,  aud  liom  tliis  time  Adjutant  G.  W.  McCraeken 
was  virtually  toiiiniander  of  the  regiment.  Alter  dark  moved  at  double-quick 
down  the  Gerinania  road  to  support  Sixth  Corps,  whidi  had  been  attacked  and 
Seymour's  and  Shaler's  brigades  captured,  but  returned  later  in  the  morning, 
crossed  Wilderness  run  and  lay  quiet  until  night. 

Then  the  Fil'th  Corps  pulled  out,  crossed  the  old  Plank  road,  passing  along 
the  lines  of  the  Second  Corps  lying  in  their  entrenchnicnts  along  the  Brock  roud. 
passed  the  cavalry  just  at  daylight  at  Todd's  Tavern,  and  then  commenced  push- 
ing back  the  enemy's  cavalry,  and  clearing  the  road  of  obstructions,  which  con- 
tinued until  we  crossed  the  Ny  river  and  found  ourselves  in  the  presence  of 
and  sharply  engaged  with  I^ngstreet's  Corjjs  in  front  of  Spotsylvania  Court 
House.  That  evening,  May  8,  the  Third  Division, supported  by  the  First,  charged 
upon  the  enemy.  "We  advanced  through  thick  woods  until  dark,  got  into  the 
enemy's  line,  engaged  in  numerous  hand-to-hand  encounters,  and  lost  a  good 
many  men  reported  missing,  most  of  whom  doubtless  were  killed,  as  they  were 
never  heard  from  afterward.  Those  who  were  captured  w ere  very  fortunate  in 
being  recaptured  next  day  by  the  cavalry  at  Beaver  Dam  Station.  The  Tenth 
was  engaged  with  the  enemy  every  day  and  almost  every  night  for  a  week,  on 
this  northwest  side  of  Spotsylvania  Court  House  ;  then  during  the  rainy  and  ex- 
ceedingly dark  night  of  the  14th  of  May,  moved  around  to  the  east  and  put  in 
another  week,  but  without  being  quite  so  constantly  engaged.  Loss  in  all  these 
actions,  twenty-live  killed  and  sixty  wounded.  Pulling  out  to  Guiney's  Sta- 
tion on  the  20th,  we  took  the  Richmond  road,  crossed  the  North  Anna  river  at 
.Jericho  Mills  on  the  •23d,  and  had  a  brisk  tight,  losing  two  killed.  Next  after- 
noon the  division  pushed  down  between  the  river  and  enemy  and  covered  the 
crossing  of  the  Ninth  Corps.  Next  morning  pushed  forward  still  farther  down 
the  river,  and  during  25th  and  26th  confronted  enemy's  w(»rks — at  a  distance 
of  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  yards. 

During  night  of  26th  withdrew  to  north  side  of  North  Anna,  and  started  down 
the  river,  crossed  the  Pamunkey  at  Hanover  Ferry,  and  on  the  29th  pushed  out  to 
Totopotomoy  creek  where  the  Tenth  skirmi.shed  with  the  enemy,  being  on  picket 
line  that  night.  Next  forenoon  were  relieved  by  Ninth  Corps,  and,  crossing  the 
creek,  we  joined  the  division  near  the  Mechanicsville  road.  Skirmishing  was 
going  on.  and  as  soon  as  we  came  up  we  were  ordered  to  the  skirmish  line  to 
take  the  place  of  the  Fifth  Regiment  which,  armed  with  smooth-bore  muskets, 
was  unable  to  drive  the  enemy's  skirmishers.  The  Tenth  at  once  deployed  and 
moved  forward  to  the  skirmish  line  where  we  found  the  Bucktails  deployed 
to  our  right.  The  whole  line  was  ordered  forward,  and  forward  it  went  driving 
before  it  a  heavy  line  of  rebel  skirmishers,  and  followed  by  the  division  in  line 
<jf  battle  which  halted  and  threw  up  some  slight  breastworks  near  Bethesda 
Church.  The  skirmishers  kept  on  for  nearly  a  mile  over  open  fields  and  then 
across  a  narrow  swamp,  when  they  lound  a  line  of  earthworks  facing  them  at 
not  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  distance  ;  over  these  Avorks  at  once 
came  the  enemy  in  force;  that  the  Tenth  Regiment  got  oat  of  that  strip  ol" 
woods,  and  back  over  open  fields  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  yards  wide, 
before  any  cover  was  reached,  has  always  seemed  a  piece  of  wonderful  good 
fortune.  Hut  it  did  so  without  having  a  man  seriously  hurt,  and  losing  only 
two  captured.  The  skirmishers  rallied  with  their  brigades,  who  had  hastily 
thrown  together  some  rails  for  breastworks,  and  the  enemy,  two  brigades  of 
EwelTs  Cori)s.  following  them  up,  were  received  with  a  lire  tliat   alniosl  anni- 


Pennsylvania  of  Gettiishurtj.  253 

hilated  them.  Uiu'  of  these  was  the  lamed  old  ritonewall  Brigade,  its  com- 
mander, Colonel  J.  11.  Terrill,  falling  about  one  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the 
Tenth  Regiment.  For  destructiveness  to  the  enemy,  coupled  with  slight  loss  to 
ourselves,  this  engagement  at  Bethesda  Church  was  very  much  like  those  at 
Dranesville  and  Median icsville.  The  Tenth  lost  one  man  mortally  wounded. 
Tliis  ended  the  services  of  the  Tenth  Regiment.  Ne.xt  morning  it  received  the 
following  order : 

"Headquarteks   I'lirii    Ai;mv  (\nivs,  Mai/  \\\.  Hty. 

•'Special  Orders  No. . 

■:~  *  *  -:•;-  *  -K-  *  *  •■:-  *  w  *  * 

'■'2.  In  issuing  the  order  lor  the  return  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  whose 
term  of  service  exinres  to-day,  the  general  commaiuling  begs  leave  to  express 
to  them  his  great  satisfaction  at  their  heroic  conduct  in  this  arduous  campaign. 
As  their  commander  he  thanks  them  for  their  willing  and  efficient  efforts,  and 
congratulates  them  that  their  successful  engagement  of  yesterday,  closing  their 
term  of  service  and  long  list  of  battles  braveh"  fought,  is  one  they  can  ever  re- 
member with  satisfaction  and  pride. 

"By  command  of  Major-General  Warren. 

•A.  .-;.  -Makvix.  Jr..  A.  A.  G." 

The  total  enrolment  of  the  Tenth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Reserves  was  one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty  officers  and  men.  Of  these  one  hundred  and 
sixty  were  killed  in  battle  or  died  of  wounds,  thirty-one  died  of  disea,se  or  acci- 
dent, twenty-eight  deserted  or  were  dishonorably  discharged,  forty  were  trans- 
ferred to  cavalry  or  artillery  service  in  the  regular  army  or  to  the  Veteran  Re- 
serve Corps,  forty-two  were  discharged  by  order  mo.stly  to  accept  commissions 
in  other  or<ranizations,  two  hundred  and  seventy-one  were  discharged  tor  dis- 
ability largely  caused  by  wounds,  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  were  transferred 
to  the  One  hundred  and  ninetieth  and  One  hundred  and  ninety-first  regiments 
Pennsylvania  Veteran  Volunteers,  two  full  companies.  I  and  K.  of  the  One  hun- 
dred and  ninety-first  being  entirely  composed  of  veterans  and  recruits  of  the 
Tenth  Regiment,  and  three  hundred  and  twenty-seven  were  mustered  out  at 
Pittsburg.  .Tune  11,  1864. 

Of  the  two  thousand  and  forty-seven  regiments  in  the  Union  army  during 
the  rebellion  the  Tenth  Regiment  stands  forty-fifth  of  those  sustaining  the 
greatest  percentage  of  loss  in  battle  to  total  enrolment,  its  loss  in  killed  and 
mortally  wounded  being  nearly  fourteen  per  cent,  of  enrolment.  And  this 
loss  was  not  (as  was  the  case  with  some  organizations  suffering  heavy  losses) 
occasioned  by  any  overwhelming  disaster,  but  in  every  instance  represented 
hard  fighting  in  which  the  enemy  had  no  particular  advantage.  In  fact  where- 
ever  there  was  marked  advantage  the  enemy  had  far  the  worst  of  it.  This  was 
unmistakably  true  at  Dranesville,  at  Mechanicsville.  at  South  Mountain,  and 
last  but  not  least  at  Bethesda  Church. 

Of  the  forty-seven  regiments  of  the  Union  army  sulTeringthe  largest  percent- 
age of  loss  in  killed  and  died  of  wounds,  forty  belonged  to  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac ;  twelve  of  them  to  the  First  and  Fifth  corps,  and  four  of  them  being  regi- 
ments of  the  Pennsylvania  Re.serve  Corps.  It  is  also  worthy  of  remark  that 
eleven  of  the  forty-seven  were  Pennsylvania  regiments. 

The  loss  of  the  Tenth  Regiment  by  disearu-  wa>s  the  smallest  of  any  three-years' 
regiment  in  the  entire  army.    In  the  Union  Army  according  to  statistics  compiled 


254  Pennsylcania  at  (Teityshurg. 

by  the  AVar  Department,  the  aggregate  uumber  ol' men  enrolled  was  two  million 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight  thousand  three  himdrcd  ami  three,  and  the 
aggregate  number  of  deaths  from  all  causes,  three  liuudred  and  titty-nine  tlioiis- 
and  live  hundred  and  twenty-eight ;  nearly  thirteen  per  cent,  of  total  enrolment. 
Pennsylvania  furnished  three  hundred  and  thirty-seven  tlioti.sand  nine  hundred 
and  thirty-si.K  men,  of  whom  there  died  from  all  cau.ses,  thirty-three  thousand 
one  hundred  and  eighty-three  ;  le.ss  than  ten  ])er  cent.  The  killed  or  mortally 
wounded  of  the  entire  army  numbered  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  and 
seventy  ;  not  quite  four  per  cent.  Pennsylvania  troops  lost  in  killed  or  mortally 
wounded,  fifteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  ;  nearly  four  and  a  half 
l)er  cent.  Died  of  disease,  entire  army,  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-six,  a  little  le.ss  than  eight  per  cent.,  ot  Pennsylvania 
soldiers,  there  died  of  disease,  fifteen  thousand  nine  hundred  and  one  ;  about 
four  and  three-fourths  per  cent.  Thus  we  see  that  while  the  loss  of  Pennsylvania 
.soldiers  by  the  missiles  of  the  enemy  w'as  heavier  in  proportion  to  numliers  than 
that  of  the  whole  army,  their  losses  from  disease  were  only  about  half  the  average. 
And  in  the  case  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  this  diiference  is  still  more  marked. 
The  loss  in  killed  and  mortally  wounded  in  the  thirteen  infantry  regiments  of 
Pennsylvania  Reserves  was  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-three,  a  little 
more  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  whole  enrolment  of  the  division  ;  while  those  who 
died  of  disease,  including  the  unfortunates  starved  in  Ander.sonville  and  other 
prison  pens  of  the  South,  numbered  seven  hundred  and  fifty,  or  le.ss  than  fi\e 
per  cent.— just  reversing  the  common  statement  that  in  armies  two  men  die  of 
disease  for  every  one  killed  in  battle.  But  the  experience  of  the  Tenth  Regiment 
was  the  most  marked  of  all  in  this  respect  ;  the  losses  of  the  Tenth  Regiment 
Pennsylvania  Reserves  in  the  twenty-two  engagements  in  which  it  participated. 
were  one  hundred  and  sixty  killed  or  mortallj^  wounded  out  of  the  aggregate 
enrolment  of  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty,  nearly  fourteen  per  cent., 
while  the  deaths  from  disease,  including  those  in  southern  prison  pens,  were  only 
thirty-one  ;  being  le.ss  than  two  and  three-fourths  per  cent,  of  the  enrolment — or 
le.ss  than  one-fifth  as  many  died  of  disease  as  were  killed  in  battle. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

40™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

(  Eleve.n'th  RE-SERVES  ) 
ADDRESS  BY  BREVET  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  .S.  M.  JACKSON 

THE  battle  of  Chancellorsville  had  been  Ibught  and  lost,  and  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  battered  and  broken,  but  not  conquered,  recrossed  the 
Rappahannock  and  took  up  its  old  position  on  Stafford  Heights,  in  the 
rear  of  Falmouth. 
The  .southern  press  and  people  clamored  for  northern  invasion,  and  even  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  joined  in  this  general  outcry. 

This,  together  with  the  overflowing  granaries  and  store-houses  of  Maryland 
and  southern  Pennsylvania,  doubtle.ss  induced  General  Lee  to  undertake  the 
camjiaign  whie-h  proved  so  fatal  to  the  Confederate  cause. 


Pauisi/lrania  at  Geft)jsJ)nr(j.  255 

Longstreet  with  his  thirty  thousand  veterans  was  ordered  nji  from  North  Caro- 
lina, and  by  the  stimulus  of  invasion,  coiuiuest  and  i»luuder,  the  thinned  ranks 
of  the  Confederate  army  were  retilled,  and  General  Ia^o  with  his  boasted  hundred 
thousand  invineibles  started  on  the  memorable  Gettysburg  campaign. 

He  moved  up  the  south  bank  of  the  I\ai)pahannock  river,  whilst  General 
Hooker,  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  moved  in  a  parallel  line  up  the 
north  bank,  like  two  sparring  pugilists,  each  watching  for  a  favorable  opportunity 
to  strike  the  other. 

This  sparring  continued  until  Lee  struck  the  foot  hills  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains,  through  which  he  passed  and  placed  this  natural  ])arrier  between 
him  and  his  foe.  He  then  proceeded  north  along  the  western  .slope  of  the  Blue 
Kidge,  while  Hooker  moved  leisurely  along  the  eastern  slope,  keeping  between 
the  Confederate  army  and  the  city  of  Wa.shington.  Lee  with  his  army  crossed 
the  Potomac  river  near  WilliamsiJort,  Md.,  while  Hooker  crossed  about  twenty- 
tive  miles  further  south,  at  Edwards  Ferry.  On  reaching  Maryland,  the  South 
^lountain  range  completely  separated  the  two  contending  armies,  and  by  guard- 
ingthe  few  passes  through  this  range,  the  movements  of  the  one  army  was  thor- 
oughly hidden  from  the  other. 

Hooker  concentrated  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  the  valley  of  the  Monocacy, 
a  few  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Frederick.  The  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Division 
having  been  recalled  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  early  in  1863  to  the  de- 
fenses of  Washington,  was  located  at  difiterent  points  within  the  Washington 
department,  except  the  Second  Brigade  which  had  been  ordered  to  W^est 
Virginia. 

The  Eleventh  Regiment,  which  I  had  the  honor  to  command,  was  stationed 
at  V'ienna,  Va.,  a  small  village  some  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Washington  on 
the  Leesburg  and  Alexandria  railroad.  Brigadier-General  S.  W.  Crawford,  a 
Pennsylvanian,  but  an  old  army  veteran,  had  just  been  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  divi.sion.  and  under  his  order  we  broke  camp  on  June  25,  1863,  and 
started  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

We  moved  by  way  of  Dranesville.  Va. ,  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Edwards 
r^erry  and  reached  the  camps  of  the  army  on  the  evening  of  June  26,  the  same 
day  that  General  Hooker  had  been  relieved,  and  General  George  G.  Meade  had 
been  designated  by  the  President  as  Commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Meade's  appointment  to  this  important  command  was  received  with  much 
mistrust  by  many  of  the  old  officers  and  men  of  the  army,  as  he  was  a  com- 
parative stranger  to  most  of  them,  but  well  known  to  every  officer  and  man  in 
the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  having  entered  the  service  in  1861  as  commander 
of  the  Second  Brigade,  and  remaining  with  us  as  brigade  and  division  com- 
mander through  the  Peninsular,  Second  Bull  Run,  South  Mountain,  Antietam 
and  Fredericksburg  cami)aigns. 

True  he  had  been  in  command  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps  a  short  time,  ])ut  had 
gained  no  particular  notoriety  in  this  position.  The  announcement  of  his  ap- 
pointment was  made  just  as  we  reached  the  outer  camps  of  the  army  and  our 
men  .shouted  themselves  hoarse  over  the  welcome  news. 

Doubtless  this  demonstration  on  our  part  had  something  to  do  with  the 
marching  of  our  division  through  the  camps  of  the  army  that  evening,  and  I 
am  satisfied  that  it  created  a  feeling  of  confidence  among  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  army,  in  the  ability  of  the  new  commander. 

After  reaching  our  camp  that  evening,  a  number  of  the  officers  rode  over  to 


256  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

arniv  headquarters  to  j)ay  our  respects  to  our  old  commander,  and  to  congratu- 
late him  on  his  distinguished  promotion. 

We  found  him  in  close  conference  witli  Generals  Reynolds,  Hancock,  Sedg- 
wick and  others.  He  seemed  delighted  in  welcoming  us  back  to  the  army. 
Thanked  us  for  our  congiatulations,  but  said  that  he  did  not  know  whether  he 
was  a  subject  of  congratulation  or  commiseration.  He  appeared  anxions  and 
showed  that  he  fully  realized  the  responsibility  of  his  position.  He  said  how- 
ever that  he  had  all  confidence  in  the  bravery  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
arn)v  and  felt  assured  that  we  would  achieve  a  glorious  victory  in  the  coming 
conflict. 

That,  doubtless,  was  a  sleepless  night  to  the  new  commander,  for  before  the 
sun  rosetlie  ne.x.t  morning  the  order  directing  the  movements  which  culminat<»d 
in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  had  been  prepared  and  sent  out  to  all  the  subordi- 
nate commanders. 

Our  division  was  designated  as  the  Third  Division  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps, 
then  under  command  of  Major-Geneial  George  Sykes.  The  orders  directed  the 
movements  of  the  army  from  Frederick  City  in  three  columns.  The  left  column 
under  General  Reynolds,  consisting  of  the  First,  Third  and  Eleventh  corps, 
was  to  move  by  way  of  Emmitsburg  direct  to  Gettysburg.  The  center  column, 
consisting  of  the  Second,  Fifth  and  Twelfth  corps,  was  to  move  in  the  direction 
of  Hanover,  Pa.,  and  under  the  eye  and  immediate  direction  of  the  command- 
ing general.  The  right  column,  consisting  of  the  Sixth  Corps  under  General 
John  Sedgwick,  was  to  move  in  the  direction  of  Westminster,  Md.  Just  before 
crossing  the  State  line,  which  we  did  near  Uniontown,  Md.,  the  commanding 
general  issued  a  general  order  directing  corps,  division,  brigade  and  regimental 
commanders,  to  address  their  troops  on  the  importance  of  every  man  perform- 
ing his  whole  duty  in  the  coming  conflict,  that  an  expectant  nation  was 
looking  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  drive  the  ruthless  invaders  from  the 
free  soil  of  Pennsylvania,  and  keep  the  scene  of  war  away  from  northern  homes. 

On  the  receipt  of  this  order  General  Crawford  called  together  his  brigade  and 
regimental  commanders,  and  here,  for  the  first  time,  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  lately  appointed  regimental  commanders  of  the  division. 

The  brigade  commanders  were  William  McCaudless  of  the  Second  Regiment 
and  Joseph  W.  Fisher  of  the  Fifth,  both  of  whom  have  gained  some  civil  no- 
toriety since  the  war,  both  having  served  as  State  Senatoi-s.  McCandless  as 
Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs  of  Pennsylvania  and  Fisher  as  Cliief-Justice  of  the 
Territory  of  Wyoming. 

The  regimental  commanders  were  as  follows  :  First  Regiment,  Colonel  W. 
Cooper  Talley  ;  Second  Regiment,  Lieutenant-Colonel  P.  McDonougli ;  Fifth 
Regiment,  Lieutenant-Colonel  George  Dare,  afterwards  killed  in  the  battle  of 
the  Wilderness ;  Sixth  Regiment,  Colonel  A.  J.  Warner;  Eleventh  Regiment, 
commanded  by  myself;  Twelfth  Regiment,  Colonel  M.  D.  Hardin,  now  on  the 
retired  list  of  the  regular  army  as  brigadier-general ;  Thirteenth,  or  Bucktails, 
Colonel  Charles  F.  Taylor  (brother  of  the  renowned  Bayard  Taylor),  wlio  was 
killed  three  days  later  leading  his  regiment  in  the  memorable  charge  from 
Little  Round  Top. 

General  Crawford  read  to  us  this  late  order  of  the  commanding  general  and 
urged  upon  us  the  necessity  of  arousing  our  men  to  a  full  sense  of  their  duty, 
to  exert  their  every  effort  in  the  protection  of  their  homes  and  firesides,  since 
thev  w<!re  now  on  the  soil  of  their  native  State.     Colonel  Fisher,  our  brigade 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg,  257 

ooinmander,  always  anxious  for  an  opportunity  to  make  a  speech,  called  out 
the  brigade  and  gave  us  a  most  excellent  and  eloquent  talk,  which  seemed  to 
arouse  the  men  very  much  at  the  time,  but  the  long  night  march  before  reach- 
ing Gettysburg  took  much  of  the  spasmodic  patriotism  out  of  the  boys. 

On  the  morning  of  July  1.  1S6.'>,  we  left  our  camp  about  5  o'clock  and  moved 
rapidly  in  the  direction  of  Hanover  which  point  we  reached  about  5  p.  m. 
During  the  afternoon  we  heard  heavy  firing  toward  our  left  and  thereby  knew 
that  General  Reynolds  had  struck  the  enemy.  Just  belbre  reaching  Hanover 
we  passed  over  the  ground  wiiere  Kilpatrick  had  defeated  the  Confederate  cav- 
alry the  day  before.  The  field  showed  all  the  marks  of  a  well-contested  battle, 
being  strewn  over  with  dead  horses,  broken  caissons  and  sabers,  and  the  accom- 
panying debris  of  a  battle-field. 

On  reaching  Hanover  town  the  head  of  the  column  turned  square  to  the  left 
and  moved  forward  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  Gettysburg.  We  all  knew  from 
this  that  the  concentration  of  the  army  was  to  take  place  on  General  Rey- 
nolds' column,  which  we  supposed  at  this  time  was  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Gettysburg.  Darkness  came  on,  yet  no  signs  of  a  halt  appeared,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  word  passed  back  along  the  line  "keep  well  closed  up  and  press 
forward . ' ' 

The  men  became  tired,  footsore  and  cross  ;  midnight  passed,  1  o'clock  passed, 
but  they  longed  in  vain  for  the  order  to  halt.  Manj'  an  exhausted  soldier 
dropped  out  of  the  ranks,  still  the  order  "press  forward."  Finally  after  passing 
the  village  of  McSherrystown,  Pa.,  the  head  of  the  column  turned  into  a  meadow 
on  our  right  and  the  wear}'  men  were  directed  to  lay  down  and  rest.  Poor 
fellows,  they  had  hardly  touched  the  ground  till  they  were  fast  asleep,  the  last 
sleep  on  earth  for  many  of  them. 

We  were  called  up  just  as  the  sun  began  to  crimson  the  eastern  sky  and 
moved  out  in  the  direction  of  Gettysburg  with  the  same  old  order,  "press  for- 
ward." As  the  head  of  my  regiment  filed  out  on  the  road.  General  Crawford 
who  had  just  mounted  his  horse,  called  me  to  him  and  informed  me  that  Gen- 
eral Reynolds  had  been  killed  in  an  engagement  near  Gettysburg  the  evening 
before.  He  told  me  not  to  let  the  men  know  it,  saying  it  was  a  hard  blow  on 
the  arm  J'  and  country  just  at  this  particular  crisis. 

After  marching  a  few  miles  we  were  halted  and  the  men  were  allowed  to  make 
coffee.  We  were  then  moved  forward  to  the  rear  and  east  of  Big  Round  Top 
where  we  were  halted  and  ammunition  issued  to  the  men.  The  undisturbed 
quietness  in  our  front  was  iiainful,  for  we  all  well  knew  that  the  giants  were 
.stripping  for  the  contest,  and  that  the  movements  for  positions  were  now  going 
on.  About  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  single  gun  was  fired  in  the  direction  of 
and  beyond  Big  Round  Top  ;  this  was  followed  by  the  sharp  rattle  of  musketry 
and  the  heavy  booming  of  artillery.  Very  soon  aides  and  orderlies  began  to 
gallop  in  all  directions.  One  soon  found  his  way  to  division  headquarters  when 
General  Crawford  and  his  staff  quickly  mounted  and  the  order  was  passed  along 
to  fall  in. 

We  moved  in  the  rear  and  east  of  the  Round  Tops,  filed  to  the  left  and 
crossed  the  ridge  between  Little  Round  Top  and  the  Cemetery.  We  were  then 
moved  to  the  left  and  took  position  on  the  western  slope  of  Little  Round  Toj), 
massed  m  a  battalion  front  with  the  Third  Brigade  leading.  This  formation 
placed  my  regiment  in  the  rear  of  the  brigade.  We  remained  in  this  position 
but  a  short  time  when  the  firing  became  very  heavy  on  our  left  and  in  the  di- 
17 


258  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

rection  of  Big  Round  Toi),  when  a  stali"  officer  rode  up  and  directed  Colonel 
Fisher  to  move  his  brigade  iu  that  direction  and  aid  Colonel  Vincent's  Brigade 
in  holding  that  important  position.  In  obedience  to  this  order  the  brigade 
commenced  filing  out  from  the  head  of  the  column,  first  the  Twelfth  Regiment. 
next  the  Fifth,  and  then  the  Tenth  which  unmasked  the  right  of  my  regiment, 
Wliile  these  movements  were  going  on  the  battle  in  our  front  became  terrific 
and  verj'  soon  we  could  see  that  our  troops  were  being  driven  back.  At  this 
moment,  and  just  as  I  was  about  to  move  oft'  to  the  left  with  my  regiment, 
Major  Speer  of  the  division  staff",  rode  up  and  said,  '"Colonel  Jackson,  General 
Crawford  directs  that  you  remain  in  position  and  hold  this  hill  at  all  hazards." 

In  obedience  to  this  order  I  faced  my  regiment  to  the  front  and  moved  forward 
to  the  position  just  vacated  by  the  Twelfth  Regiment,  and  ordered  the  meu  to 
lie  down  and  withhold  their  fire  until  I  would  give  the  command.  This  very 
trying  order  was  most  heroically  obeyed  as  we  were  wholly  exposed  to  the  galling 
fire  of  the  enemy  from  the  direction  of  Devil's  Den,  and  quite  a  number  of  my 
officers  and  men  were  here  killed  and  wounded.  Our  position  gave  us  a  com- 
plete view  of  much  of  the  day's  battle-field,  including  the  wheat-field  and  part 
of  the  peach  orchard  beyond,  together  with  the  woods  on  the  right  and  left  of 
the  wheat-field  and  the  greater  portion  of  Devil's  Den,  that  stronghold  so  tena- 
ciously held  by  the  foe. 

A  discouraging,  yet  sublime  view  it  was  about  6  o'clock,  that  hot  July  after- 
noon. The  enemy  forcing  back  foot  by  foot  the  struggling  heroes  of  the  Third 
Corps  and  the  First  Division  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  down  through  the  wheat-field 
and  the  woods  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  wheat-field,  while  the  artillery  to 
our  right  and  left  were  playing  upon  them  Avith  shot  and  shell.  Still  on  they 
came,  a  seeming  irresistible  mass  of  living  gray.  The  First  Ohio  Battery,  com- 
manded by  a  German  captain,  had  gone  into  action  on  my  left-front,  and  when 
it  seemed  that  nothing  could  stop  the  onward  progress  of  the  enemy,  this  gallant 
officer  became  very  much  exercised  over  the  safety  of  his  guns  and  loudly  an- 
nounced that  he  would  be  compelled  to  limber  to  the  rear  to  save  his  pieces  from 
capture.  I  told  him  to  double-shot  his  guns,  hold  his  position,  and  we  would 
see  to  their  safety. 

The  boys  along  the  line  of  tlie  regiment  hearing  this  colloquy  between  the 
German  captain  and  myself,  holloed  out,  "Stand  by  your  guns,  Dutchy,  and 
we  will  stand  by  you."  This  seemed  to  put  new  confidence  in  the  captain,  who 
returned  to  his  guns  and  served  them  most  heroically,  inflicting  irightlul  ex- 
ecution upon  the  foe,  as  he  poured  the  shot  and  shell  into  their  very  laces. 

All  this  time  my  regiment  remained  quiet  and  motionless  save  in  carrying  back 
our  killed  and  wounded.  The  men  hugged  the  ground  closely,  which,  by  the 
help  of  a  scrubby  growth  of  pine  which  stood  along  the  western  slope  of  the  hill, 
screened  them  pretty  elfectually  from  the  enemy's  view.  The  smoke  by  this  time 
had  literally  filled  the  valley  in  our  front,  and  it  was  almost  impossible  to  even 
see  the  troops.  It  was  a  trying  moment.  We  could  with  difficulty  see  a  column 
commencing  to  ascend  the  slope,  but  could  not  tell  whether  it  was  our  troops 
retreating,  or  the  enemy  advancing.  Finally  two  men  came  up  the  hill  and  as 
they  approached  us,  I  inquired  if  the  front  was  clear  of  our  meu.  They  replied, 
'•  Yes  ;  those  fellows  (pointing  to  the  line  moving  up  the  hill  a  few  rods  in  our 
front)  are  Johnnies."  T  immediately  gave  the  command  to  fire,  which  was 
obeyed  with  alacrity,  and  we  jjoured  a  terrible  volley  into  the  very  faces  of  the 
enemv.     This  evidently  was  a  surprise,  tor  they  faltered  in  the  onward  march 


Pe7i)t  sylvan  id  at   (Tf'ffyshiir(j.  259 

and  began  tocollect  in  groups.  Their  galling  lire,  howt-xcr.  was  kv\){  up  (in  our 
line,  particularly  from  Devil's  Den,  and  1  soon  realized  the  fact  that  the  only 
way  to  hold  the  hill,  was  to  charge  forward.  Therefore,  I  gave  the  command 
to  &x  bayonets  and  charge.  This  order  was  obeyed  with  a  will  and,  with  that 
familiar  yell  peculiar  to  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  we  rushed  upon  the  foe 
with  a  determination  to  either  drive  the  invaders  back  or  .sacrifice  ourselves  ou 
our  native  soil.  Our  fondest  hopes  were  realized.  The  tide  Mas  turned,  the 
enemy  broke  and  fell  back  in  much  disorder. 

As  we  neared  the  swamp  or  run,  about  midway  ljet\\  een  Little  Hound  Top 
and  the  wheat-field,  I  noticed  troops  deploying  to  my  right  and  left  and  observ- 
ing the  well  known  Bucktails  rushing  up  in  line  with  us  on  our  left,  I  was  as- 
.sured  that  the  regiments  of  the  First  Brigade  which  had  been  laying  in  rear 
of  us  on  Little  Round  Top,  had  joined  us  in  the  charge.  On  nearing  the  wheat- 
field  fence,  General  Craw  ford  rode  up  to  the  rear  of  my  line  with  hat  in  hand  and 
complimented  the  regiment  in  the  most  extravagant  terms,  saying,  ""  Colonel 
Jackson,  you  have  saved  the  day,  your  regiment  is  Avorth  its  weight  in  gold  ;  its 
weight  in  gold,  sir.''  He  directed  me  to  establish  my  line  at  the  edge  of  the 
wheat-field  and  have  temporary  Avorks  thrown  up  at  once. 

In  locating  my  line,  I  discovered  that  the  Bucktails  and  First  regiments  were 
on  my  left,  and  the  Second  and  Sixth  on  my  right.  This  formation  placed  my 
regiment  in  the  center  of  the  First  Brigade,  which  position  we  occupied  during 
the  remaining  days  of  the  battle. 

Just  as  darkness  was  closing  around  us,  an  officer  rode  up  in  rear  of  my  line 
and  asked  "  what  command  is  this."  On  telling  him  that  it  was  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Reserves,  he  replied  that  Pennsylvania  would  suj^port  us,  that  he  Avas 
Colonel  Collier  of  the  One  hirndrcd  and  thirty-ninth  Pennsylvania,  and  that  liis 
regiment  was  directly  in  our  rear  and  would  gladly  take  our  place  if  needed. 
On  looking  back  I  beheld  the  mountain  side  and  away  toward  Cemetery  Rid<je 
literally  covered  with  troojis.  The  colonel  said  that  Avas  a  division  of  the  Sixth 
Corps,  Avhich  had  just  arrived  on  the  field.  This  was  the  first  intimation  I  had 
that  the  Sixth  Corps  had  got  up,  and  it  Avas  comforting  indeed  to  knoAV  that  such 
a  grand  body  of  true  and  tried  troojis  Avere  on  the  ground.  This  fact  in  itself 
assured  to  us  the  victory. 

The  position  taken  at  the  wdieat-field  was  held  throughout  the  night  and  next 
day  until  after  Pickett's  repulse  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  Avheu  General  Meade  rode 
over  to  the  left  and  directed  Colonel  McCandless  to  drive  the  enemy  from  the 
Avoods  to  the  left  of  the  Avheat -field,  Avhich  he  did  by  moving  his  brio-ad e'iu  line 
to  near  the  top  of  the  hill  in  the  Avheat-field,  when  he  ordered  a  left-half  Avheel  and 
charged  up  through  the  woods  at  a  double-quick,  yellinglustily  as  we  advanced . 
This  forced  the  enemy  to  abandon  their  stronghold  at  Devil's  Den  and  as  Ave 
reached  the  open  ground  extending  out  to  and  beyond  the  Emmitsburo-  road. 
Ave  saAv  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  moving  by  fiank  at  a  double-quick,  far  oft'  to 
our  left,  hastening  to  gain  their  forces  in  our  front  beyond  the  Emmitsburo-  road. 

Here  we  remained  ihrough  the  night,  and  very  early  on  the  mornino-  of  the 
4th  a  terrific  rain  storm  set  in  Avhich  continued  the  greater  portion  of  the  day. 
Along  in  the  afternoon  the  Sixth  Corps  Avas  moved  out  to  ieel  the  enemy  but 
lieyond  a  light  skirmish  line  Avhich  they  quickly  dislodged,  they  met  no  oppo- 
sition. We  Avere  then  moved  back  to  near  the  Avheat-field  from  Avhence  avc 
started  the  evening  before,  Avhere  rations  and  ammunition  were  issued  to  the  men. 

Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.     The  foe  Avas  conquered  and  Ave  stood 


260  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshurfj. 

victorious  on  the  field.  The  record  of  \yhich  shall  ever  illumine  the  pages  of 
American  history,  as  the  j^reatest  battle,  both  in  lesults  and  casualities  in  j)ro- 
portion  to  the  troops  engaged,  ever  fought  on  the  American  continent. 


ADDRESS  BV  BREVET  MAJOR  H.   K.  SLOAN 

THE  Penn-sjlvania  Reserve  Corps  originally  consisted  of  twelve  regi- 
ments infantry,  one  regiment  rifles  (Jjucktails),  one  regiment  cavalry  and 
one  regiment,  artillery,  in  all  fifteen  regiments,  fifteen  thousand  eight 
hundred  enlisted  men,  field,  stall' and  line. 
After  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  lo,  1862,  the  division  was 
ordered  back  to  defenses  of  Washington.  D.  C.  The  Third  Brigade  at  Minor's 
Hill.  The  Eleventh  Regiment  was  ordered  from  this  position  to  Vienna,  Va., 
and  lay  there  until  the  movement  culminating  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Penn- 
s\'lvauia,  commenced. 

Two  brigades,  the  First  under  command  of  Colonel  McCandless,  consisting  of 
Bucktails  (First  Rifles).  First,  Second  and  Sixth  infantry  regiments.  The  Third 
under  command  of  Colonel  Fisher,  consisting  of  Twelfth,  Fifth,  Tenth  and  Elev- 
enth infantry  regiments.  The  Second  Brigade,  consisting  of  Fourth.  Seventh. 
Eighth  and  Ninth  regiments,  were  detached  from  the  division.  At  battle  of 
Gettysburg  the  First  and  Second  brigades  and  the  Regulars  formed  the  Third 
Division,  Fifth  Army  Corps,  under  command  of  General  S.  W.  Crawford,  the 
Fifth  Army  Corps  commanded  ]>y  General  Sykes. 

The  Eleventh  Regiment  was  at  Uniontowu,  Md.,  on  the  morning  of  July  1, 
1863.  Lieutenant-Colonel  D.  S.  Porter,  by  command  of  Colonel  S.  M.  Jackson, 
colonel  commanding  regiment,  moved  out  of  bivouac  at  5  o'clock  a.  m.,  with  a 
portion  of  our  regiment  (Companies  "A,"  "'B,"  and  I  think  other  companies 
but  cannot  remember  number)  as  a  guard  for  wagon-trains,  etc.  This  detail 
marched  with  the  train  until  toward  sunset,  when  the  news  was  received  that 
the  advance  of  our  army  was  engaged  with  the  enemy  at  Gettysburg,  Peimsyl- 
vania,  and  we  were  ordered  to  rejoin  our  commands.  The  trains  were  ordered 
to  Westminister.  We  rejoined  our  regiment  and  marched  steadily  until  10 
or  11  o'clock  in  the  night,  when  all  were  tired,  sleepy,  cross,  and  inquiries  were 
made  with  all  the  emphasis  tired,  hungry  and  sleepy  soldiers  could,  '"When 
will  the  officers  halt,"  etc. — cheering  was  heard  on  the  road  upon  which  we  were 
marching,  in  advance  of  us,  on  other  roads  running  parallel  to  our  road,  and  the 
bt)ys  wondered  what  those  fools  were  yelling  for.  The  cheering  came  nearer  and 
nearer,  increasing  in  volume,  and  finall3'  .some  one  at  the  side  of  the  road  called 
out,  "Boys,  General  McClellan  is  in  command."  and  then  for  the  time  being, 
empty  stomachs,  sleep  and  fatigue  were  all  forgotten,  and  we  joined  madly  in 
the  cheers. 

Predictions  were  freely  ofl'ered  that  we  were  going  to  whip  the  enemy,  aye 
destroy  their  army,  etc.  This  news  helped  us  along  on  the  weary  march  until 
about  1  o'clock  of  the  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  July,  when  tired  nature  asserted 
its  power  and  men  fell  out  ol  ranks,  even  the  strongest  and  most  energetic  gave 
out,  and  fell  into  the  ditch  by  the  roadside,  and  lay  there.  This  weary  and 
almost  intolerable  march  was  continued  until  3  o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the 
2d,  when,  just  after  pa.ssing  through  the  village  of  McSherrsytown.  Pennsylvania, 
the  regiment,  having  been  twentv-thrce  liour^  on  the  march  was  turned  into 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty sbirnj.  261 

whiit  seemed  a  meadow,  on  the  right-hand  side  ol'  the  road,  we  laid  down  and 
slept — were  awakened  at ,")  oclock,  having  had  about  two  hours  sleep  and  rest, 
and  found  we  were  laying  in  a  swamp.  The  coarse  swamp  grass  had  served  us 
tor  -i  bed,  a  softer  bed  I  do  not  believe  was  ever  given  human  beings — being 
composed  largely  of  water.  Immediately  on  being  awakened  at  5  o'clock  a.  m., 
on  the  morning  of  July  2,  186:>,  the  regiment,  being  the  left  of  the  brigade,  moved 
out  into  the  road,  and  after  marching  some  two  or  three  miles  was  halted  and 
leave  given  to  make  coffee  and  get  breakfast.  We  were  given  about  thirty 
minutes  to  do  this — then  the  march  for  Gettysburg  began  in  good  earnest.  1  do 
not  know  exactly  when  our  brigade  struck  the  Baltimore  pike,  but  I  remember 
marching  along  the  Baltimore  pike  some  distance  before  we  tiled  oft".  The  point 
at  which  we  marched  off  the  Baltimore  pike  was,  I  think,  at  what  is  known  as 
the  White  Church,  at  which  point,  whilst  marching  on  the  pike  to  Gettysburg, 
we  tiled  off  the  pike  and  marched  along  a  country  road  for  a  distance  of  about 
one  mile,  when  Ave  were  marclied  into  a  tield  on  right-hand  side  of  road  looking 
towards  Gettysburg,  we  lay  here  until  about  3.30  or  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
when  orders  were  received  to  advance  (I  do  not  know  where  the  First  Brigade 
of  our  division  was  at  this  time).  Our  brigade  marched  along  the  .same  road 
we  had  entered  on  leaving  the  Baltimore  pike,  passed  the  rear  of  Big  Round 
Top  and  pas.sed  up  onto  Little  Round  Top,  when  the  brigade  was  formed  ni 
inasae  battalion  front.  We  were  then  moved  to/the  right-front  of  Little  Round 
Top  and  formed  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  towards  Gettysburg.  This  formation  for 
some  reason  was  not  satisfactory  and  we  were  mai-ched  back  onto  the  hill  close 
to  the  artillery  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  The  brigade  remained  there  a  short  time 
preserving  the  same  formation,  viz:  en  masse  battalion  or  regimental  front; 
after  a  very  short  interval  an  oflicer  rode  up  and  directed  the  brigade  to  move 
over  and  retake  Big  Round  Top,  that  the  enemy  had  or  were  about  to  obtain 
possession  of  that  hill.  The  brigade  in  obedience  to  this  order  was  moved  rapid  h^, 
commencing  on  the  right.  The  Twelfth  marched  around  our  right  and  rear — 
as  soon  as  the  Twelfth  had  unmasked  the  Fifth,  that  regiment  marched  and  the 
Tenth  followed — as  soon  as  the  Tenth  unmasked  our  regiment,  Colouel  Jackson 
gave  the  command,  "'  Shoulder  arms,  right  face. "  At  this  instant  an  officer  rode 
up,  gave  the  compliments  of  some  general  with  directions  that  he  halt  his  regi- 
ment and  hold  the  hill  at  all  hazards  until  reinforcements  could  be  got  up. 
Colonel  Jackson,  in  obedience  to  this  order,  gave  the  regiment  the  order,  "front, 
Ibrward  march,"  and  we  marched  in  line  of  battle  to  the  position  which  had  been 
held  by  the  Twelfth  in  our  brigade  formation,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  looking 
towards  the  wheat-tield,  and  woods  to  right  of  wheat-tield.  The  IJevil's  Den,  and 
woods  to  left  of  wheat-tield.  were  also  in  plain  view  of  the  position  thus  taken, 
and  also  in  direct  line  of  the  enemy's  tire  Irom  Devil's  Den.  I  am  positive  that 
at  this  time  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  containing  about  four  hundred  men  and 
officers,  was  the  only  infantry  on  this  part  of  I.,ittle  Round  Top.  This  regiment 
was  all  of  the  Third  Brigade  that  engaged  in  the  action  from  Little  Round  Top. 
The  other  regiments,  viz  :  Twelfth,  Fifth  and  Tenth  regiments  having  been  sent 
to  Big  Round  Top,  as  alreadj'  stated. 

When  the  regiments  reached  the  position  vacated  by  the  Tweltth  Colonel 
Jackson  ordered  a  halt  and  directed  the  men  to  lay  down,  and  further  ordered 
the  men  not  to  tire  under  any  circumstances  uutil  the  command  to  open  tire 
should  be  given  by  him.  This  order  was  obeyed  to  the  letter,  although  the 
regiment  suffered  severely  from  the  enemy's  tire,  directed  at  it  from  Devil's 


202  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Den,  yet  the  men  bore  it  with  quiet  bravery  and  with  a  lirni  (Icleruiinalion  to 
liold  the  hill  in  tlie  face  of  all  obstacles  and  all  daubers. 

Matters  looked  gloomy  at  6  o'clock  or  thereabouts  on  that  hot  afternoon  of 
July  2,  the  enemy  driving  our  forces  in  our  front,  a  reported  taking  by  them 
of  15ig  Kound  Top. 

The  i)eaeh  orchard  in  possession  of  the  enemy,  the  wheat-field  and  the  woods 
around  it  and  in  view  of  the  DeviPs  Den  all  in  their  possession  and  all  com- 
pletely filled  with  their  troops — infantry  and  artillery,  and  the  valley  in  I'ront 
and  right  and  left-front  of  Little  Round  Top  filled  with  smoke,  hiding  from  the 
view  of  the  few  anxious  watchers  on  Little  Round  Top,  the  struggling,  suffer- 
ing and  dying  combatants  below  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

The  enemy's  hosts  seemed  innumerable  and  unconquerable,  and  what  of  the 
little  baud  of  infantry  and  artillery  on  Little  Round  Top?  They  rested  in 
quietness  awaiting  the  order  they  knew  must  soon  come  ;  removing  their  dead 
and  wounded  quietly  and  in  silence,  and  finally  the  regulars  were  driven  past 
the  base  of  the  hill,  but  what  wonderful  bravery  did  they  display !  retreat 
whilst  loading — about-face  and  deliver  a  fire  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  This 
was  grand  and  inspiring ;  finally  two  men  came  up  the  hill — Colonel  Jackson 
asked.  "'How  many  of  our  people  are  down  there?"  They  replied,  "not  one. 
Those  people  you  see  coming  up  the  hill  are  "Johnnies."  "  Colonel  Jackson  then 
gave  the  order  "Tire."  It  was  obeyed  and  some  three  or  four  rounds  were 
fired  when  Colonel  Jackson  gave  the  order,  "Fix  bayonets — charge. "  etc.  This 
order  was  obeyed.  Allow  me  to  remark  just  here — that  I  Avas  near  Colonel  Jack- 
son when  he  received  the  order  to  hold  the  hill  at  all  hazards.  I  was  also  near 
him  when  he  gave  the  order  to  fix  bayonets  and  charge.  I  would  certainly  have 
seen  auy  officer  giving  him  the  order,  and  as  certainly  have  heard  such  an  order 
if  it  had  been  given  to  him  by  any  one.  There  were  no  orders  given  him  and 
therefore  am  I  positive  in  my  belief,  and  deliberate  in  my  statement,  when  I 
say.  that  Colonel  Jackson  alone  determined  the  action  of  his  regiment,  and  of 
his  own  motion  and  as  the  only  possible  way  to  hold  that  hill  until  reinforce- 
ments could  be  got  up,  gave  his  order  to  fix  bayonets  and  charge.  The  charge 
was  made  down  the  hill  through  the  smoke  across  the  valley  of  death  to  the 
fence  at  the  wheat-field  and  in  the  front  of  woods  to  the  right  "of  the  road  and 
to  the  right  of  the  wheat-field.  After  our  regiment  reached  this  position,  hear- 
ing cheering  in  our  rear,  I  turned,  looked  back,  and  the  Bucktails,  that  grandest 
of  regiments,  composed  of  men  who  were  bravest  among  the  brave,  were  coming 
ou  a  double-quick.  With  them  came  the  First,  Second  and  Sixth  regiments, 
the  First  Brigade  of  our  division,  and  as  they  came  up  they  formed  line  of  battle 
on  the  right  and  left  of  our  regiment  as  follows  :  The  Bucktails  and  First  regi- 
ments on  our  left  covering  the  wheat-field  and  extending  over  towards  Devil's 
Den.  the  Sixth  and  Second  regiments  on  our  right  extending  along  the  stone 
fence  in  front  of  woods  on  our  right.  (This  is  as  nearly  as  I  can  fix  the  forma- 
tion of  First  Brigade  and  our  regiment  ;  our  regiment  being,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
remember,  in  thecenterof  this  line  of  battle.)  General  Crawford,  division  com- 
mander, then  rode  up  and  speaking  to  Colonel  Jackson  said.  "Colonel  Jack.son, 
your  regiment  is  worth  its  weight  in  gold,  worth  its  weight  in  gold,  sir."  This 
the  general  repeated  three  or  four  times.  This  was  a  com)ilini(iit  and  all  felt 
pnmd  and  were  glad  we  were  there. 

The  line  of  battle  remained  in  same  position  along  the  stone  fence  until  the 
afternoon  of  :5d  of  July,  when,  after  the  repulse  of  Pickett's  charge,  General 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  263 

Meade  came  over  to  Little  Round  Top  and  ordered  our  line  to  go  over  and  see 
how  many  people  the  enemy  had  in  the  woods  at  the  head  of  the  wheat-field. 
The  enemy  had  a  battery  beyond  the  woods  and  when  we  moved  over  the  stone 
fence  into  the  woods  this  battery  opened  a  close  and  galling  lire.  The  Sixth 
Regiment  was  deployed  as  skirmishers  with  orders  to  silence  that  battery,  and 
the  line  of  battle,  consisting  of  Second,  Eleventh,  Bucktailsand  First  regiments, 
moved  diagonally  across  the  wheat-field  and  just  entered  the  woods  beyond  it, 
when  the  order  was  given  to  open  fire.  This  was  done,  and  after  a  few  volleys 
(the  Sixth  having  in  the  meantime  silenced  the  battery)  Colonel  McCandless 
commanding  the  First  Brigade  gave  the  order  "by  the  rear  rank  right-about  face, 
right-turn,  march."  This  movement  when  completed  threw  us  on  the  enemy's 
flank,  right  flank,  and  we  drove  them  in  great  disorder.  The  prisoners  stated 
they  had  six  thousand  men  in  their  line,  whilst  we  had  scarcely  fifteen  hun- 
dred men.  On  we  went  and  finally  the  recall  was  sounded,  a  mistake  as  we 
afterwards  learned,  as  no  order  of  that  kind  was  either  given  or  thought  of. 
The  fruit  of  this  day's  movements  was  all  of  the  enemy's  dead  on  that  part  of 
the  field,  about  six  thousand  stand  of  arms  and  a  number  of  prisoners.  We  lay 
in  the  edge  of  the  woods  the  night  of  the  3d.  The  enemy's  dead  in  the  field 
were  just  at  edge  of  woods,  on  the  Rose  farm.  I  do  not  know  exactly  the  point 
we  reached  this  evening  before  the  mistake  was  made  withdrawing  us  from  the 
position  we  had  won,  but  in  my  opinion  it  was  considerably  in  advance  of  the 
Rose  farm.  During  the  night  of  the  od  a  cold  rain  set  in  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  we  were  withdrawn  from  our  position  near  Rose's 
house  to  the  position  at  the  stone  fence  front  of  wheat-field  and  woods  occupied 
by  us  prior  to  our  charge  on  3d.  Shortly  after  being  so  withdrawn  ammunition 
was  issued  and  we  were  informed  that  there  would  be  a  general  advance  made 
by  the  whole  army,  but  the  rain  was  falling,  literally  in  sheets  of  water,  and 
we  were  afterwards  told  that  the  advance  had  been  abandoned  by  rea,son  of  the 
severit}^  of  the  rain,  and  so  ended  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  so  far  as  our  regi- 
ment was  concerned.  In  view  of  the  statements  heretofore  given  I  feel  that  I 
can  safely  assert : 

First.  That  Colonel  Jackson  with  his  regiment,  the  Eleventh  Pennsylvania 
Reserves,  and  the  artillery  held  that  part  of  Little  Round  Top  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  2d  of  July,  1863,  at  the  supreme  crisis  of  the  battle. 

Second.  That  Colonel  Jackson  assumed  all  the  responsibility  of  issuing  the 
order  to  his  regiment  and  did  make  the  charge  successfully,  driving  back  the 
enemy  which  had  defeated  the  Third  Army  Corps  and  two  divisions  and  one 
brigade  (the  First  and  Second  divisions.  Second  Brigade  Third  Division)  of  the 
Fifth  Army  Corps,  and  this  with  a  force  of  less  than  four  hundred  men. 

Tliird.  That  the  First  Brigade  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps  did  not 
reach  the  position  in  the  front  of  the  wheat-field  and  woods  until  some  time 
after  it  had  been  occupied  by  the  Eleventh  Regiment  under  command  of  Colonel 
Jackson. 

Fourth.  General  Crawford  was  not  seen  by  our  regiment  until  after  the  First 
Brigade  had  come  up  and  formed  line  of  battle  on  the  right  and  left  of  the 
Eleventh  Regiment  in  the  manner  of  formation  heretofore  given. 

Fifth.  And  that  when  General  Crawford  did  join  the  line  of  battle,  he  gave 
the  credit  for  leading  the  charge  to  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  and  did  compliment 
Colonel  Jackson  as  above  stated  on  the  wonderful  results  attained  by  the  charge 
made  by  his  regiment  under  his  orders. 


264  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Sixth.  At  that  time  no  man  dreamed  that  the  action  of  the  Klevcntli  in  leading 
the  charge  on  that  day  and  saving  the  day  to  the  Union  army  would  ever  be 
belittled  or  ignored,  both  of  which  has  been  done. 

The  above  hasty  and  very  brief  statement  has  been  written  with  a  view  of 
comparing  notes  and  arranging  the  evidence  relative  to  the  duty  performed  by 
the  Eleventh  Kegiment  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps  at  the  battle  oi' Gettysburg — 
specially  so  as  to  the  evening  of  July  2,  ISfi;] — and  is  written  solely  with  a  view 
to  obtain  justice  for  a  regiment  that  always  performed  its  duty,  whether  in 
camp,  on  the  march,  or  on  the  field  of  battle.  Other  regiments  were  as  good,  but 
none  better  ;  and  now  when  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  elapsed  since 
the  organization  of  this  regiment,  it  is  meet  and  proper  that  the  survivors  should 
gather  the  testimony  and  show  that  this  regiment  did  its  duty.  Otherwise 
history  will  record  that — it  was  organized,  mustered  into  the  service,  served 
three  years  and  was  mustered  out.  This  won't  do — we  must  brighten  our 
memories,  refer  to  our  diaries,  look  up  and  write  up  our  history,  and  demand 
that  the  truth  be  told  of  us  and  justice  be  done  to  our  dead  and  to  the  survivors 
of  our  regiment. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

41^^  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

(Twelfth  Reserves) 
ADDRESS  BY  BRIG.-GEN.  M.  D.  HARDIN,  U.  S.  A. 

THE  Gettjsburg  campaign,  on  the  Union  side,  began  with  the  battle  of 
Brandy  Station,  one  of  the  results  of  which  was  the  knowledge  that 
Lee's  army  was  moving  northwestwardly.  This  action  was  the  most 
important,  as  well  as  the  most  severe,  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  had  Ibught.  By  it  the  Union  cavalry  not  only  developed  the  Con- 
federate plan  of  campaign,  but  also  learned  its  equality  Avith  the  enemy's  cavalry. 
As  soon  as  General  Hooker  received  certain  information  that  Lee  had  extended 
his  army  from  Fredericksburg  to  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  he  proposed  to  Gen- 
eral Halleck  1o  attack  Lee's  rear  at  Fredericksburg.  This  movement  was  dis- 
approved. Hooker  then  gave  orders  preparatory  to  meeting  Lee's  army  in  its 
northwestward  movement.  There  was  some  delay  due  to  instructions  from  Gen- 
eral Halleck,  but  in  a  few  days  the  Union  army  moved  between  the  Confederate 
army  and  Washington,  with  the  main  body  of  its  cavalry  on  its  left  (west)  flank. 
The  cavalry  covered  the  Union  army  most  thoroughly,  it  never  performed  its 
duty  toward  that  army  in  a  more -scientific  (military)  manner.  '  The  fighting 
about  Aldie,  Upperville  and  Middleburg,  Va.,  was  admitted  by  the  Confed- 
erates to  have  been  the  best  the  Union  cavalry  had  ever  done,  except  at  Brandy 
.Station  (Beverly  Ford;.  The  cavalry  was  supported  l)y  a  small  infantry  force 
both  at  Brandy  Station  (Beverly  Ford)  and  in  the  region  about  ISIiddleburg. 
The  German  oflicer  Major  Von  Borcke,  and  others,  state  that  Stuart's  Con- 
federate cavalry  was  never  more  numerous  (Von  Borcke  estimated  it  at  twelve 
thousand  and  twenty -four  guns),  and  never  in  l)etter  condition.  Considering 
this,  we  can  then  better  appreciate;  the  fine  work  done  by  the  Union  cavalry  in 
this  advance  northward.     The  Confederate  cavalry  considerably  outnumbered 


PHOTO,     tjy    W.     H,    TIPTON,    GETTYSBURG. 


PRINT:   THE    F.    QUTEKUNST    CO.,    PHI" 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  265 

the  Union  up  to  the  time  that  General  Stahel's  Cavalry  Division,  from  the  de- 
fenses of  Washington,  joined  the  Army.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  moved 
slowly  northwestward,  crossed  the  I'otomac,  June  26-27.  Lee's  main  army  had 
crossed  this  river  at  or  near  Williamsport,  Md,,  June  23-24.  When  Hooker 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Washington  his  army  had  been  much  reduced  by  ex- 
pirations of  terms  of  service  (Hooker  said  about  forty  thousand).  He  now 
learned  that  there  was  a  large  number  of  troops  (about  thirty-seven  thousand) 
in  the  defenses  of  Washington.  Inasmuch  as  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  now 
<'overed  Washington,  he  requested  that  some  of  these  troops  be  sent  to  reinforce 
his  army.  He  was  authorized  to  take  Stahel's  Division  of  Cavalry  and  the  Penn- 
sylvania Reserve  Division  of  Infatitry.  He  ordered  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve 
Division  (June  24)  to  join  his  army. 

When  the  Reserves  heard  that  Lee  again  threatened  to  invade  Maryland  and 
possibly  Pennsylvania,  officers  and  men  began  to  take  on  the  military  air  which 
bad  been  somewhat  put  aside  after  Fredericksburg,  and  talk  of  applying  to  re- 
join their  comrades  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  their  march  northward  be- 
came prevalent.  This  went  so  far,  in  one  case  at  least,  as  to  be  put  in  the  form 
of  a  written  petition.  Whatever  the  form,  the  feeling  of  the  command,  from 
drummer  boy  to  chaplain,  was  to  take  another  turn  at  the  "Johnnies" — to  go 
i)i  for  a  light — if  Lee's  armj'  went  as  far  north  as  Pennsylvania. 

June  24,  1863,  the  Twelfth  Regiment,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gustin  command- 
ing, formed  a  part  of  the  Third  Brigade  ;  Colonel  Fisher  commanded  the  bri- 
gade and  General  Crawford  the  Reserve  Division.  The  Third  Brigade,  consisting 
of  the  Fifth  Regiment,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dare  ;  Tenth,  Colonel  Warner  ;  Ninth, 
Colonel  Anderson  ;  Eleventh,  Colonel  Jackson,  and  Twelfth,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Gustin,  -was  in  camp  at  Minor's  Hill,  Virginia.  The  First  Brigade,  Colonel 
McCandless  commanding,  consisting  of  the  First  Rifles  (Bucktails),  First,  Second 
and  Sixth  regiments,  was  in  camp  at  Fairfax  Court  House.  Second  Brigade, 
Colonel  Sickel  commanding,  consisting  of  Third,  Fourth,  Seventh  and  Eighth 
regiments,  was  on  provost  duty  in  Alexandria,  Va.  In  accordance  with  in- 
structions from  General  Hooker,  General  Crawford  ordered  the  three  brigades  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Division  to  march  on  the  25th.  The  First  and  Third 
brigades  moved  accordingly,  but  the  Second  Brigade  was  detained  by  General 
Slough,  Military  Governor  of  Alexandria.  He  thought  a  veteran  brigade  neces- 
sary to  keep  convalescents  in  camp  !  In  violation  of  all  military  principles  (and 
it  might  possibly  be  said  in  violation  of  patriotic  motives)  he  retained  this 
splendid  body  of  veterans  against  their  will  and  in  disobedience  of  General 
Hooker's  orders.  However,  he  was  sustained  by  the  action  of  the  military 
coterie  which  surrounded  our  noble  President.  This  coterie  never  forgave 
Hooker  for  his  first  dispatch  upon  assuming  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac, namely,  requesting  that  General  Stone  be  made  his  chief-of-staft".  Not 
(inly  did  this  coterie  refuse  to  entertain  General  Hooker's  charges  against  Gen- 
eral Slough,  but  it  refused  him  control  of  the  large  force  at  Maryland  Heights, 
and  ultimately  forced  him  to  throw  up  the  command  of  the  army. 

The  Twelfth  Regiment  moved  with  the  Third  Brigade,  in  a  rain  storm,  on 
the  26th,  marching  to  Goose  Creek,  Va.  The  division  had  been  delayed  two 
days  waiting  for  transportation.  The  First  Brigade  joined  the  Third  en  route 
the  two  brigades,  about  three  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventeen  strong, 
camping  together  at  Goose  Creek.  On  the  37th  the  division  moved  at  daylight, 
marched  along  the  Leesburg  turnpike.     It  was  much  delaj'ed  by  the  trains  of 


266  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

tlie  Army  of  tlie  Potomac,  aiul  by  its  own  train,     (ienoral  Crawford  telegraphed 
General  Meade  commanding  the  Fifth  Corixs  as  lollows  : 

"  On  the  Monocacy,  June  27,  4.15  p.  m. 
"General:  1  have  received  orders  from  headquurte/s  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  join 
your  corps ;  I  am  on  my  way  and  just  in  from  the  rear  ;  to-night  I  will  encamp  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy.  as  I  find  my  train,  which  is  entirely  new,  cannot  go  far- 
ther; have  two  brigades;  Second  detached  at  Alexandria.  Iff  receive  no  instructions 
to  the  contrary,  I  shall  move  at  daylight,  to  overtake,  if  possible,  your  command." 

The  division  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Edwards'  Ferry  on  pontoon  bridge,  and 
(tamped  at  night  at  mouth  of  the  Monocacy.  Colonel  Hardin,  of  Twelfth,  joined 
en  route.  "Sunday,  28th,  clear  and  pleasant,  moved  atdaylight  and  soon  crossed 
the  aqueduct  of  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  canal  at  the  Monocacy,  and  passed  through 
Buckeystown,  bivouacked  on  Ballinger's  creek  about  two  miles  from  Frederick, 
Md. ;  here  joined  the  Fifth  Corps."  General  Jleade  was  this  day  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  General  Sykes  to  that  of  the  Fifth 
Corps.  Hooker  had  advanced  a  portion  of  his  army  through  South  ilountain 
passes,  with  the  view  of  cutting  Lee's  communications,  but  this  movement  •was 
disapproved  at  Washington,  and  the  corps  advanced  through  the  mountains  were 
ordered  back  to  Frederick  and  directed  to  proceed  up  the  eastbase  of  these  mount- 
ains. This  latter  movement  was  taking  place  when  the  Reserve  Division  joined 
the  army.  The  greater  part  of  the  Union  armj-  at  this  time  rested  near  Fred- 
erick. At  this  date  (June  28),  Lee's  army  -was  stretched  from  Hager.stown  to 
the  Susquehanna  near  Harrisburg,  and  to  York.  Pa.  Ewell's  Corps  at  Cai-lisle 
and  York  ;  Lee's  headquarters  with  Longstreet's  and  Hill's  corps  near  Cham- 
bersburg.  Lee  was  preparing  to  cross  the  Susquehanna,  but  that  night,  he  says, 
"  he  learned  from  a  scout  that  the  Union  army  had  crossed  the  Potomac  and  was 
threatening  his  communications  at  South  Mountain."  "  It  was  resolved."  he 
says,  "to  concentrate  the  army  east  of  the  mountains." 

Meade  states,  '  •  That  he  had  no  special  plan  but  to  move  northward  until  he 
made  Lee  let  go  of  the  Susquehanna."  Meade  learned,  on  the  oOth,  that  Lee 
was  moving  Avith  his  main  force  to  the  east  side  of  the  mountains,  and  he  de- 
cided to  concentrate  his  army  on  Pipe  creek. 

There  was  an  assemblage  of  officers  of  the  Keserve  Division,  whilst  it  was 
camped  near  Frederick,  looking  over  maps  of  the  country,  and  guessing  at  the 
future  movements  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  armies.  Colonel  ^Varner  of  the 
Tenth,  and  Colonel  Hardin  of  the  Twelfth,  agreed  that  the  chances  were  in  favor 
of  a  fight  at  or  near  Gettysburg,  the  next  good  crossing  place  in  the  mountains, 
north  of  our  then  po.sition,  as  shown  by  the  maps  we  had.  The  morning  of  the 
29th,  the  writer  visited  Frederick  and  conversed  with  oflicers  of  General  Key- 
nolds'  command'  (First  and  Eleventh  corps),  all  thought  they  were  going  to 
Gettysburg,  or  spoke  of  that  place  as  their  ultimate  destination.  Returning 
towards  camp  the  writer  met  the  division  en  route  to  Frederick.  It  had  left 
Balling(;r's  creek  about  noon.  ^Ve  marched  but  a  short  distance  when  the  divi- 
sion was  slopped  to  let  other  troops  take  precedence.  The  division  remained 
here  several  hours,  it  then  followed  the  artillery  reserve.  The  writer  during 
this  delay,  visited  his  old  friend,  Lieutenant  "Cog"  Hazlctt,  who  commanded 
Battery  "  D,"  Fifth  United  Stiitcs  Artillery.  The  weather  was  very  warm  and 
Lieutenant  Hazlett  wore  a  small  soft  white  hat.  As  the  writer  left  him  to  re- 
join his  command,  he  called  back,  "'Cog'  we  are  going  to  have  a  light  soon, 
don't  wear  that  white  hat  into  battle."  "  At  7  p.  m.,  we  crossed  the  Monocacy 
bridge  on  the  Jialtiuiore  pike  and  turned  uj)  the  bank  of  the  stream  heading 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty sh/Dij.  267 

north,  soon  after  we  waded  the  stream  and  struck  across  the  fields,  and  aljoiit 
10  p.  ni.,  bivouacked  in  a  wood,  iiaving  made  a  tiresome  day's  march  of  ten 
miles. '  ■  The  long  delay  before  mentioned  caused  our  division  to  get  far  behind 
the  other  divisions  of  the  corps,  wc  had  to  rush  along,  Avell  into  the  night,  to 
reach  the  corps  camp,  where  the  leading  divisions  had  arrived  early  in  the  even- 
ing and  in  good  order.  Having  arrived  in  camp  late,  and  it  ])eing  very  dark, 
we  made  a  bivouac,  whilst  we  saw  the  other  divisions  of  the  Fifth  Cordis  in  a 
regular  camp.  Most  of  us  were  so  hot  and  tired  we  dropped  down  and  went  to 
sleep  without  even  making  coffee.  A  l)ad  beginning  for  a  long  march.  "The 
morning  of  the  30th,  we  started  early,  passed  through  Liberty,  Union  Bridge 
and  Uniontown  (a  pontoon  train  accompanied  us  this  day),  marched  twenty  miles 
and  bivouacked.  Near  dark  were  mustered  two  miles  beyond  Uniontown. ' '  The 
marching  all  the  forenoon  was  very  slow  with  many  stops,  but  in  the  afternoon 
we  were  again  rushed  along.  This  march  was  the  cause  of  great  injustice  done 
the  division  by  our  new  corps  commander,  in  that  he  reported  to  the  army  com- 
mander that  our  division  could  not  march  as  fast  as  the  other  divisions.  It  will 
be  noted  that  these  other  divisions  had  clear  roads,  no  trains  to  follow,  early 
start,  no  Ibrced  delays,  nothing  to  prevent  them  from  making  their  marches  in 
time. 

The  Twelfth  Regiment,  moving  with  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Division,  left 
camp  two  miles  beyond  Uniontown,  at  5  a.  m.,  July  1.  Hearing  of  Confederate 
cavalry  in  the  country,  skirmi.shers  and  flankers  were  thrown  out  to  cover  the 
division,  which  moved  thus  several  miles.  About  2  p.  m..  halted  on  Pennsyl- 
vania State  line  ;  at  3  p.  m. .  were  addres.sed  by  General  Crawford.  General 
Meade's  orders  on  the  exijected  battle  had  been  read  to  us  before  we  started.  We 
then  moved  on  till  we  came  to  a  fine  open  woods  where  we  rested  till  dark.  All 
day  we  had  been  enjoying  the  cherries  which  overloaded  the  trees  along  the  road- 
side. The  turnpike  along  which  we  marched  a  great  part  of  the  daj'  was  white, 
hot  and  dusty.  We  passed  Kili>atrick's  battle-field  at  Hanover,  and,  at  dark, 
took  up  our  march  again,  and  continued  moving  until  utterly  exhausted  ;  aljout 
dawn  we  dropped  down,  compelling  a  halt  of  the  division.  The  marching  dur- 
ing the  night  had  been  without  proper  halts.  After  resting  about  an  hour  we 
again  took  up  the  march,  and  continued  it  across  country  till  about  12.30  ]).  m.. 
when  we  arrived  on  the  battle-field  on  the  Baltimore  pike,  in  rear  of  the  center 
of  the  arm}'. 

Our  division  in  the  very  hot  weather,  marched  in  the  worst  possible  manner, 
accomplished  nearly  seventy  miles  in  three  and  a  half  days,  and  on  the  after- 
noon and  evening  of  the  fourth  day  went  to  the  top  of  Big  Round  Toj).  In  the 
meantime.  General  Buford,  commanding  a  cavalry  division,  left  Middleburg, 
Md.,  on  29th,  arrived  at  Gettysburg  on  30th;  passing  through  Gettysburg  at 
noon  (June  30),  he  reconnoitred  west  and  north.  He  was  here  long  enough  to 
see  the  advantages  of  the  Gettysburg  position,  and  he  determined  to  hold  it 
until  he  was  driven  away  or  relieved  by  infantry.  The  night  of  June  30,  he 
notified  General  Reynolds,  '"that  Hill's  Confederate  Corps  was  camped  nine 
miles  west  of  Gettysburg,  and  Longstreet's  l>ehiud  Hill's  ;  that  no  Confederate 
force  had  yet  passed  through  the  mountains  from  the  north  toward  Gettysburg, 
but  that  such  force  would  soon  be  at  Heidlersburg. ' '  This  information  was  sub- 
sequently shown  to  be  correct.  General  Meade  had  directed  General  Reynolds, 
"  that  if  he  has  to  fall  back,  to  do  so  on  Emmitsburg,  that  the  Third  and  Twelfth 
corps  will  come  to  the  assistance  there  of  his  and  the  Eleventh  Corps."     When 


268  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

(.itMU'ial  Reynolds  reaclie<l  Gettysburg,  at  ■^.3.")  a.  in.,  July  1,  Buford  -was  with 
his  artillery  and  dismounted  skirmishers,  standing  off  Hill's  troops.  Kcynold.s 
joined  Hulbrd  in  the.seminai-y  tower,  and  as  old  comi)anions  in  arms,  with  jhm- 
fect  conrKk^nee  in  each  other,  discussed  the  position  and  the  military  situation. 
Keynolds  decided  at  once  to  support  Buford.  He  knew  that  if  his  troops  couhl 
be  brought  up  promptly  to  this  position,  Lee  coukl  be  made  to  take  the  offen- 
sive, or  he  <-ompelled  to  fall  ba(;k  with  his  whole  force  without  fighting.  And 
thus,  if  a  battle  took  place  here,  the  Union  army  would  be  enabled  to  fight  on 
the  defensive.  Buford  promised  to  hold  on  until  Jieynolds'  batteries  and  infantry 
could  get  u]).  Reynolds  felt  sure  his  corps  with  the  Eleventh  could  hold  on  until 
the  Third  and  Twelfth  C(mld  reinforce  them.  The  information  he  had  of  Lee's 
army,  showed  that  it  was  almost  as  badly  scattered  as  was  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac. Four  corps  of  tlie  Union  army  could  reach  this  ground  by  the  early 
afternoon,  and  the  Second  Corps  by  sundown.  Force  enough,  with  jjroper  man- 
agement and  good  fighting,  to  withstand  Lee's  whole  army  coming  up  from  sev- 
eral directions  until  the  whole  of  the  L'nion  army  could  be  assembled.  It  was 
most  fortunate  for  the  Union  side  that  it  had  such  intelligent  and  energetic  gen- 
erals in  advance  as  Rej^nolds  and  Buford,  generals  who  had  the  confidence  of 
the  army  commander.  General  Meade  giving  General  Reynolds  (a  fighting  gen- 
eral) his  advance  with  three  corps,  proved  to  that  general,  as  to  the  world,  that 
General  Meade  was  not  attempting  to  avoid  a  battle,  but  was  only  anxious  that 
the  figlil.  which  must  take  place,  sliould  be  a  defensive  one,  on  his  side,  if  ik)s- 
.sible.  A  tow  minutes  after  liis  arrival,  as  soon  as  he  had  taken  a  look  at  the 
ground  liom  the  seminary  tower  and  had  had  a  tew  minutes  conversation  with 
Buford,  General  Keynolds,  wlio  was  a  most  accomplished  artilleryman,  seeing 
what  fine  ground  laj'  in  every  direction  to  the  front  for  artillery  (the  arm  well 
known  to  preponderate  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  more  powerful  and  more 
numerous  than  Lee's,  the  only  arm  in  which  the  Union  army  was  superior  to 
the  Confederate),  a  battle-field  to  make  an  artillerj-man  grow  enthusiastic,  re- 
quested Buford  to  hold  on  till  his  (Reynolds')  batteries  and  infantry  could  come 
tip.  Ilesentolf  m  hot  haste  .several  othcers  for  his  o^Ml  and  the  Eleventh  Corjxs 
batteries,  and  burr}'  up  his  own  and  Howard's  infantry.  He  then  went  to  select 
ground  for  his  batteries  (he  had  brought  up  with  him  Captain  Hall,  chief  of 
artillery  of  Ins  leading  division),  so  that  no  time  would  be  lost.  Reynolds  thus 
anticipated  the  present  German  instructions  for  battle  !  In  a  few  minutes  Hall's 
Battery  arrived  and  was  immediately  posted.  Soon  after,  Reynolds'  First  Divi- 
sion came  up  and  was  posted  to  support  the  First  Corps  and  Buford 's  batteries. 
In  the  expectation  of  the  early  arrival  of  Howard's  batteries,  General  Reynolds 
now  went  to  select  positions  for  them,  whilst  doing  so,  lie  is  struck  down  by  a 
sharpshooter.  Reynolds  had  already  seized  this  good  position,  and  had  given 
such  an  impetus  to  his  command,  that  it  went  on  without  a  break,  in  carrying 
out  his  designs,  under  his  able  fighting  successor,  General  Doul)leday.  Rey- 
nolds had  planted  the  advance  of  the  Union  army  in  Lee's  route,  he  had  secured 
a  jmsition  acro.ss  all  the  roads  leading  east  of  the  mountains  at  this  ])oint,  a 
point  where  the  Confederate  army  must  assemble,  if  it  united  east  of  1  h«  mount- 
ains. Jieynolds  might  have  had  three  corps  at  Gettysburg,  earlier  in  the  day, 
but  he  would  not  run  the  risk  of  throwing  this  force  against  Lee's  whole  army, 
which  might  be  at  Gettysburg  at  the  same  time.  He  thus  showed  his  prudence, 
but  when  he  arrived  there  in  person  and  was  satisfied  that  the  information  re- 
ceived from  P.uford  during  the  past  night  was  correct,  and  learned  that  Lee's 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  269 

ai-niy  was  still  en  rouiv  to  assemble  at  this  point,  he  acted  a.s  the  jjioinpt  and  in- 
teiligeiit  soldier  that  lie  was. 

Bul'oid's  batteries  and  dismounted  skirmishers  succeeded  in  holdinsi  the  enemy 
on  the  west  side  of  Willoughliy  run  till  Wadsworth's  Division  arrived.  Captain 
Hall,  commanding  the  artillery  of  this  division,  had  preceded  the  infantry  and 
had  posted  his  own  battery  in  aid  of  ]5nford's  batteries,  which  were  doing  heroic 
service  on  the  Chambersburg  road.  As  soon  as  it  arrived,  Cutler's  Brigade  was 
posted  on  either  side  of  the  Chambersburg  road  and  acro.ss  an  old  railroad 
cut,  to  support  these  batteries.  Meredith's  (Iron)  Brigade  was  sent  to  the 
left  of  the  road  to  ocrupj^  a  piece  of  woods  which  Hill's  troops  were  entering. 
Heth  (Confederate  division  commander)  attacked  with  four  of  his  brigades  at 
once  the  pf)sition  held  by  Reynolds'  force.  The  three  right  regiments  of  Cutler's 
Brig-ade  were  forced  back.  Reynolds  ordered  Meredith's  Brigade  to  attack 
across  the  front  of  the  Confederate  force.  This  attack  was  successful,  the  Con- 
federate General  Archer  and  many  of  his  men  were  captured. 

These  dispositions  were  just  completed,  in  which  his  two  brigades  had  de- 
feated and  almost  destroyed  two  brigades  of  the  enemy,  when  this  accomplished 
general  was  killed.  The  falling  back  of  Cutler's  right,  left  Hall's  Battery  ex- 
posed, but  the  Fourteenth  Brooklyn,  Niuety-tifthNew  York  and  Sixth  Wisconsin, 
changed  front  and  charged  the  Mississippi  troops  attacking  Hall's  Battery  and 
captured  two  Mississippi  regiments  in  the  old  railroad  cut.  Rowley's  Division 
of  the  First  Corps  was  put  in  here  ;  Robinson's  division  of  First  Corps  was  held 
in  reserve  on  Seminary  Hill.  Soon  Rodes'  division  of  Ewell's  Confederate  Corps 
attacked  from  the  direction  of  Carlisle,  and  Robinson's  Division  was  advanced  to 
meet  it.  Baxter's  Brigade  went  in  on  the  right  of  Cutler,  and  afterward  took 
Cutler's  position.  General  Paul's  brigade  went  on  right  of  Baxter's.  Robin- 
son's Division  resisted  well  Rodes'  attack  and  captured  three  North  Carolina 
regiments.  So  far  the  First  Corps  had  more  than  held  its  own.  ' '  If  the  Eleventh 
Corps  had  been  as  well  handled  and  fought,  the  day  would  probably  have  seen 
no  reverse."  General  Howard  spread  his  two  divisions.  Barlow's  and  Schurz's 
to  the  right  of  the  First  Corps,  but  did  not  make  strong  connection  with  it.  The 
Confederates  seized  Oak  Hill,  a  iirominent  point  between  the  Union  corps,  and 
charging  from  this  point,  turned  the  right  of  the  Fir.st  Corps  and  the  left  of  the 
Eleventh.  Fortunately  General  Howard  had  placed  one  of  his  divisions,  Stein- 
wehr's,  in  reserve  on  Cemetery  Hill,  and  the  left  of  the  First  Corps  fell  back  in 
order  and  covered  the  retreat  of  the  artillery  and  ambulances.  But  near  five 
thousand  prisonei'S  were  left  in  the  enemy's  hands.  General  Reynolds  had, 
early  in  the  day,  sent  word  to  General  Meade  that  the  enemy  was  in  force  near 
Cashtown  and  advancing  on  Gettysburg,  and  that  he  would  endeavor  to  hold 
Gettysburg  till  reinforced.  Soon  after  General  Reynolds  was  killed  the  cool- 
headed  Buford  thought  matters  were  not  being  conducted  very  well,  and  he  sent 
off  a  despatch  to  the  effect  that. ' "  there  seemed  to  be  no  head, ' '  and  requested  that 
some  one  be  sent  forward  to  command.  It  was,  no  doubt,  in  answer  to  this  re- 
quest that  General  Hancock  was  sent  forward  to  take  supreme  command.  When 
he  arrived,  matters  looked  badly,  so  much  so,  that  he  at  first  thought  the  part 
of  the  army  here  would  have  to  be  moved  back.  Soon,  however,  the  batteries  got 
into  position  on  the  left  of  the  town,  and  Steinwehr's  Division  with  Howard's 
batteries  showed  a  good  front  on  the  right,  and  the  advantages  of  the  position 
were  explained  to  him,  when  he  saw  that  Lee  would  have  to  continue  to  at- 
tack, so  that  it  was  only  a  (jnestion  whether  the  Union  army  could  at  this  point 


270  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

hold  its  iwsition.  By  sundown  all  was  ready  to  meet  an  attack.  The  Union 
position  at  this  time  appeared  so  strong  General  Lee  and  his  corps  commanders 
concluded  thoj-  could  not  assault  it  that  cA'cning  with  success.  Thus,  two  Union 
corps,  even  with  the  loss  of  their  commander,  had  been  sufficient  to  hold  Lee 
for  an  entire  d.ny.  How  much  easier  and  with  howniuch  less  loss  it  could  have 
been  done  if  Reynolds  had  lived  and  been  in  command  of  three  or  four  corps. 
General  Lee's  troops  were  disposed  on  Seminary  Ridge,  about  one  mile  from  the 
Lf^nion  line  and  parallel  to  it.  The  Confederate  line  was  about  five  miles  long, 
concave  to  the  Union  line  which  Avas  about  three  miles  long.  Lee's  concave  po- 
sition enabled  him  to  utilize  his  large  reserve  artillery,  both  tor  connecting  his 
wings  and  to  crush  the  Union  artillery,  which  latter  had  to  be  concentrated  too 
much  (on  the  third  day  the  guns  were  only  a  yard  apart).  The  defects  of  Lee's 
position  were,  his  inability  to  make  the  troops  on  his  long  line  act  together,'aud 
his  inability  to  reinforce  either  wing  promptly,  and  these  were  ijrobably  the 
ttauses  of  the  failure  of  his  attacks.  If  he  had  entrenched  his  center  and  either 
of  his  flanks  and  had  used  his  main  army  on  either  of  Meade's  flanks  he  would 
probably  have  succeeded  in  dislodging  the  Union  army.  It  seems  to  have  been 
the  intention,  that  Ewell's  Corps  should  attack  early  on  the  2d,  also  it  Avas 
thought  Longstreet  wotild  be  in  position  to  attack  on  Confederate  right  by  9 
a.  m.  Such  Avas  no  doubt  the  understanding  amongst  the  senior  Confederate 
generals  (except  Longstreet)  Avhen  they  sei)arated  for  the  night  (July  1).  Hoav- 
eA-er,  Avhen  morning  came  and  the  formidable  position  of  the  Union  arm3'croAvned 
with  earth Avorks  and  artillery  was  .seen  both  by  General  Lee  and  General  Ewell. 
General  Lee  (AvhoAvent  early  to  Ewell's  front)  hesitated  to  assault  until  he  could 
have  thorough  reconnoissances  made  and  until  Longstreet's  Corps  .should  be  iip. 
General  Meade  noticing  the  moA-ements  of  Ewell's  Corps  and  being  strong  him- 
self on  his  right,  early  in  the  morning  ordered  an  attack  by  the  Twelfth  and 
Fifth  corps,  to  be  supported  by  the  Sixth.  But  Slocum.  commanding  the 
Twelfth,  and  Warren,  chief  of  engineers  of  the  army,  reported  the  ground  un- 
favorable ;  also  the  Fifth  Corps  did  not  come  up  in  good  shape  to  attack  before 
noon,  and  the  Sixth  Avas  then  still  far  off.  There  has  been  much  controAersy 
betAveen  the  Confederate  generals,  since  the  Avar,  as  to  Avhen  Longstreet  ought 
to  have  been  ready  to  attack,  also  as  to  the  time  EavcII  should  have  supported 
Longstreet's  attack.  It  Avould  appear  that  General  Lee  sent  one  of  his  staff  early 
in  the  day  to  reconnoitre  in  front  of  the  Union  left.  This  officer  Avent  over  the 
ground  about  the  peach  orchard,  Avhen  he  returned  he  told  General  Lee  that  this 
was  favorable  ground  for  making  an  attack.  At  this  time.  Sickles'  Thiixl  Corps 
A\-as  massed  on  the  left  of  the  Second,  on  Cemetery  Ridge.  Tlie  ground  on  Lee's 
right  consi-sted  principally  of  open  fields.  Longstreet's  command  Avas  sent  in  a 
round-about  Avay  to  get  to  the  peach  orchard  position,  .so  as  not  to  be  seen  by 
the  Union  signal  officer  on  Little  Round  Toi>.  Longstreet  himself  was  in  no 
hurry,ashe  did  not  Avantto  attack  Avithout  his  Third  Division  (Pickett's).  I\Iore- 
over,  he  states  that  the  agreement  on  beginning  the  invasion  Avas,  "  that  there 
should  be  no  offensive  battle  delivered  by  their  army."  If  this  is  true,  General 
Reynolds  is  entitled  to  credit  for  making  Lee  change  his  plan.  Whilst  Longstreet 
was  moving  around  the  Union  left,  Sickles  Avas  moving  out  his  corps  and  tak- 
ing position  on  the  Union  side  of  the  peach  orchard.  The  controversy  betAvccn 
Generals  Meade  and  Sickles  in  regard  to  this  movement  is  Avell  knoAvn. 

It  seems  to  the  writer  that  this  matter  stands  about  as  follows  :  General  IMeade 
had  l)een  all  the  Tiiornitig  studying  liis  riglit  witli  a  view  of  attacking  or  of  re- 


Peansi/Ivnnia  (if  Geffi/shunj.  271 

ceiving  au  attack  thero,  no  report  luul  readied  liiin  tliat  Confederate  troops  were 
threatening  his  left.  There  was  much  open  ground  in  front  of  liis  left ;  JMead'i 
supposed  his  cavalry  (which  had  covered  itself  with  honor  tlie  ilay  J)efore)  which 
had  heen  directed  to  watch  the  Hank,  would  he  able  to  give  him  early  warning 
of  any  extensive  movement  of  the  enemy  in  that  direction.  Early  in  the  after- 
noon, upon  request  of  General  Sickles  to  have  ground  selected  for  his  corps  to 
occupy,  General  Hunt,  chief  of  artillery  of  the  Union  army,  was  sent  to  assist 
General  Sickles  in  selecting  a  position.  Sickles  and  Hunt  could  not  find  any 
good  line  in  this  region  without  going  out  very  far  to  Sickles'  front.  It  is  now- 
well  known  that  the  ground  in  front  of  Little  Round  Top  is  a  most  difficult 
region  in  Avhicli  to  select  a  line  of  battle.  Artillery  could  be  of  no  u.se  on  the 
Little  Round  Top  line,  and  how  far  the  woods  and  difficult  countrj'  extended 
to  the  left-front,  neither  Hunt  nor  Sickles  knew.  Taking  into  consideration 
the  short  time  they  had  to  select  a  position  in  .so  difficult  a  country,  it  was 
probably  as  well  done  as  it  could  have  been.  Between  2  and  3  p.  m.  the  signal 
officer  on  Little  Round  Top  and  the  skirmishers  of  Sickles'  command  detected 
Longstreet's  movement.  At  General  Sickles'  urgent  request.  General  Meade 
went  to  his  left  about  3.30  p.  m.  to  look  up  ground  for  Sickles'  Corps.  The 
fact  seems  to  be  that  General  Meade  did  not  believe  he  would  be  attacked  on 
the  left.  He  thought  his  cavalry  would  certainly  give  him  ample  notice  of  any 
threatened  attack  on  that  front  so  that  he  would  have  time  to  prepare  for  it.  If 
the  cavalry  had  been  where  General  Meade  thought,  and  had  reason  to  believe 
it  to  be,  he  would  have  had  such  notice.  But  it  happened  that  Merritt's 
Brigade  of  Buford's  Division,  which  had  been  ordered  to  relieve  some  of  Gregg's 
Division,  had  left  here  before  Gregg's  Cavalry  arrived  to  relieve  Merritt ;  thus, 
at  this  critical  time  of  the  day  there  was  no  cavalry  on  the  Union  left-front. 
General  Meade  arrived  on  his  left  just  as  Longstreet's  attack  was  beginning, 
and  as  Sickles'  line  was  very  far  out  in  advance  of  Hancock,  being  ignorant  of 
the  region.  General  Meade  thought  Sickles  had  mo\ed  his  line  unnece.ssarily 
far  out.  However,  when  Sickles  and  Hunt  told  him  what  a  tangled  place  the 
ground  in  front  of  Little  Round  Top  was,  he  concluded  to  reinforce  Sickles 
where  he  was.  Moreover,  there  was  then  little  or  no  time  left  to  select  a  new 
line.  The  subsequent  loss  of  the  Third  Corps  position  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  Fifth  and  Sixth  corps  were  not  brought  up  soon  enough,  the  one  to  Sickles' 
support,  the  other  to  form  a  second  line  on  the  Little  Round  Top  ridge.  If 
General  Meade  had  been  notified  by  his  cavalry  of  Longstreet's  movement,  he 
would  certainly  have  had  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  corps  in  place  to  meet  this  at- 
tack.    Upon  what  small  matters  turn  the  fate  of  battles  ! 

The  new  position  of  Sickles  brought  Humphreys'  Division  several  hundred 
yards  to  the  left-front  of  the  Second  Corps,  and  posted  on  the  Emmittsburg  road. 
Graham's  Brigade  of  Birney's  Division  on  the  same  road  on  Humphreys'  left, 
reaching  to  the  peach  orchard.  Ward's  and  De  Trobriand's  brigades  stretched 
back  to  the  rear,  at  right  angles  to  Graham's  Brigade,  in  front,  respectivelj^  of 
the  wheat-field  and  of  Devil's  Den.  Longstreet's  attack  with  artillery  began 
about  3  p.  ni.,  he  concentrated  his  artillery  opposite  the  angle  of  Sickles'  Corps 
at  the  peach  orchard,  and  opened  such  a  concentrated  fire  on  the  LTnion  artil- 
lery at  this  point  as  to  overwhelm  it.  He  then  Ijegan  his  attack  with  his  in- 
fantry, on  his  right,  with  Hood's  Division,  which  pushed  into  the  Avoods  and 
outflanked  the  Third  Corps  on  its  left.  Law's  Brigade  of  Hood's  Division,  on 
extreme  Confederate  right,  went  over  Big  Round  Top  and  come  out  on  the 


272  Pennsylvania  at  Getfi/shnyg. 

Union  ambulances,  but  this  brigade  had  moved  too  far  to  its  right,  it  hatl  lost 
connection  with  balance  of  Hood's  command,  and  it  was  ordered  to  move  to  its 
left.  Hood's  other  brigades  broke  through  the  left  of  De  Trobriand's  line  and 
began  to  pass  up  and  around  Little  Round  Top.  The  Union  left  being  thus 
flanked  and  beginning  to  give  waj'  McLaws'  Division  was  pushed  in  on  Hood's 
left,  it  carried  the  center  of  the  Third  Corps  position.  This  corps  was  too  weak 
to  hold  so  long  a  line.  The  Union  troops  would  now  have  had  to  fall  back,  but 
reinforcements  commenced  arriving  just  as  the  Confederates  reached  the  Union 
position.  Humphreys,  who  was  not  at  tirst  attacked,  sent  Burling's  Brigade 
to  Birnej^'s  assistance.  The  whole  Fifth  Corps  was  ordered  up  to  the  support 
of  Birney's  line.  Barnes'  (Fii-st  Division)  arrived  finst,  Tilton's and  Sweitzer's 
brigades  of  this  division  going  in  near  the  peach  orchard  ;  Vincent's  Brigade, 
at  the  request  of  General  Warren,  chief-engineer  of  the  army,  to  Little  Round 
Top ;  then  cjtme  Caldwell's  Division  of  the  Second  Corps  to  the  wheat-field, 
where  its  right  was  turned,  and  then  two  brigades  of  the  Second  Division  of  the 
Fifth  Corps  to  the  wheat-field,  where  they  had  scarcely  arrived  when  their  right 
was  turned  and  they  retreated  to  the  position  from  which  they  had  started,  on 
the  right  of  Little  Round  Top. 

Soon  McLaws'  attack  was  supported  by  Anderson's  Division  of  Hill's  Corps, 
and  Humphreys  although  aided  by  Graham's  Brigade,  was  driven  back  from  the 
Emmitsburg  road.  Hancock  sent  two  regiments  of  Gibbon's  Division  and  Wil- 
lard's  Brigade  of  Hays'  Division  to  assist  Humphreys.  General  Sickles  was  here 
wounded,  and  General  Hancock,  assuming  command  of  the  Third  Corps,  sent  two 
additional  regiments  to  help  Humphreys.  Finally  General  Meade  brought  up 
Staunard's  Brigade,  and  a  number  of  batteries  were  posted  on  Hancock's  line, 
and  the  Sixth  Corps  came  up  and  took  the  position  on  the  right  of  Little  Round 
Top,  from  which  the  Third  Corps  had  moved  out.  In  the  meantime  Hood's 
troops  had  made  a  desperate  effort  to  carry  Little  Round  Top  and  the  ravine  be- 
tween it  and  Big  Round  Top.  General  Warren  going  early  in  the  action  to  the 
signal  station  on  Little  Round  Top,  had  seen  Hood's  troops  approaching  that 
position.  The  signal  service  men  were  about  leaving  when  Warren  arrived.  He 
ordered  them  to  remain  and  he  hurried  off  for  troops  to  put  on  Little  Round  Top. 
Tiie  Fifth  Corps  was  coming  up,  and  as  he  had  formerly  served  most  gallantly 
in  command  of  a  brigade  of  t  hat  corps,  his  request  for  a  brigade  was  immediately 
answered  by  General  Barnes  wiio  .sent  Vincent's  Brigade,  which,  moving  at  a 
double-quick,  beat  the  Te.xans  of  Hood's  command  to  the  top  of  Little  Round 
Top.  The  fighting  for  this  hill  was  fierce.  Law's  Brigade  ijushing  through  be- 
tween Little  and  Big  Round  Top  contended  with  Vincent  for  this  ravine. 
Vincent  was  soon  supported  by  Weed's  Brigade  of  the  Second  Divi.sion  ol'  the 
Fifth  Corps,  and  Hazlett's  Battery  was  carried  to  the  top  of  liittle  Round  Top. 
When  the  ammunition  of  Vincent's  and  Weed's  brigades  was  expended  (both 
these  brigade  commanders  being  killed),  Fisher's  Brigade  of  the  Reserves  was 
hurried  to  their  support.  By  this  time  the  Confederates  had  become  exhausted, 
and  those  who  had  not  fallen  back  were  captured.  Upon  arriving  on  the  battle- 
field about  12.30  p.  m.,  the  Twelfth  Regiment,  as  the  entire  division  of  the  Re- 
serves, was  gi\  en  time  to  rest  and  to  make  a  full  meal,  the  first  since  leaving 
Frederick,  Md.  As  soon  as  we  had  feasted,  many  of  the  mounted  oflicers  of  the 
division  started  out  to  see  the  line  of  battle.  We  rode  up  to  the  rear  of  the  town 
•of  fJettysburg,  then  moved  along  the  line  of  l)attle  to  General  Meade's  head- 
quarters, when  we  had  a  conversation  with  members  of  his  staff,  then  Ave  started 


Pcnnsi/frdiu't/  at  Geftt/s/>nnj.  27;5 

to  ride  down  General  Hano<K-k"s  line,  wlicu  we  lieard  the  commencement  of 
Sickles'  tight.  We  galloped  over  to  our  camp  where  we  found  the  Fifth  Corps 
moving oli' to  Sickles'  support.  We,  at  that  time,  had  never  heard  of  iiound 
Top,  Big  or  Little.  The  First  Division  ot  the  corps  led,  followed  by  the  Second 
Division,  General  Ajues  commanding.  Then  came  our  division.  Third  Brigade 
leading,  which  at  that  time  was  well  tilled  and  closed  up.  We  moved  westerly 
along  a  wood  road  and  soon  came  to  a  i)hice  where  the  road  was  narrow  and  cor- 
duroyed, a  fence  on  one  side  and  brusli  on  the  other  ;  woods  on  both  sides.  As 
we  advanced  we  began  to  meet  wounded  men  returning,  soon  the  road  was  .so 
encumbered  with  wounded  walking  to  the  rear,  and  amV)ulances  going  the  same 
way,  we  had  to  take  to  the  woods  along  side  of  the  road.  This  caused  some 
delay.  We  filed  up  on  the  north  side  of  the  ridge  to  the  right  of  Little  Round 
Top.  The  ground  here  was  rocky  and  covered  with  thick  brush,  some  time  was 
taken  up  in  getting  into  iwsition.  eventually  we  got  into  line  by  brigade  front, 
the  Third  Brigade  in  front.  We  then  advanced  to  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  As 
we  reached  the  crest  we  got  our  first  view  of  the  battle  on  the  left,  it  was  not 
a  reassuring  sight !  The  whole  valley  between  us  and  the  ridge  opposite,  about 
a  third  of  a  mile  ofi'  was  filled  solid,  with  our  retreating  soldiers  and  batteries, 
thousands  of  the  soldiers  wounded  and  all  the  batteries  disabled.  Some  of  the 
men,  especially  toward  the  left-front,  were  retreating  at  a  run.  The  enemy's 
line  was  only  visible  by  the  white  puffs  of  smoke  at  the  crest  of  the  opposite 
ridge.  Very  few  of  our  men  were  tiring — a  man  now  and  then  would  stop  and 
take  a  shot.  This  gi-eat  mass  of  thousands  in  the  valley  was  moving  sullenly 
to  the  rear  at  a  walk.  There  seemed  no  organized  force,  a  mere  mass  of  men, 
officers  and  men,  inextricably  mixed — all  seeking  safety  behind  the  ridjie  upon 
which  we  stood.  A  battery  was  making  its  way  into  position  in  the  underbrush 
on  our  right  and  a  few  guns  in  position  on  the  ridge  to  our  left  (since  called 
Little  Round  Top),  were  firing  slowly  at  the  enemy  in  the  woods  beyond  the 
opposite  ridge.  As  soon  as  the  division  got  into  position  {there  being  a  lull  in 
the  action  at  this  time)  the  writer  rode  up  the  ridge  to  the  left  to  get  a  look  at 
the  enemy's  position,  when  near  the  top  he  met  a  party  of  officers  and  men  carrv- 
ing  General  Weed,  who  was  mortally  wounded.  The  writer  who  knew  the  gen- 
eral personally,  stopped  to  see  if  he  could  be  of  any  service.  Whilst  conversing 
here,  another  party  came  along  bringing  back  his  old  friend.  Lieutenant  Hazlett. 
who  in  the  haste  of  going  into  action  had  forgotten  that  fatal  white  hat.  He 
was  shot  through  the  head,  probably  by  the  same  sharpshooter  who  had  killed 
General  Weed. 

Finding  he  could  see  little  more  here  tha.n  at  the  position  the  division  occu- 
pied, the  writer  started  down  ;  he  met  the  Twelfth  Regiment  coming  up  with 
the  Third  Brigade  except  the  Eleventh  Regiment.  We  scrambled  up  and  over 
Little  Round  Top  and  moved  down  the  left-front,  going  to  the  assistance  of 
Vincent's  Brigade.  As  the  Third  Brigade  moved  away,  the  P^irst  Brigade  was 
ordered  to  advance  to  the  front.  The  Eleventh  Regiment  lieing  still  in  its 
position  when  the  First  Brigade  came  up  to  the  front  line,  it  joined  that  bri- 
gade and  advanced  with  it.  We  saw  the  First  Brigade  and  Eleventh  Regiment 
make  their  gallant  advance  through  the  retreating  multitude,  as  we  clambered 
over  the  rocks  on  top  of  Little  Round  Top.  We  joined  in  their  cheer  and 
started  at  a  double-quick  down  the  left-front  of  Little  Round  Top,  stumbling 
over  rocks,  and  the  numerous  dead  of  Vincent's  and  Weed's  gallant  brigades. 
As  we  advanced,  a  few  scattering  shots  came  from  the  retiring  enemy.  Our 
18 


274  Pennsylvania  at  (rcttyshnrq. 

lulvancp  was  most  lortvinate  as  Viuceiit's  and  Word's  brigades  liiwl  expended  all 
their  annnunition.  The  Confederates  (several  hundred  I  reniainiiif;;  between 
liig  and  Little  Round  Top.  seeing  and  hearing  our  advance,  laid  down  their 
arms  and  became  prisoners  to  the  brigades  which  were  so  well  entitled  to  re- 
ceive them.  Darkness  ended  the  contest.  Thus  our  small  division,  coming  on 
the  field  in  the  nick  of  time  and  advancing  boldly,  turned  the  tide  of  succe.ss 
on  the  left,  and  the  enemy's  great  efforts,  on  this  front,  were  rendered  entirely 
futile. 

About  9  ]).  m.  Colonel  Fisher  commanding  the  Third  Brigade,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  division  commander,  ordered  an  advance  up  Big  Round  Top.  The 
Twentieth  Maine  deployed  as  .skirmishers,  the  Fifth  and  Twelfth  regiments  to 
follow  in  supiwrt  in  line  of  battle.  The  .skirmishers  started  promptly,  but  on 
account  of  the  darkness  and  difficulty  of  deploying  into  line  in  this  rough  place, 
it  was  some  minutes  after  they  started  that  the  line  of  the  Fifth  and  Twelfth 
followed. 

The  skirmishers  went  promptly  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  only  an  occasional 
shot  was  fired  by  the  Confederates.     The  Fifth  and  Twelfth  regiments  advanced 
at  the  word  of  command  given  in  Colonel  Fisher's  stentorian  tones.     The  line 
uixm  advancing  in  utter  darkness  was  almost  immediately  broken  and  became 
confu.sed  by  the  rocky,  precipitous  and  difficult  ground.     Officers  became  .sep- 
arated from  their  men,  but  all  pushed  on  up  the  mountain,  when  about  one- 
third  way  up  all  order  was  lo.st.     Officers  and  men  of  dilferent  companies  and 
even  of  different  regiments  became  intermingled.     The  commanding  officers  of 
the  brigade  and  the  regiments  began  calling  to  each  other,  the  rocks  and  woods 
resounded  with  the  cries.     It  is  said,  and  no  doubt  with  good  reason,  that  the 
Confederate  troops  stationed  at  this  time  on  the  mountain,  hearing  all  this 
noise,  and  knowing  that  the  Sixth  Corps  had   lately  arrived,  believing  that 
whole  corjjs  was  al)out  taking  position  on  Big  Round  Top,  hastily  retreated 
down  their  side  of  the  mountain.     The  confusion  was  so  great  that  officers  and 
men  of  the   Fifth  and   Twelfth   regiments  concluded  to  return  to  the  jjosition 
from  which  they  had  .started,  the  valley  between   Big  and  Little  Round  Top. 
In  making  this  ascent,  a  number  of  Confederate  i)risoners  fell  into  the  possession 
of  the  Fifth  and  Twelfth  regiments.   A  .squad  of  officers  and  men  i  about  seventy) 
in  whi(;h  tlie   writer  found  himself  upon  fir.st  descending  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  .sent  forward  two  men  to  investigate  the  firstc:amp  fires  seen.     These 
sroMis  were  answered  by  members  of  the  Fifteenth  Alabama.     Our  party  then, 
afrei-  discussion,  concluded  to  move  around  the  mountain  side  toward  the  left 
or  south  in  which  direction  we  were  .sure  of  finding  the  Sixth  Corps'  pickets. 
We  in  this  way.  after  an  hour's  very  hard   march,  found  the  Vermont  Brigade 
pickets  and  went  at  once  to  our  starting  point.      In  the  meantime  nearly  all 
the  members  of  the  Fifth  and  Twelfth  regiments  had  found  their  way  l)ack  to 
the  same  plai-e.     The  Twentieth  Maine  skirmishers  finding  themselves  unsuj)- 
ported  had   returned  to  this  starting  point.      It  was  now  suggested  that  the 
Fifth  and  Twelfth  regiments  should  manrh  up  the  mountain  by  the  flank,  the 
Twentieth  Maine  skirmishers  leading  as  before,  this  plan  was  adopted.     Ad- 
vancing in  this  manner,  all  soon  reached  the  top  in  good  order.     The  Twelfth 
on  the  crest  :  the  Fifth  on  its  right ;  the  Twentieth  Maine  skirmi.shers  remained 
out  a.s  )»ickets  toward  the  left-front.     The  Fifth  and  Twelfth  regiments  threw 
nut  i>icket.s  in  their  front  and   to  connect  with  the  troops  on  the  right.     The 
Ninth  and  TcmHi  Reserves  had  been  left  in  line  across  the  ravine  between  Little 


Penrifit/lvduia  af  Gettysburg.  275 

and  Big  Round  Top.  Two  reginiciils  of  Vincent's  Brigado  wore  posted  in  the 
interval  between  the  riglit  of  tiie  IMltli  Reserves  and  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Re- 
serves, but  almost  at  right  angles  to  the  general  line.  iSee  map  accompanying 
the  report  of  the  commander  of  Vincent's  Brigade. )  The  line  remained  thus 
until  daylight  when  a  regular  cf)nnected  lin<!  was  Ibrmed  from  the  top  of  Big 
Round  Top  to  the  top  of  Litth^  Round  To]),  and  stone  breastworks  were  thrown 
u}),  which  still  stand  (1888)  as  we  left  them.  There  was  some  sharpshooting 
on  both  sides  (July  3d),  Frank  H.  Heuch,  Comi^any  A,  Twelfth  Regiment,  was 
killed  and  Joseph  Aikens.  Company  G,  Twelfth  Regiment,  wounded. 

The  Confederates  on  their  right,  about  dark,  slowly  withdrew  to  the  line  the 
Third  Union  Corps  had  held.  Ewell  began  his  attack  from  Confederate  left  about 
sunset,  he  found  the  Union  line  stripped  along  his  left,  there  wa-s  nothing  but 
Greene's  Brigade  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  on  the  Union  extreme  right.  Early  at- 
tacked Cemetery  Hill  and  Johnson,  Culp's  Hill.  Pearly  s  attack  was  g.allantly 
made  but  failed.  .Tohnson  cairied  the  Union  works  on  his  left  and  remained  in 
po.ssession  there.     The  result  of  the  day's  lighting  has  been  described  as  follows  : 

"Longstreet  had  carried  the  whole  front  on  which  the  Third  Corps  had  been 
drawn  ;  Ewell's  left  was  thru.st  within  the  breastworks  on  the  Union  right,  in 
a  jxjsition,  which  if  held  by  him,  would  enable  him  to  take  Meade's  entire  line 
in  reserve,  and  the  Union  loss  in  the  two  days'  combat  had  already  reached  the 
frightful  aggregate  of  upwards  of  twenty  thousand.  But  the  army  and  corps 
commanders  on  Union  side  that  night  were  unanimous  for  fighting  it  out  here." 

If  this  is  a  just  summary  of  the  results  of  the  two  days  lighting,  was  not  Gen- 
eral Lee  justified  in  ordering  an  assault  on  the  Union  center?  If  that  had  yielded 
at  all,  would  not  Longstreet's  two  other  divisions  on  Confederate  right  and 
Ewell's  whole  corps  on  their  left  have  followed  up  the  success  and  overwhelmed 
the  Union  army?  We  now  know,  that  an  attack  made  in  broad  daylight,  over 
open  ground,  against  good  troops,  armed  with  modern  weapons,  although  made 
strictly  in  accordance  with  the  liattle  tacticsof  Frederick  II.  and  Napoleon,  must 
fail.  As  witness  this  grand  attack  and  many  made  by  Gene'ral  Grant's  army 
en  route  to  Richmond.  In  this  third  da}''s  magnificent  assault  and  lieroic  de- 
fense our  regiment  was  only  a  deeply  interested  spectator.  The  grand  scene 
was  clearly  in  view  to  any  one  who  would  chance  his  life  against  the  deadly 
sharpshooters  by  raising  his  head  above  tiie  stone  breastwork. 

The  First  Brigade  of  the  Reserves,  under  command  of  Colonel  McCandless, 
advanced  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  3d,  and  b}'  its  bold  and  skilful  movements 
defeated  a  force  more  than  twice  its  strength,  and  recovered  all  the  ground  lo.st 
by  the  Union  army  on  the  2d. 

The  Third  Brigade  remained  in  the  breastworks  on  Big  Round  Top  until  the 
morning  of  the  oth,  when  it  moved  off  with  the  Fifth  Corps  toward  Emmitsburg. 

The  enemy  withdrew  the  night  of  the  3d  and  morning  of  the  4th.  Their 
absence  being  soon  detected,  many  of  us  took  this  opiwrtnnity  to  visit  the  battle- 
field on  the  left  and  front. 

The  criticism  of  General  Me.ade  for  not  attacking  the  Confederate  army  after 
Gettysburg,  was  refuted  by  subsequent  events.  Whatchance  had  General  Meade 
with  a  force  no  larger  than  the  enemy,  when  General  Grant  Avith  more  than 
double  the  enemy's  force  in  his  repeated  assaults,  suffered  such  heavy  Icsses  and 
accomplished  so  little?  The  numbers  actually  engaged  in  the  fighting  were 
nearly  equal.  The  Confederates  were  much  the  stronger  July  1.  The  two  sides 
were  about  equal  the  second  day,  the  Union  force  probably  the  stronger  the  third 


'276  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

day.  The  losses.  July  l-;>,  as  given  by  tlu-  Adjutaut-(;euerars  office,  were  : 
'•Union,  twenty-three  thousand  and  three  :  Confederate,  twenty  thousand  lour 
hundred  and  hl'ty-oue. 

•'Notk:  Confederate  prisoners  by  name,  wounded  ;ind  unwounded,  twelve 
thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven.  Medical-Director  of  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac reported  .six  thousand  eight  hundred  aud  two  Confederates  wounded." 


DEDICATION   OF  MONUMENT 

42°  REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

(Thirteenth  Reserves,  First  Rifles) 

ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  JOHN  P.  BARD 

4FTER  Burn.side's  "Mud  March"   in  January,   1863,   the  division  of  the 

/ \      I'einisvlvania  Reserves,  on  account  of  the  terrible  loss  it  had  sustained 

r\    in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  December  13,  1862,  was  ordered  to 

the  Department  of  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  its  ranks. 

The  First  Brigade,  to  which  the  Bucktail  Regiment  belonged,  was  in  camp  at 

Fairfax  Station,  on  the  Orange  and   Alexandria  railroad,  when  the  battle  of 

Chancellorsville  was  fought,  where  they  remained  until  they  were  ordered  to 

rejoin  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

When  they  received  the  news  that  Lee  had  assumed  the  oflfensive  and  threat- 
ened an  invasion  of  the  North,  and  that  Hooker's  army  was  falling  back  toward 
Washington,  the  men  composing  this  division  of  Pennsylvaniaus,  fired  with  the 
patriotic  zeal  and  heroism  that  had  characterized  them  on  many  hard-fought 
fields  of  battle,  demanded  that  their  fortunes  be  again  joined  with  the  oft  de- 
feated, but  never  conquered,  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Some  of  the  regiments  of 
the  First  Brigade  drew  up  petitions  to  their  commanding  officers  asking  that 
they  be  permitted  to  take  part  in  the  coming  campaign.  The  order  to  get  rid 
of  all  surplus  baggage  and  camp  equipage,  draw  extra  rations  and  a  full  supply 
of  ammunition,  was  therefore  received  with  joy,  and  the  men  cheerfully  went 
about  the  work  of  preparing  for  an  active  campaign.  Their  numbers  present 
for  duty  had  been  increased  by  the  return  of  sick  and  wounded  from  general 
hospitals,  but  very  few  new  men  had  joined  the  division.  Although  consider- 
able efTort  was  made  I  do  not  think  the  P.ucktails  got  a  single  recruit  while  they 
were  in  the  Department  of  Washington. 

The  Second  Ihigade  did  not  join  in  the  movement,  but  remained  in  the  De- 
partment of  Washington,  being  stationed  at  Alexandria. 

Early  Friday  morning.  June  20,  the  First  Brigade  broke  camp  at  Fairfax 
Station  and  marched  to  Edwards'  Ferry,  where  they  crossed  the  Potomac  river, 
marching  thence  by  Frederick  City  to  near  Unioutown,  Md..  arriving  at  the 
latter  place  on  Tuesday,  June  30.  In  the  meantime  Lee  had  crossed  the  Poto- 
mac at  Williamsiiort  with  his  entire  army,  except  a  large  corps  of  General 
Ewell's  and  Stuart's  division  of  cavalry.  The  latter  troops  had  crossed  earlier 
and  had  advanced  into  Pennsylvania.  Several  Imdies  of  their  scouts  had  reached 
as  far  north  as  the  Su.s<iuehanna  river  near  llarrislmrg. 

During  the  march  to  Uniontown,  we  received  the  int(tlligence  that  CJeneral 
Meade  had  succeeded  (ieneral  iror>ker  in  command  of  the  .\rmy  of  tlie  Potomac. 
Knowing  that  Ceneral  John  F.  Reynolds  was  Meade's  senior  in  rank,  this  in- 


lX 


^BllCKTAii 


GETTYS3URG. 


PRINT:    THE    F.  GUTEKUNST   CO., 


Pcnnsylraitid  at   (ietfjifihn nj.  217 

lonnatioii  caused  some  surprise  amonj;  tiie  Iveserves.     They  lelt,  however,  that 
no  mistake  had  been  made  in  appointing  (Jeneral  Meade  to  that  command. 

Both  these  officers  had  commanded  our  In-igade  and  division,  and  were  well- 
known  to  the  men.  They  knew  their  lighting  qualities  and  were  quite  well 
sjitisfied  that  either  one  would  command  the  army  with  distinguished  ability. 
Being  warm  personal  friends  and  wholly  devoted  to  the  cause,  either  would 
have  the  hearty  support  and  earnest  co-operation  of  the  other.  It  was  a  source 
of  great  satisfaction  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Reserves  to  know  that  they 
would  tight  the  next  battle  on  their  native  soil  and  under  the  leadership  of  a 
Pennsylvanian  who  had  commanded  the  division  in  the  terrible  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg. 

The  Reserves  were  assigned  to  the  Fifth  Corps,  commanded  by  Maior-Gen- 
eral  George  Sykes  and  wore  the  Maltese  cross,  being  the  Third  Division.  On 
Thursday  morning,  July  2.  the  Fifth,  having  been  selected  by  General  Meade 
as  his  reserve  corps,  took  a  position  in  the  rear  of  the  right  wing  of  our  army. 
From  their  position,  owing  to  the  peculiar  formation  of  Meade's  line,  they 
could,  in  a  very  short  time,  reach  any  given  point.  General  Sickles,  with  the 
Third  Corps,  was  to  occupy  the  left  of  the  line,  in  the  formation  of  which  he 
was  to  connect  with  Hancock's  left  and  form  on  a  ])rolongation  of  his  [Han- 
cock's] line,  with  his  left  resting  on  Iteund  Top. 

This  would  bring  the  line  of  the  Third  Corps  along  the  crest  of  Little  Round 
Toj).  For  some  rea.son,  not  necessary  to  discuss  here,  General  Sickles  advanced 
beyond  the  position  assigned  him  and  formed  his  line  on  a  plain,  his  left  cross- 
ing the  Emmitsburg  road,  with  both  flanks  exposed.  The  ground  upon  which 
he  Ibrmed  his  line  is  certainly  more  than  half  a  mile  in  advance  of  the  position 
which  General  Meade  intended  he  should  occupy. 

About  the  time  General  Sickles  had  his  line  formed  General  Meade  arrived 
at  Little  Round  Top,  and,  seeing  the  mistake  Sickles  had  made,  sent  for  that 
officer  and  pointed  out  to  him  his  error.  General  Sickles  at  once  proposed  to 
withdraw  his  corps  and  form  on  the  line  originally  indicated.  General  Meade 
replied  that  the  enemy  would  not  permit  his  withdrawal,  as  it  could  then  be 
seen  he  was  preparing  to  attack.  While  they  were  talking  Longstreet's  guns 
opened,  and  .soon  his  long  lines  of  infantry  began  to  emerge  from  the  woods. 
It  now  became  evident  this  was  to  be  a  determined  efibrt  on  the  part  of  that 
able  Confederate  chieftain  to  destroy  the  Third  Corps  before  they  could  receive 
support.  When  the  first  gun  was  fired  General  Sickles  hastened  to  the  front, 
and  General  Meade  ordered  the  Fifth  Corps  to  march  with  all  possible  haste  to 
General  Sickles'  support. 

The  gallant  Third  Corps  fought  desperately  to  hold  their  ground,  but  the 
long  line  of  Longstreet's  extending  beyond  both  flanks,  steadily  drove  them 
back.  On  the  right  of  the  Third  the  line  of  the  enemy  was  pushed  rapidly  for- 
ward, with  the  evident  purpose  of  turning  that  flank  and  getting  between  the 
Third  Corps  and  the  main  line  of  our  army.  At  the  .same  time  Longstreet's 
right  was  thrown  forward,  making  a  vigorous  attack  on  Round  Top,  while  a 
verj'  strong  force  from  the  Devil "s  Den  made  a  determined  assault  on  Little 
Round  Top,  breaking  the  line  of  the  Third  Corps,  which  at  that  point  was 
thrown  into  confusion.  By  this  time  the  Second  Division  of  the  Fifth  Corps, 
composed  of  regulars,  arrived  on  the  ground,  and  was  formed  on  the  left  of 
Hancock's  line.  When  the  Third  Corps  broke.  General  Meade  ordered  the 
Second  Division  to  charge  in  the  direction  of  the  wheat-field  and  peach  orchard. 


278  Pritnsi/Iraiiia  af   Geffi/shunj. 

The  iej;ulais  wcnl  lorward  in  splendid  Ibrni  ;  wlien  they  reached  the  wheat- 
field  they  were  met  by  a  couuter-charj^e  of  tlie  now  victorious  troops  of  Long- 
street.  The  regulars  received  the  charge  gloriously,  but,  after  stubl)orn  fight- 
in"  and  very  heavy  loss  on  both  sides.  l)eing  largely  outnumbered,  they  were 
forced  back.  They,  liowever,  kept  their  line  and  retired  in  good  order,  all  the 
time  keeping  up  a  steady  lire.  In  this  manner  they  retreated,  closely  followed 
bv  the  Confederates,  across  the  swamp  and  hall  way  up  the  side  of  Little  Kouml 
Toj),  or  rather  halfway  up  the  slope  of  the  hill  on  the  right  of  Little  Round 
Top.  the  left  of  the  Second  Division,  when  it  fell  back,  barely  reaching  the 
base  of  Little  Round  Top.  ( )n  the  right  the  enemy  succeeded  in  capturing  sev- 
eial  guns,  but  were  only  able  to  hold  them  a  few  minutes;  a  murderous  lire 
from  Hancock's  batteries  and  the  charge  of  the  regulars  checked  their  advance 
and  re-captured  the  guns. 

At  this  moment  the  situation  on  the  left  was  alarming,  everything  indicated 
a  rout  ol  that  wing  of  the  army.  At  this  crisis  General  jNIeade.  who  was  fortu- 
nately present  at  this  point,  ordered  a  charge  from  in  front  of  Little  Kound 
Top  by  the  Fir.st  Brigade  of  the  Pennsylvaniji  Keserves.  The  Third  Brigatie. 
commanded  by  Colonel  Fisher,  had  been  sent  to  the  extreme  left  to  tlie  suj)- 
port  of  General  Vincent,  at  Round  Toj). 

Little  Round  Top,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  a  round  liill  rising  about  two 
hundred  feet  above  the  streams  which  run  at  its  base.  The  top  and  side  facing 
the  enemy  are  covered  with  rough  rocks,  some  of  them  very  large,  that  side  is 
also  very  steep,  and  near  the  top  difficult  of  ascent.  At  the  foot  and  in  our  front 
there  is  a  small  stream  known  as  Plum  Run,  the  course  of  which  is  parallel  with 
our  line.  The  ground  on  both  sides  of  this  stream  is  swampy,  forming  a  flat 
some  fifty  or  seventy-rive  yards  wide;. 

On  the  opposite  .side  of  the  stream,  on  our  right,  the  ground  rises  more  gently, 
uradually  falling  oft"  into  a  plain.  In  our  front  and  on  the  left  it  grows  rougher 
and  steeper  until  it  reaches  the  Devil's  Den,  a  clu.ster  of  very  large  rocks  on  our 
•left,  the  ground  between  them  much  broken  and  covered  Avith  scrubby  timb<  i . 
covering  an  area  of  perhaps  three  aires.  At  that  tiiYie  the  woods  extended 
down  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp  in  our  front  and  continued  over  the  hill  till  it 
reached  the  wheat-field  on  our  right.  Beyond  the  wheat-field  there  was  an- 
other strip  of  woods,  ami  beyond  tliat  the  peach  orchard  fronting  on  the  Km- 
mitsburg  road.  The  stone  wall  or  fence  was  located  across  Plum  Run  close  by 
the  edge  of  the  woods  and  to  the  right  of  the  crest  of  Little  Round  Top.  The 
stonewall  covered  about  one-half  of  our  regiment  when  in  line. 

The  Pennsylvania  Reserves  arrived  on  the  ground  at  the  supreme  moment. 
It  Longstreetliad  obtained  iwssession  of  Little  Round  Top,  Meade's  position 
would  have  been  turned.  From  this  point  the  guns  of  the  enemy  would  have 
raked  our  center  and  left-center  and  from  this  position  he  could  strike  the  right 
wing  on  the  flank  and  rear.  General  Meade's  presence  at  that  part  of  the  line 
would  indicate  the  deep  anxiety  he  felt  in  the  result  of  thc"  c(mfiict  for  the  po.s- 
session  of  the  Round  Tops.  He  knew  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
advance  of  Longstreet's  exultant  troops  should  be  checked  before  they  reached 
the  crest  of  the  Little  Rouml  Top,  the  real  key  to  his  position,  and  which  was. 
at  the  moment  when  we  arrived  upon  the  ground,  almost  within   their  grasp. 

Tlie  brigade  marched  upon  the  field  in  rever.se  order,  throwing  tlie  P.ucktails 
upon  the  left  of  the  line  with  the  rear  rank  to  the  enemy.  Colonel  Taylor  gave 
the  command  to  counter-march  and  while  the  movement  was  being  executed  a 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty, shurg.  279 

rebel  yell  indicated  the  juesence  of  the  eueruy,  which  caused  c()nsideial)Ie  con- 
fusion in  the  line,  hut  when  the  comiuund  to  charge  was  received,  every  one  of 
those  veteran  soldiers  (juickly  found  his  place,  and  presented  a  solid  and  un- 
broken line  to  the  enemy,  who  had  by  this  time  almost  gained  the  summit, 
those  fartliest  in  advance  being  only  a  few  yards  from  one  of  our  batteries,  whose 
gunners  were  about  to  spike  their  ".".ins.  Shouting  to  the  gunners  to  liold  their 
pieces  the  Bucktails.  springing  forward  with  a  clieer,  engaged  the  enemy  in  a 
desperate  hand-to-hand  conflict  lasting  but  a  short  time  when,  for  the  first  time 
that  day,  Longstreet's  brave  men  were  forced  to  retreat.  With  a  broken  line 
and  in  considerable  confusion  they  fled  down  the  hill  and  across  the  swamp, 
the  Bucktails  following  close  and  capturing  quite  a  number  of  prisoners.  At 
the  foot  of  the  hill  Lieutenant-Colonel  .V.  E.  Niles  fell  on  the  front  line  severely 
wounded.  The  Bucktails  kept  up  a  steady  fire  from  their  breech-loading  rifles 
as  they  charged,  the  lines  being  very  close  they  inflicted  terrible  punishment 
on  the  retreating  foe.  At  the  stone  wall  the  enemy  made  a  feeble  attempt  to 
re-form,  but  were  not  able  to  check  the  impetuous  charge  of  the  Bucktails.  It 
is  needless  to  state  that  Colonel  Taylor  and  Major  Hartshorne  were  to  be  found 
in  the  front  line  all  the  time.  Not  taking  any  account  of  what  Avas  occurring 
on  the  right  of  our  line,  the  Bucktails  pushed  on  after  the  now  thoroughly 
routed  enemy  who  fled  through  the  woods,  on  up  the  hill,  on,  on,  until  near 
the  edge  of  the  wheat-field  when  Colonel  Taylor,  discovering  that  he  was  a  con- 
siderable distance  in  advance  of  our  line  and  unsupported,  ordered  a  halt. 

After  we  halted  the  enemy  were  either  reinforced  or  concentrated  their 
scattered  lines,  as  they  kept  up  a  heavy  fire  in  our  front,  but  as  we  were  still 
in  the  woods  and  our  boys  found  p;ood  cover  behind  trees  they  did  us  but  little 
harm.     Up  to  tins  time  we  had  captured  a  large  number  of  prisoners. 

.Just  after  the  line  halted  we  received  a  heavy  volley  from  our  right-center. 
Colonel  Taylor  with  two  other  oificers  and  fifteen  or  twenty  men  were  on  that 
part  of  the  line  at  the  time.  Quickly  facing  to  the  left  they  discovered,  but  a 
short  distance  away,  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  rebels  partly  hidden  by  the 
timber.  An  officer  promptly  demanded  their  surrender  when  nearly  every 
man  in  their  line  threw  down  his  arms.  .lust  then  a  Confederate  in  the  rear 
of  tlieir  line  sang  out  with  an  oath,  ""ril  never  surrender  to  a  corporal's  guard." 
The  rebels  again  grasped  their  arms  when  Lieutenant  Kratzer  called  out  to  the 
Bucktails,  '"Tree,  every  man  of  you.'"  and,  jumping  behind  a  tree  near  him,  he 
turned  to  Colonel  Taylor,  who  was  near  by,  and  urged  him  to  hurry.  Just  as 
the  colonel  laid  his  hand  on  Lieutenant  Kratzer's  shoulder,  and  was  in  the  act 
of  stepping  under  shelter  of  the  tree,  a  rebel  sharpshooter  sent  a  bullet  through 
his  heart — when  our  brave  and  beloved  commander  died  without  speaking  a 
word.  When  the  few  men  that  were  there  saw  Colonel  Taj'lor  fall  they  poured 
several  volleys  in  quick  succession  into  the  enemy  at  the  same  time  calling 
upon  them  to  surrender.  About  forty  or  fifty  threw  down  their  arms  and  gave 
themselves  up,  the  others  retreated  in  the  directi(m  of  the  Devil's  Den. 

The  command  of  the  regiment  now  devolved  on  Major  Hartshorne,  who  was 
at  the  time  on  the  left  of  the  line.  As  soon  as  he  was  informed  of  the  death 
of  Colonel  Taylor  and  knowing  that  there  was  a  considerable  force  on  our  left 
and  rear,  he  withdrew  Ins  line  to  the  stone  wall  and  sent  Captain  Kin.sey  with 
his  company  out  in  the  direction  of  the  Devil's  Den,  with  orders  to  form  in 
line  of  skirmishers  at  right  angles  with  the  line  of  the  regiment,  attack  the 
enemy  and  develop  his  strength  and  position.      When  Captain  Kinsey  reached 


280  Pennsylvania  at  Geftz/sburg. 

tlif  edge  orthe  Devil's  Deu,  he  was  met  with  a  heavy  volley  from  the  enemr 
who  were  ]X)stC(l  behind  rocks  and  trees,  taking  such  cover  as  they  could  find, 
and  a  lively  skirmish  ensued.  The  rapid  tiring  attracted  Major  Hartshorne's 
attention,  wlien  he  .sent  Lieutenant  Krat/.er  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  Caj)tain 
Kinsey  could  hold  his  i)o.sition.  Captain  Kin.sey  urged  Lieutenant  Kratzer 
t<.  support  him  Avith  his  company,  insisting,  that  with  some  help  he  could  carry 
the  rocks  and  capture  the  force  defending  them.  The  lines  were  very  close, 
only  a  few  yards  apart,  and  the  expo.sure  of  any  part  of  the  body  called  forth 
a  shot  from  the  watchful  foe.  Lieutenant  Kratzer  agreed  to  go  back,  and  if  he 
could  get  Major  Hartshorne's  consent  to  bring  up  his  company.  Just  as  he 
turned  to  go  back,  .several  shells  fell  in  their  midst  and  exploded.  This  was 
l)romptly  followed  by  a  volley  from  the  enemy  in  their  front.  Captain  Kin- 
sey was  severely  wounded  by  a  shell.  In  the  contusion  following,  Lieutenant 
Kratzer  got  away  and  reported  the  situation  to  Major  Hartshorne.  It  being 
then  dark  and  the  enemy  still  in  strong  force  in  his  front.  Major  Hartshorne 
deeming  it  unsafe  to  attempt  without  support  to  drive  the  enemy  from  his 
strong  position,  recalled  Captain  Kin.sey's  company,  leaving  only  a  few  pickets 
to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  A  brisk  firing  was  kept  up  all  along 
the  line  till  about  9  o'clock,  when  it  ceasetl,  seemingly,  by  mutual  consent. 

.<()  ended  the  battle  of  the  2d  of  July,  in  front  of  Little  Round  Top.  The 
lighting  from  l  o'clock  p.  m..  had  V)een  of  the  most  desperate  character,  and 
the  ground  all  around  was  strewn  with  killed  and  wounded.  Side  by  side  in 
death  lay  the  P>lue  and  the  Gray,  while  here  and  there  desperately  wounded 
Yankees  and  Confederates  lying  on  the  field  would  talk  over  the  dav's  work 
and  speculate  on  the  result  of  the  battle  to  be  fought  on  the  morrow. 

Very  early  on  the  morning  of  July  3,  Major  Hartshorne  sent  Captain  Frank 
Hell,  with  Company  I.  and  Captain  John  A.  Woltf  with  Company  F,  to  attack 
and  develop  the  strength  of  the  enemy  on  our  left  flank  in  the  Devil's  Den. 
These  two  companies,  deployed  in  line  of  skirmi.shers,  (cautiously  advanced. 
AVhen  thej'  reached  the  edge  of  the  Devil's  Den.  they  encountered  the  enemy 
strongly  posted  behind  rocks  and  trees.  The  fighting  at  once  l)ecame  very  .se- 
vere :  the  enemy's  fire  indicated  a  large  force,  and  their  ])osition  was  so  strong 
that  any  attempt  to  carry  it  by  storm  with  so  small  a  body  of  troops  mu.st  prove 
disa-strous.  Taking  cover,  the  Bucktails  opened  a  rapid  fire,  hoping  to  puni.sh 
the  enemy  .so  severely  as  to  either  compel  him  to  retire  or  come  out  of  his  strong- 
hold to  drive  them  ofl'.  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  Bucktails  were 
armed  with  breech-loading  rifles,  some  of  the  companies  with  Spencer  repeating 
rifles  :  the  great  advantage  of  these  arms,  when  firing  from  cover,  is  known  l)y 
all  soldiers.  Any  object  that  will  cover  the  body  is  all  the  protection  a  man 
armed  with  a  breech-loading  rifle  wants.  He  is  not  exposed  in  loading,  and 
(•an  load  on  the  run  almost  as  well  as  when  standing  still.  This  will  account, 
in  part,  for  the  heavy  lo.ss,  on  many  occasions,  inflicted  on  the  enemy  by  the 
Bucktails  when  their  loss  was  comparatively  very  small.  On  this  occasion,  the 
superiority  of  the  arms,  .soon  gave  them  a  very  decided  advantage.  Whenever 
a  rebel  expo.sed  any  part  of  his  body  he  was  sure  to  be  hit  and  the  result,  not- 
withstanding their  .superiority  in  numbers.  Avas  only  a  question  of  time.  The 
Bucktails  were  punishing  them  .severely  with  no  los.s,  since  they  had  taken  co\  w. 
'I"he  enemy  discovered  that  they  were  playing  a  losing  game,  made  a  dash  (tn 
the  handful  of  brave  men  whr)  were  o])i>osing  them.  Their  numbers  surprised 
the  I'.ucktails.  and  to  )ire\entthe  capture  of  their  little  paity,  they  l)eat  a  Inisty 


Fennsi/Jvania  af  Gettysburg.  281 

retreat,  glad  to  make  their  escape  and  get  baek  to  tlie  regiment.  In  this  re- 
trejit  Captain  Kell  received  a  wound  whi(;h  caused  the  loss  of  a  leg,  and  several 
others  were  wounded.  The  enemy,  strange  to  sa}%  did  not  follow  up  their 
advantage,  but,  seemingly  .satislied  with  driving  otl"  the  party  in  their  front,  re- 
turned to  their  tirst  jjositiou.  Major  Hartshorne,  determined  to  make  them 
develop  their  purpose,  ordered  Lieutenant  Kratzer  to  take  his  company  (K)  and 
make  another  effort  to  rout  them.  The  regiment  being  constantly  engaged  in 
the  front,  no  considerable  force  could  be  spared.  Deploying  his  company  in 
line  of  skirmishers,  Lieutenant  Kratzer  gave  them  the  word  when  they  started 
forward  on  a  run.  The  lebels  permitted  them  to  get  so  close  that  their  features 
could  be  easily  distinguished  and  the  bore  of  their  guns  plainly  seen  when  they 
sprang  from  their  cover  and  iired  a  volley  that  killed  and  wounded  about  one- 
third  of  the  number.  A  Confederate  oflBcer  close  by  called  to  Kratzer  to  sur- 
render; the  brave  lieutenant  answered  him  with  a  shot  from  his  revolver  ;  the 
Confederate  returned  the  shot,  when  Kratzer  tired  again  and  his  foe  fell.  One 
of  Kratzer's  men  called  his  attention  to  blood  on  his  hand,  the  lieutenant  re- 
plied that  he  was  shot  through  the  arm  above  the  elbow.  After  firing  this 
volley,  the  Confederate  officers  compelled  their  men  to  lie  down  ;  the  lines  were 
so  clo.se  that  tlieir  commands  were  distinctly  heard  though  spoken  in  an  ordi- 
nary tone. 

It  was  now  near  2  o'clock  p.  m.  and  preparations  were  being  made  for  a  gen- 
eral attack  on  this  jiart  of  the  line.  Major  Hartshorne  therefore  called  in  the 
party  sent  out  with  Lieutenant  Kratzer.  About  3  o'clock  the  brigade  advanced 
in  line,  charging  on  the  enemy  they  drove  him  through  the  woods  to  the  wheat- 
field,  on  through  the  field  and  through  the  strip  of  woods  beyond  into  the  peach 
orchard,  capturing  several  hundred  prisoners  and  completely  destroying  the 
Confederate  line  in  their  front.  Early  that  morning  Major  Hartshorne  had  in- 
formed Colonel  ]\IcCandless.  commanding  the  brigade,  of  the  force  on  his  left  in 
the  Devil's  Den.  Colonel  McCandless  having  nothing  to  fear  from  the  line  in 
his  front,  determined  to  pay  his  respects  to  that  party  ;  he  therefore  directed 
Major  Hartshorne  to  change  front  to  the  left  and  charge  Avith  the  Bucktails  in 
'that  direction,  while  he  would  form  the  rest  of  the  brigade  in  column  by  regi- 
ment closed  in  mass  and  follow  him  at  supporting  distance. 

The  Bucktails  in  line  of  skirmishers  moved  forward  through  the  woods  at 
double-quick  for  .several  hundred  yards,  when  they  came  upon  a  line  of  the 
enemy  in  position.  With  a  cheer  they  rushed  on  them,  when  they  had  another 
hand-to-hand  light  with  what  proved  to  be  the  Fifteenth  Georgia  Regiment. 
The  Georgians  stood  up  bravely  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  when  they  threw 
down  their  arms,  the  Bucktails  capturing  the  entire  command  with  their  colors. 
Turning  the  prisoners  over  to  the  troops  in  the  rear  the  Bucktails  pushed  on 
through  the  woods  into  open  country,  when  Colonel  McCandless  deployed  the 
brigade  into  line  and  moved  forward  capturing  quite  a  number  of  prisoners. 
He  continued  till  there  was  no  enemy  to  be  seen  in  our  front  and  night  put  an 
end  to  our  fighting,  when  the  brigade  rested  for  the  night  fully  one  mile  in 
front  of  Little  Round  Top. 

By  this  movement  Colonel  McCandless  completely  flanked  the  Devil's  Den 
and  forced  the  enemy  to  retreat  from  a  position  that  it  would  have  been  next 
to  impossible  to  have  driven  him  by  a  direct  attack.  So  ended  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg.     The  last  shot,  the  Bucktails  claim,  was  fired  by  them  on  nearly 


282  Pennsylvania  a(  (retfi/.sburg. 

the  .siiiue  j:n>iind  where  tlic  liatth-  (if. Inly  I  was  ()|>ciie(l  liy  Loiigstreot's  attack 
Oil  Sickles. 

In  tlie  two  days"  lighting  the  JUicktails"  total  loss  w;i,s  loity-seven.  Killed, 
two  officers  and  eight  enlisted  men:  wonuded,  eight  officers  and  thirty  enlisted 
men.  The  loss  in  officers  was  nnusually  severe,  nine  officers  out  of  a  total  loss 
of  forty-seven. 

It  will  Ije observed  that  from  the  time  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  entered  the 
fight  until  the  end  the  Confederates  on  this  part  of  the  line  fought  entirely  on 
the  defensive,  up  to  that  time  they  were  the  attacking  party  and  were  flushed 
with  victory.  They  Jiad  driven  the  Third  Corps,  with  terrible  .slaughter,  through 
the  peach  orchard,  met  the  Regulars  in  the  wheat-field,  and,  after  hard  fighting 
and  heavy  loss  on  Ijoth  sides,  drove  them  back  across  Plum  run  and  were  on 
the  eve  of  capturing  Little  Kound  Top,  the  real  key  to  Meade's  position,  when 
they  met  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  and  in  le.ss  than  twenty  minutes  the  tide 
was  turned  and  we  became  the  attacking  party. 

The  '■  Bucktails"'  or  "'First  Rifle"  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Volun- 
teer Corps  was  organized  early  in  May,  1861,  under  a  State  law  passed  by  the 
Legislature  and  approved  by  the  Governor  May  15.  They  were  not  called  into 
the  United  States  service  until  the  latter  part  of  Jttne,  when  they,  with  the 
Fifth  Pennsylvania  Reserves  and  Captain  Campbell's  Battery  A,  Pennsylvania 
Reserve  Volunteer  Corps,  were  ordered  to  West  Virginia.  The  regiment  never 
was  regularly  mu.stered  into  the  United  States  .service.  Some  (|uestion  arising 
in  regard  to  pay.  and  the  authorities  refusing  to  date  a  muster  back  to  the  time 
when  the  regiment  entered  the  service,  and  Colonel  Biddle  refusing  to  permit  a 
muster  several  months  after  entry  into  service,  the  matter  was  compromised. 
We  %fere  instructed  to  enter  upon  our  rolls  as  mustered  into  service  "by  order 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,"  May  29,  1861."  All  the  companies  composing  this 
regiment  were  enlisted  prior  to  May  15,  in  fact  these  men  enlisted  under  the 
first  call  for  three-months'  nu^n.  but  found  the  quota  of  the  State  filled  before 
they  reached  Ilarrisburg. 

The  first  battle  in  which  the  regiment  was  engaged  was  Dranesville,  Decem- 
ber 20,  1861;  the  last  battle  was  at  Bethesda  Church,  May  30,  1864.  A  lai^e 
number  of  the  men  re-enlisted  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  the  One 
hu!idred  and  ninetieth  Pennsylvania  Veteran  Volunteers. 

The  peculiar  field  tactics  employed  by  this  regiment  originated  witii  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel (later  Brigadier-General)  Thomas  L.  Kane.  They  were  much 
the  same  as  those  recently  adopted  by  the  War  Department  for  the  United  States 
Army.  When  exposed  to  a  heavy  fire  the  Bucktails  were  instructed  to  scatter, 
and  at  all  times  were  required  to  take  advantage  of  whatever  cover  the  ground 
aflorded.  If  any  part  of  the  line  was  better  protected  than  another,  the  men  in 
that  lo(;ation  would  push  ibrward  and  vigorously  engage  the  enemy,  under  cover 
of  their  fire  the  moie  exposed  part  of  the  line  would  rush  forward.  Great  re- 
siMiusibility  was  thrown  upon  the  individual  soldier.  They  were  taught  to 
take  care  of  tliemselv&s  and  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  for  an  ad- 
vance of  the  line.  In  many  instances  the  men  have,  of  their  own  accord,  with- 
out orders,  rushed  forward  when  under  heavy  fire  and  gained  important  ad- 
vantage. They  were  taught  to  estimate  distances  on  various  formations,  the 
estimates  being  proven  by  actual  measurements,  and,  except  when  in  general 
lin«^ of  battle,  to  fire  only  when  tliey  had  an  object  fairly  in  the  sights  of  their 


TMOW).     Ot    W.     H.    TII'TON,    GtTTySBURG. 


PRINT:   THE    F.    GUTEKUNST    CO.      TMII  A. 


Pennsiflvanid  at  Gettysburg.  283 

ritic.      In  addition  they  weir  skilled  jnarksnu-n  and  werr  constantly  practicing; 
at  long  range,  from  two  linndred  to  one  tliousaud  yards. 

To  their  peculiar  tactics,  constant  practice,  individual  resiwnsibility  and  good 
marksmanship,  can  be  credited  the  tearful  punishment  inflicted  ui>()n  theenemy 
in  every  action  iu  which  they  were  engaged,  without  a  proportionate  loss  to 
them. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

46^"  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

Septembkk   12,  1889 

ORATION  OF  CAPTAIN  JOSEPH  MATCH ETT 

FRIENDS  and  comrades  of  the  old  Forty-sixth  : — Twenty-six  years  ago  this 
last  Jnly  we  stood  upon  this  ground  to  defend  our  country  from  the  as- 
saults of  those  who  in  their  madness  would  trample  this  glorious  banner 
in  the  dust.  What  grand  momentous  days  and  nights  these  were  on  this 
1st.  2d  and  3d  of  July,  1863,  when  the  destiny  of  our  nation  hung  in  the  bal- 
ance, and  the  people  all  over  our  Northland  had  their  eyes  llxed  on  this  army, 
trembling  for  fear  that  your  courage  or  prowess  would  fail  you,  as  your  enemy, 
flushe<l  with  victoiies  iu  Virginia,  had  boldly  invaded  our  free  northern  homes, 
determined  to  crush  this  army,  capture  our  rich  cities,  and  plant  their  standard 
on  the  dome  of  the  capitol,  and  there  dictate  terms  of  peace  to  our  government. 

My  dear  comrades,  it  may  be  superfluous  in  me  to  recount  to  you  the  move- 
ments that  culminated  in  placing  us  here  in  front  of  Gettysburg,  on  the  1st 
day  of  July,  1863. 

The  disastrous  battles  of  Chancellorsville  on  the  1st.  2d  and  .Jd  of  May  is  yet 
very  fresh  at  this  day  in  your  memories,  at  least  it  is  in  mine,  as  well  as  all  the 
more  than  a  score  of  important  battles  in  which  we  were  engaged.  Tliey  .seem 
to  be  indelibly  photographed  on  the  tablets  of  my  memory,  so  that,  either  wak- 
ing or  sleeping,  they  often  pass  in  panoramic  view  to  my  vision. 

It  was  after  the  success  of  General  Lee  in  that  engagement  that  he  determined, 
to  move  his  armj^  across  the  Potomac,  and  invade  the  soil  of  the  Keystone  State, 
and  to  carry  devastation  to  your  homes  and  firesides.  Little  did  he  think  that 
by  this  act  he  would  be  •"  bearding  the  lion  in  his  den.  "  because,  my  comrades, 
you  well  know  that  heretofore,  by  your  valor  on  many  bloody  fields,  you  had 
proven  your  willingness  to  do  and  die  for  our  dear  Union.  Now,  when  your 
soil  was  desecrated  with  the  tread  of  this  traitorous  band,  your  paternal  patri- 
otic blood  Avas  .so  inflamed  that  yon  could  give  a  double  life  to  free  your  State 
from  the  despoiler.  So,  as  his  army  moved  northward,  you  were  moved  along- 
on  parallel  lines  between  him  and  the  capitol  at  Washington  ;  and  late  in  June 
you  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Leesburg  and  marched  through  Maryland,  "My 
Maryland  "  with  banners  flying,  and  with  cheerful  step  to  music  of  our  band, 
through  historic  old  Frederick  City.  There  "  Fighting  "  Joe  Hooker  left  us, 
but  we  cheerfully  followed  the  faithful  Meade,  asking  no  questions  ;  our  cause 
was  just  the  same  whoever  was  put  in  command  of  us  :  we  had  no  time  for 
cavilling  or  fault-finding. 

You  remember    the  dusty   hot   march   ilnough    I.ittlestowu.  with  the  ripe, 


284  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

tempting  rlierries  ovcrlicad.  tliat  yon  had  no  time  to  gather  ;  some  of  the  boys 
s;iid  they  were  sour.  You  had  only  time  to  grasp  a  cup  of  cold  water,  or  a  \nvce 
of  bread  or  pie  that  the  villagers  (God  bless  themt  handed  ont  the  gateway  to 
you  as  you  hastened  on  into  old  Pennsylvania,  with  words  of  cheer  from  our 
friends,  and  the  songs  of  the  children,  as  we  marched  to  their  tune  of  "■  March- 
ing  along,  we  are  marching  along,  tor  God  and  our  country  we  are  marching 
along."  You  wentinto  camp  beyond  the  town.  Next  day  was  the  30th  of  .Tune, 
and  you  were  hastily  drawn  up  in  line  to  be  mustered  so  as  to  have  the  pay- 
rolls sent  on.  You  were  then  ordered  to  support  the  cavalry  in  their  brush  with 
the  rebel  cavalry  at  Hanover.  Bright  and  early  next  morning,  after  a  hasty 
breakfast  of  coffee,  crackers  and  pork,  we  took  up  our  march  in  the  direction 
of  Gettysburg,  infantry  in  the  fields,  artillery  and  wagons  on  the  road.  Reck- 
lessly tramping  down  the  ripening  golden  grain  in  your  pathway,  the  Twelfth 
Corps  moved  along,  led  hy  the  gallant  Slocum,  marching  towards  the  sound  of 
the  cannon  as  it  echoed  over  the  hill  from  Gettysburg,  where  the  ball  had 
ojiened  and  our  men  had  met  the  enemy. 

My  comrades,  you  felt  then  that  you  were  approaching  the  momentous  mo- 
ment of  your  life,  and  the  life  of  the  nation,  and  your  courage  and  determina- 
tion rose  with  the  occasion.  You  were  going  to  redeem  Chancellorsville  :  you 
got  your  fighting  blood  again  flowing  through  your  veins,  and  there  was  not  a 
man  of  you  who  was  not  willing  to  die  if  need  be  for  our  grand  old  State  and 
the  nation.  And  where,  in  all  the  wide  world,  and  in  all  its  history,  was  a 
more  appiopriate  time  or  a  grander  incentive  for  man  to  give  up  his  mortal  life, 
a  willing  .sacrifice  for  God,  and  home,  and  this  glorious  land.  Not  but  what 
your  life  was  sweet  to  you,  and  those  left  in  the  dear  old  home  were  precious 
to  you,  and  you  to  them.  Oh,  no!  Your  country  at  this  time,  and  her  honor, 
and  your  honor,  was  transcendentlj'  more  dear,  more  precious  (if  such  could 
be)  for  the  time  being,  than  father  or  mother,  wife  or  children,  for  you  stood 
now  between  them  and  their  despoilers,  their  safety  wrapped  up  in  your  suc- 
cess, as  a  world  stood  watching  for  the  result  of  that  battle. 

True,  we  were  only  boys  then,  but  oh!  what  patriotic  blood  flowed  in  your 
veins,  in  commingling  of  the  freedom-loving  races.  The  Celtic,  German,  Norman, 
Scotch-Iri.sh,  Cymric,  the  Anglo-Saxon,  all  combining  as  one  around  the 
grandest  of  flags,  the  star-spangled  banner.  Blest  emblem  of  liberty.  Ho]w  of 
the  world. 

As  you  drew  nearer,  the  sound  of  the  cannon  was  plainer  to  you  ;  jou  could 
hear  the  bursting  .shells,  then  the  steady  roll  of  musketry,  and  you  knew  that 
death  was  reaping  his  harvest;  the  old  Forty -sixth  had  been  there  many  a  time, 
and  knew  what  it  all  meant.  And  the  smoke  of  battle  went  upon  higli ;  you  were 
now  in  the  battle  zone,  your  whole  surrounding  atmosphere  was  changed. 
There  was  less  of  song,  and  jokes  in  general  fell  fiat;  and  playing  cards — the 
boys  had  no  use  for  them  now,  so  they  .sowed  them  in  the  fields,  scattered  them 
along  the  liighway;  watches  and  other  valuables  were  given  to  non-combatants, 
to  be  sent  home  to  dear  ones,  should  yon  be  among  the  slain.  The  ctivalry  and 
the  First  and  Eleventh  corps,it  seems,had  met  the  enemy  in  large  numbers  beyond 
the  town,  and  had  nobly  kept  them  in  check  as  long  as  possible  until  at  last 
they  doubled  up  our  men,  who  were  com])elled  to  fall  back  through  the  town 
to  Cemetery  Hill,  after  losing  their  noble  commander,  the  brave  Reynolds,  who 
was  shot  while  le:wling  them  on.  Our  coijis  moved  on  past  "Two  Taverns," 
and  then  our  division  fili-d  to  the  right  towards  Wolf  Hill  ;  we  uu-slung  knap- 


Pennsylvania  at  Getti/shurg.  285 

isacks,  loading  onr  guns,  and  deployed  in  line  of  Ijattle  in  the  woods,  with  the 
intention  of  making  a  connection  with  the  right  of  the  Eleventh  Corps,  but  they 
had  been  forced  to  fall  back,  which  changed  the  situation  ;  but  our  presence 
there  prevented  an  intended  Hank  nioveuient  which  the  enemy  attempted  to 
make.  Night  coming  on,  caused  a  lull  in  the  battle,  and  ended  the  slaughter 
for  that  day.  The  regiment  was  moved  over  again  to  the  Baltimore  pike  and 
rested  on  their  arms  that  night. 

Hostilities  commenced  very  early  in  the  morning,  and  you  were  moved  in 
here  and  took  up  this  position,  and  hastily  put  up  a  line  of  works,  with  logs, 
stones  and  dirt,  using  what  tools  you  could  get,  right  on  the  line  of  the  works 
you  now  see  before  you. 

Late  that  afternoon  when  Sickles'  Third  Corps  was  hotly  pre.s.sed  over  on  the 
left-center,  the  brigade  was  hastily  sent  over  acro.ss  the  fields  to  his  relief,  to- 
wards Little  Round  Top,  coming  only  in  contact  with  the  havoc  of  the  enemy's 
shells  in  that  sharp  tight.  The  enemy  were  checked,  and  Sickles'  men  secured 
their  new  ground.  Sometime  in  the  night  we  were  ordered  to  return  to  our 
works  on  the  right  at  Gulp's  Hill.  But,  alas!  in  our  absence  the  enemy  under 
Johnson,  had  taken  our  works,  as  there  had  been  no  troops  put  in  our  place  to 
oppose  them,  and  in  fact  he  had  marched  his  men  as  far  over  as  the  Baltimore 
pike.  Tiien  he  became  suspicious  that  there  was  a  trap  set  for  him,  and  ordered 
his  men  back  again  to  our  works,  thereby  losing  his  grandest  opportunity  of 
the  war.  He  was  right  in  behind  our  ami}'.  Comrades,  there  was  to  my  mind 
a  Providence  in  this.  They  were  made  afraid  when  there  was  nothing  to  fear. 
On  coming  back  we  found  them  in  our  works  sure  enough.  In  fact  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  forethought  of  our  Colonel  Selfridge,  we  would  have  marched 
by  the  dank  right  into  their  lines. 

It  seems  Captain  Selfridge  of  Company  H,  had  taken  .some  of  his  men's  can. 
teens  and  gone  on  ahead  to  Spangler's  spring  to  fill  them,  when  he  discovered 
'Johnnies"  also  there  tilling  their  canteens.  He  backed  out  with  the  best 
grace  he  could  command,  and  reported  it  to  the  colonel.  But  Colonel  McDougall, 
the  brigade  commander,  did  not  believe  it  and  got  very  angry,  but  the  colonel 
insisted  on  deploying  his  men,  and  sent  in  a  skirmish  line,  who  found  the  enemy 
as  stated  and  saved  many  lives. 

We  were  then  formed  around  this  point,  our  left  on  Geary's  Division,  and 
our  brigade  connecting  on  the  right  with  the  Third  Brigade,  when  we  rested 
on  our  arms  again  until  the  morning.  Bright  and  early  our  artillery  which  had 
been  posted  in  our  rear,  opened  on  the  rel)els  in  the  woods,  the  shells  passing 
over  us ;  we  were  so  near  the  enemy  that  six  men  of  the  regiment  were  killed 
by  the  explosion  of  our  own  shells. 

About  11  o'clock  we  opened  on  them  with  musketry,  and  a  general  advance 
was  made,  and  they  were  driven  from  our  works,  which  we  again  occupied, 
and  kept  the  enemy  at  bay,  while  their  sharpshooters  on  those  tree  tops  gave 
us  great  concern,  until  in  the  afternoon  when  that  grand  event  that  stands  out 
now  at  this  day  as  the  turning  point  of  the  rebellion  took  place.  I  refer  to 
Pickett's  charge  on  the  center  of  the  line. 

At  a  given  signal  one  hundred  and  sixty  of  the  enemy's  cannon  opened  fire 
on  the  Union  line,  and  were  answered  by  one  hundred  cannon  from  our  side, 
making  the  very  earth  shake.  And  then  came  their  charging  column  over  that 
wide  field,  only  to  be  swept  away  before  the  leaden  hail  of  the  boys  in  blue, 
which  you  could  plainly  hear.     Also  their  shells  came  tearing  down  our  lines 


28f)  Pninxylvanid  at  (Teftt/sburg. 

through  the  tic*^  to]>s.  Julinson  made  repeated  attacks  on  us  that  uijjht,  and 
miuiy  of  his  men  were  cut  down  in  our  front. 

(Jettysbiirg  battle  had  been  fought  and  won.  I'he  morning  liglit  of  July  4, 
showed  no  rebels  in  your  front,  except  numy  of  their  dead  a  few  steps  in  front 
of  your  works,  and  many  in  the  woods  beyond:  mauj^  trees  were  cut  to  pieces 
with  your  bullets  along  your  line. 

A  reconnoisauce  of  the  brigade  and  a  battery  of  artillery  down  the  Balti- 
more pike,  and  over  to  Hanover  pike  and  back  around  through  the  town,  proved 
tliat  the  enemy  had  left  us  masters  of  the  Held. 

Your  losses  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  are  not  reported  as  large  as  .scmie 
regiments  who  fought  in  this  battle.  You  had  somewhere  about  two  hundred 
men  in  the  battle.  The  otRcial  report  says  two  hundred  and  sixty -two,  and 
killed,  two  men:  wounded,  one  otHcer  and  nine  men:  missing,  one  man. 

I  am  convinced  tliat  our  los.ses  were  greater  than  this.  However,  losses  do 
not  always  denote  success;  our  sheltered  position  in  this  battle  gave  us  an  ad- 
vantage, while  inflicting  greater  injury  on  the  enemy  than  some  perchance  who 
had  heavier  losses.  It  was  seldom  that  the  Forty -sixth  had  the  advantage  of 
works,  as  the  number  of  killed  and  wounded  during  your  four-years'  service 
will  show,  under  the  daring  impetuous  Knipe  or  the  gallant  gray-headed 
Sel  fridge. 

Our  capital  city  was  saved,  and  our  State  redeemed,  and  the  honor  of  our  dag 
sustained.  But  oh!  at  what  a  cost.  How  proud  should  you  be  that  you  had 
a  part  in  this  achievement. 

Our  hope  had  been  that  the  enemy  would  be  crushed  and  the  war  ended  here 
but  in  this  we  were  .sadly  disappointed.  Alter  resting  a  couple  of  days  we  fol- 
lowed him  to  the  Potomac,  and  down  into  Virginia  to  the  Eappahanock  river, 
and  at  Brandy  Station  an  order  came  to  transfer  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  corps 
to  the  Southwestern  army,  under  General  Sherman's  command,  in  Tennessee, 
where  you  went  by  rail  to  N;ishville.  The  old  Star  Corps  and  the  Crescent  Corps 
were  there  united,  forming  the  Twentieth  Corps,  and  retaining  the  Star  as  the 
badge  to  our  delight,  and  were  placed  under  command  of  the  redoubtable 
'"lighter,"  Joe  Hooker  again,  and  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  under 
I'ap  Thomas  and  with  old  I'ap  Williams  commanding  our  division.  And  the 
corps  marched  on  to  further  glory  in  the  southland.  Fighting  above  the  clouds 
at  Lookout  Mountain,  and  at  Tunnel  Hill,  Missionary  Kidge,  Buzzard's  Roost, 
Snake  Creek  Gap,  Cassville.  Resaca,  Lost  Mountain,  Kolb's  Farm,  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  Big  Shanty,  Marietta,  Chattahoochie,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta 
'and  then  on  to  the  .sea  through  Georgia  and  captured  the  fair  city  of  Savannah 
at  Christmas,  1 804.  Where,  after  a  brief  rest  and  necessary  supplies,  3^ou  crossed 
the  river  into  South  Carolina,  the  hot-bed  of  treason,  driving  the  enemy  under 
Hardee  in  all  directions,  and  got  in  the  rear  of  Charleston,  and  took  Columbia. 
Fought  again  at  Averysboro,  Fayetteville,  Cheraw,  Bentonville,  Chesterfield 
C.  H.,  arriving  in  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  the  latter  end  of  March,  18(J5. 

After  getting  clothing  which  you  greatly  needed,  we  moved  on  towards  John- 
son's army  at  Jialeigh,  when  we  got  the  glad  news  of  the  surrender  of  Lee's 
army  to  (irant;  what  a  .joyful  day  that  was.  Then  .soon  thereafter,  on  April  'JT, 
.fohn.son  surrendered  to  Sherman,  and,  thank  God,  the  war  was  over,  and  the 
Union  was  saved.  Then  commenced  your  honiiward  march  to  Richmond,  and 
Washington  and  the  grand  review,  and  your  discharge  at  Harrisburg.  Pa., 
.Fulv  K;.  l^(i">.  witli  the  thanks  of  Congress. 


I'rniisi/Jrania  at   (r('ftj/.shnr<j.  287 

And  now.  my  i(Hiir;ule.s,  in  closing;  1  would  add,  iliat  ]  con};rutnlat«'  you  on 
having  luid  (his  starry  emblem  lor  your  corps  badgi',  ;  we  believe  it  the  grandest 
of  them  all.  \Vhat  memories  cluster  around  this  emblem.  We  read  in  the  Bible 
of  "'the  star  guiding  the,  wise  men  totlie  manger  in  Bethlehem,"'  '"and  that  the 
morning  stars  sang  together;"  also,  •'  c^an  you  bind  the  sweet  bands  of  Orion, "etc. 

Our  emblem  is  re])resented  e\ery\vhere  in  nature.  On  the  earth  you  find  it 
as  it  is  delineated  on  tlie  beautiful  flower;  you  find  it  ])ortrayed  in  the  beauti- 
ful snow,  as  it  falls  in  liny  starry  flakes,  carpeting  the  earth  in  winter;  you 
find  it  in  the  star-fish  of  the  mighty  deep,  or  as  it  flashes  in  phosphoric  stars  at 
the  ves.sel's  bow  as  it  plows  the  ocean,  and  all  earth,  and  the  heavens,  as  well 
as  this  granite  monument,  will  continue  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  Old 
Star  Corpx. 

And.  comrades,  my  j)rayer  is  "that  when  your  star  sliall  set  at  lit'e's  close,  it 
may  set,  as  sets  the  morning  star  which  goetli  not  down  in  the  darkened  west, 
bnt  melt«th  away  into  the  brightness  of  Heaven  :"'    may  (iod  bless  you. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

49^^  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

.September  ii,  i88q 

ADDRKSS    1!V    [OSKPH   B.  D(3WN1NG 

THE  Forty-ninth  Kegiment  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  was  organized  a^ 
Camp  Curtin  near  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  under  the  call  of  President  Lincoln 
for  three  hundred  thousand  men  for  three  years  or  during  the  war,  in 
the  mouth  of  .September,  IHHl.  by  the  selection  of  the  following  field 
and  stafl  officers : 

C!olonel,  "William  H.  Irwin,  of  Lewistown,  Pa.;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  William 
Brisbane,  of  Luzerne  county,  Pa. ;  Major,  Thomas  M.  Ifuliugs,  of  Mifflin  county, 
Pa.;  Adjutant,  James  M.  Miller,  of  Dauphin  county,  Pa.;  Quartermaster,  John 
H.  Gray,  of  Chester  county.  Pa.;  Surgeon.  William  H.  Gobrecht,  of  Pliiladel- 
phia,  Pa.;  Assistant  Surgeon,  John  F.  Huber,  of  Lancaster  county.  Pa.;  Chap- 
lain, Rev.  William  Earushaw,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  companies  were  enlisted  in  different  part.s  of  the  State;  A  and  G  from 
Centre  county,  B  and  F  from  Chester,  C  and  D  from  Huntingdon,  E,  H  and  K 
from  Mifflin  and  I  from  Juniata.     The;  companies  were  officered  as  follows: 

A — Captain,  J.  Miles  Green;  First  Lieutenant.  Andrew  S.  David.son;  Second 
Lieutenant.  R.  D.  Harper.  B — Captain,  George  F.  Smith  ;  First  Lieutenant, 
Baynton  J.  Hickman  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  Lsaac  B.  Parker,  Jr.  C — Captain, 
,Iohn   B.  Miles;  First  Lieutenant,  James  B.  Eckeberger  :  Second  Lieutenant, 

.     D — Captain,  James  D.   Campbell:    First  Lieutenant,  John  H. 

Westbrook;  Second  Lieutenant,  F.  Y.  IMcDonald.  E — Captain,  Henry  A.  Zol- 
linger ;  First  Lieutenant,  Amor  W.  Wakefield;  Second  Lieutenant,  John  Han- 
cock. F — Captain,  Benjamin  H.  Sweeney;  First  Lieutenant,  F.  W.  Wom- 
backer;  Second  Lieutenant,  Don  Juan  Wallings.  G — Captain,  John  Boal;  First 
Lieutenant.  A.  B.  Hutchison;  Second  Lieutenant,  William  Reed.  H — Captain 
Ralph  L.  Maclay ;  First  Lieutenant,  William  G.  Mitchell:  Second  Lieutenant, 


288  J\'nn.sylvaviti,  at  Getfyshunj. 

Jolm  Cox.  I  Captain,  Calvin  DeWitt;  F'iist  Lieutemiut,  K.  M.  ilcClelkin; 
Serond  Lieutt-nant,  David  B.  Spanogle.  K  Captain,  Matthias  Neice;  P'irst 
Lieutenant,  .lohn  K.  Keiin;  Second  Lieutenant,  Thomas  F.  Neice. 

Of  the  above  named  officers  the  lblh)\ving  obtained  distinction  in  other  com- 
mands as  follows: 

Chai)lain  Earnshaw  resigned  October  i),  1H(J:2,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  ap- 
pointed chaplain  in  the  United  States  army  where  he  served  during  the  war. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  lie  was  appointed  on  a  commission  to  collect  the  remains 
of  our  gallant  dead  and  have  them  removed  to  the  National  cemeteries,  and  by 
his  personal  appeal  to  Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  Chairman  of  the  Militarj'  Committee 
of  the  Senate,  an  appropriation  was  passed  providing  for  a  marble  head  and  foot 
stone  for  every  Union  soldier  so  buried.  After  the  completion  of  this  service 
he  was  sent  as  chaplain  to  the  Soldier-s'  Home  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death  in  1885. 

Captain  George  F.  Smith  was,  in  ^Lirch,  181)2,  appointed  to  the  majority  of 
the  Sixty-hrst  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  with  which  command  he  re- 
mained until  nearly  the  close  of  the  war,  being  promoted  in  the  meantime  re- 
spectively to  lieutenant-colonel  and  colonel  of  the  regiment. 

Lieutenant  William  (i.  Mitchell  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of 
General  Hancock,  with  whom  he  served  until  his  death  in  1883.  During  the 
war  Mitchell  rose  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  of  volunteers  and  at  the 
clo.se  of  the  war  was  appointed  captain  of  the  United  States  army  on  the  staff, 
and  one  of  the  last  official  acts  of  the  lamented  President  Gartield  was  to  pro- 
mote him  to  major  and  assistant  adjutant-general. 

Lieutenant  John  Hancock,  brother  of  the  general,  was  ap^winted  captain  and 
assistant  adjutant -general  at  General  Hancock's  headquarters  with  whom  he 
remained  until  the  end  of  the  rebellion. 

Lieutenant  Isaac  B.  Parker,  Jr.,  was  also  appointed  an  aide-de-camp  to  Gen- 
eral Hancock  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  and  was  mustered  out 
at  the  close  of  the  war. 

On  September  19,  1861,  the  quartermaster's  department  issued  the  arms  to 
the  different  companies.  They  consisted  of  Harper's  Ferry  muskets  that  had 
been  changed  from  flint  lock  to  percuission  of  .(58  caliber.  The  ammunition  was 
a  cartridge  made  with  jjowder,  a  round  bullet  and  three  buckshot.  The  mus- 
kets were  very  imserviceable,  being  about  as  dangerous  to  the  .soldier  who  used 
them  as  they  would  have  been  to  an  enemy  in  liis  front. 

During  the  following  winter,  l)efore  the  regiment  had  l)een  engaged  with  the 
enemy,  they  were  exchanged  for  Austrian  rifles  of  .r>4  caliber,  using  a  niinie 
ball  cartridge. 

On  September  '20.  1801,  after  the;  dress-parade,  Governor  .V.  G.  Curtin  and  his 
staQ"  appeared  and  presented  to  the  regiment  the  National  and  State  flags,  which 
were  received  in  an  able,  eloquent  an<l  patriotic  speech  ])y  Colonel  Irwin.  In 
the  course  of  his  remarks  the  colonel  said  "  that  while  he  had  an  arm  to  wield 
a  sword  or  a  man  to  fire  a  gun,  the  colors  should  never  droj)  in  the  face  of  an 
enemy  nor  be;  desecrated  by  tlie  touch  of  rebel  hands,"'  and  that  promise  was 
faithfully  kept  although  the  dear  old  colors  were  torn  to  shreds  by  the  shot  and 
shell  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  next  day,  Septemlxr  2L  reveille  sounded  at  1  a.  in.  witli  orders  to 
break  camp  and  prepare  to  move  to  the  seat  of  war,  and  later  in  the  day  the 
regiment  was  loaded  on  cars  of  the  Northern  Central  Railroad  Coini)atiy.     The 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshnrg.  '289 

truiii  was  run  in  two  sections.  When  within  twelvtM)r  fifteen  miles  of  Baltiiuoro 
the  second  section  ran  into  tlie  lirst,  in  which  accident  two  men  of  Conij)any  ('< 
{Parker  and  Fulton)  were  killed  and  three  others  injured.  Arrived  in  Balti- 
more about  midnight,  disembarked  and  marched  from  the  Northern  Central  to 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  station.  Earlj'  the  next  morning  the  command  was 
fed  by  the  Union  Relief  Association  and  about  9  a.  m.  took  cars  and  arrived  in 
"Washington  about  2  p.  m.,  went  to  the  Soldiers'  Retreat  for  rations  and  then 
into  camp  on  the  common  about  one  mile  north  of  the  capitol.  Here  we  re- 
mained live  days,  drilling,  doing  camp  duty,  etc.  On  September  27,  we  struck 
tents  and  moved  out  throuj^h  Washington  and  Georgetown  up  the  Potomac 
about  eight  miles  to  Cliain  Bridge  which  we  crossed  into  Virginia  and  went 
into  camp  about  9  p.  m.  at  Camp  Advance.  It  had  rained  hard  all  day  and 
when  camp  was  reached,  tired,  wet  and  hungry  and  no  trains  arriving,  without 
t«nt,s  and  rations,  the  men  felt  that  they  had  fallen  on  hard  lines. 

On  September  28,  Hancock's  famous  brigade  was  formed  consisting  of  the 
Fifth  Wisconsin  Volunteers,  Sixth  Maine,  Forty-third  New  York  and  Forty- 
ninth  Pennsylvania.  This  brigade,  with  Brooks'  Second,  Third,  Fourth  and 
Fifth  Vermont  regiments.  Seventh  Maine,  Tliirty-third  and  Forty-ninth  New 
York  and  the  Forty -seventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  made  up  the  division  and 
was  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  William  F.  (Baldy)  Smith.  On  this  day 
there  appeared  great  warlike  movements.  Many  regiments  moving,  strong 
fortitications  in  view  and  a  battle  looked  for.  Two  companies  of  the  Forty- 
ninth  ordered  out  on  a  reconnoitering  expedition,  marched  Aery  rapidly  at 
first,  then  cautiously  for  some  miles.  No  enemy  being  found  they  returned  to 
camp  about  midnight. 

The  next  day,  September  29,  about  5  a.  m.,  an  alarm  was  sounded  and  the 
Forty-ninth  immediately  fell  into  line  expecting  an  attack  until  jl  a.  m.  After 
dress-parade  in  the  evening  Colonel  Irwin  drilled  the  regiment  in  battalion 
drill  until  after  dark. 

vSepteml)er  30,  moved  a  few  miles  to  the  front  and  went  into  anew  camp, 
"Vanderwerken."  The  next  day  again  moved  forward  to  the  villages  of  Lang- 
ley  and  Lewinsville  and  went  into  camp  at  Camp  Griffin  and  remained  here 
until  March  10,  1862.  The  first  place  at  which  we  pitched  our  tents  in  this 
place  being  on  low  ground,  moved  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  onto  higher 
ground  where  we  went  into  winter  quarters. 

On  October  24,  the  regiment  was  first  mustered  into  the  United  States  ser- 
vice. Through  .some  technical  informality  the  first  muster  in  at  Harrisburg 
had  been  decided  illegal  and  owing  to  this  a  great  wrong  worked  to  those  of 
the  regiment  who  did  notre-eulist,  compelling  them  to  .serve  from  two  to  three 
months  more  than  the  three  years.  Notwithstanding  the  informality  alleged. 
the  men  were  paid  from  the  date  of  enlistment  and  not  from  the  date  of  muster 
into  the  United  States  .service. 

During  the  stay  at  Camp  Griffin  drills  were  regular  in  the  .school  of  the 
soldier,  squad,  company,  battalion  and  .skirmish  and  the  evolutions  of  the 
brigade,  and  during  this  work  of  discipline  and  becoming  acclimated,  man^-  of 
the  members  died  and  when  in  the  following  spring  we  moved  away,  we  left  a 
right  large  sized  burial  ground. 

On  November  20,  the  regiment  i)articipated  in  the  grand  review  at  Mun- 
son's  Hill,  in  which  the  divisions  of  McCall,  McDowell,  Heintzelman,  Porter, 
Franklin,  Blenker  and  Smith,  about  ninety  regiments  of  infantry,  twentv 
19 


290  Pennsylvania  at  (rc.ftyshurtj. 

batteries  1 100  pie<!es)  of  artilh-rv  and  nine  Kiiinients  ot Cavalry,  in  all  al><)ut 
70, 0(K)  troops,  took  part. 

lMiin«'(liatol.v  alter  the  Fortv-iiiiith  liati  ])asse(l  the  reviewing  .stand,  Colouel 
Irwin  coninieiueil  drilling  the  regiment  and  blocked  up  the  troops  that  were 
passing  in  review,  (ieneral  Hancock  rode  np  rapidly  when  he  had  found  the 
cause  of  the  trouble  placed  Colonel  Irwin  in  arre.st.  and  the  regiment  worn  out 
with  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  straggled  back  to  camp  where  they  all  arrived 
during  the  night.  For  this  breach  of  discijiline  Colonel  Irwin  was  tried  by 
court  martial. 

About  this  time  .several  changes  took  place  among  the  line  officers.  Lieutenant 
Hari)er,  of  Company  A,  resigned.  Ijieutenanl  Keed,  ot  Company  G,  resigned  and 
Sergeant  ,1 .  T.  Stuart  was  promoted ;  Lieutenant  Spanogle,  of  Comiiany  I,  resigned 
and  Sergeant  John  Stewart  promoted:  Lieutenant  John  E.  Keim  resigned  and 
SergeantWilliam  B.  Freeburn  promoted:  Adjutant  J.  ]SI.  .Miller  resigned,  iind 
Sergeant  Major  E.  I).  Smith  i)romote(l. 

On  March  6,  regiment  went  on  a  reconnoisauce  to  Hunter's  Mill,  and  re- 
turned to  camp  on  the  9th.  The  ue.xt  day  the  whole  army  moved  to  Fairfax 
Court  House,  and  finding  the  enemy  had  evacuated  his  position  at  Bull  Run 
and  Centerville  we  retracted  our  steps  to  Alexandria  and  embarked  for  Fort- 
ress Monroe,  and  the  i)eniusular  campaign  was  inaugurated.  At  the  time  of  the 
embarkation  of  our  brigade  it  seemed  necessary  to  put  two  regiments  on  one  boat 
and  the  Forty-third  New  York  and  Forty-ninth  Peun.sylvania  Volunteers  were 
placed  on  board  the  .steamer  North  .-Vmerica.  Shortly  alter  an  altercation  took 
place  between  the  men  of  the  two  regiments  which  rendered  it  necessary  to  re- 
move the  Forty-third  New  York  to  another  vessel  and  they  departed  from  the 
steamer  to  the  tune  of  "Bully  for  You"  from  the  Forty-ninth  band.  After 
which  episode  the  North  America  proceeded  on  her  way  and  landed  us  safely 
at  Fortress  Mouioe. 

Upon  our  arrival  upon  the  Peninsula  the  army  was  organized  into  corps  and 
Smith's  Divi.sion  with  Couchs  and  Casey's  formrd  the  Fourth  Armj'  Corps 
and  was  commanded  by  (Jeneral  E.  D.  Keyes. 

Went  into  camp  near  Hampton,  Virginia,  moved  Ibrward  by  .slow  and  ea.sy 
marches  up  the  Peninsula.  Early  in  April,  our  advance  reached  Warwick 
river  near  Lee's  Mills.  A  spirited  advance  and  attack  was  made  by  the  Ver- 
mont Brigade  but  was  repulsed.  On  that  night  the  Forth-ninth  was  moved 
up  to  the  front  and  threw  up  rifle  pit.s.  When  we  arrived  on  the  ground  by 
some  error  th(^  regiment  stacked  arms  with  the  right  flank  in  the  direction  of 
the  enemy.  .\  little  after  daylight  the  next  morning  a  heavy  cannonade  was 
opened  on  us  and  the  rebs  (juickly  got  the  range  of  our  stacked  muskets. 
Orders  wen;  not  waited  for  but  personal  preservation  was  the  order  of  the  day. 
Every  man  broke  lor  a  gun  and  then  to  the  rear,  to  the  timber,  where  the 
lines  were  ri'formed  and  the  scare  was  over.  Remained  in  this  vicinity  until 
.May   J. 

On  .\i)ril  2H,  lh<;  regiment  lost  its  lirsi  man  killed  by  the  enemy;  Corporal 
"Watsm,  of  Company  A,  was  killed  on  the  ]>icket  line.  While  remaining  in 
this  position  many  of  the  men  were  sick.  Water  was  exceedingly  bad  and 
plenty  of  it  only  twelve  or  eighteen  inches  under  the  surfiu;e  of  the  ground. 

The  siege  of  Yorktown  clo.sed  on  May  4th,  by  the  evacuation  of  the  enemy 
and  we  immediately  started  in  pursuit,  arriving  in  the  vicinity  of  Williams- 
burg at  dark.  The  battle  opened  early  on  the  r)th.  by  tin-  advance  of  Ileiiil- 
zelman's  Third  Corps,  Divisions  of  Hooker  and  Kearn\ . 


PennsiflvavKi  at  (Tetfyshun/.  291 

Hanciick's  Jiriijatlc  Dioved  t(i  tlic  iii;lil  anil  canic  It)  a  lar;io  mill  daiii.  The 
brigade  cmssed  on  the  dam  breast.  'This  dam  tntiast  was  covered  l)y  an  curtli- 
Avork  ])ut  it  was  nnoccnpied  and  llu^  i  rossin<f  was  made  without  interfenMice. 
A  line  of  battle  was  formed  with  the  left  restinj^  on  the  stream,  Sixth  Maine 
on  the  right.  Fifth  Wisconsin  in  tlie  renter.  Forty-ninth  on  the  left  and  the 
Forty-third  New  York  thrown  out  as  skirmishers.  Moved  forward  from  one- 
half  mile  to  a  mile  without  much  oiij)osition,  and  tiien  lield  our  ground  until 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon  when  Fwell's  ]>rigade  advanced  on  us  e.xpeitting  to 
<apture  the  brigade.  Their  impetuous  advance  threw  th<^  Forty-third  New 
York  in  on  the  right,  and  as  the  enemy  neaied  us  Hancock  ordered  a  retreat 
by  alternate  battalions,  leading  tin;  advancing  colunui  away  from  their  sup- 
ports until  we  had  good  ground  both  to  hold  and  advance,  from;  when  Hancock 
directed  a  charge  uixrn  the  advancing  enemy.  This  was  Hancock's  famous 
charge  at  Williamsburg.  The  enemy  was  beaten  with  great  loss,  in  killed, 
wounded  and  captured,  and  the  way  was  opened  for  the  flanking  and  destruc- 
tion of  Magruder's  army.  But  Ave  were  satisfied  with  the  repulse  and  allowed 
Magruder  to  depart  in  i)eai-e.  The  loss  ol' the  Forty -ninth  in  this  engaiiement 
was  one  killed.  David  (iill)ert,  and  six  slightly  wounded. 

On  May  8,  three  days  after  the  battle,  we  advanced  leisurely  up  the  Pen- 
insula, noting,  liy  destroyed  stores,  the  liurry  the  enemy  had  been  in  on  their 
retreat,  passing  Burnt  Ordinary  and  New  Kent  Court  House  and  arrived  at 
Cumberland  J^anding  and  West  Point  on  the  Pamunkey. 

At  this  point  the  Sixth  Corps  was  created,  compo.sed  of  the  Divisions  of 
Smith  and  Franklin  (^now  Slocum"s)  and  commanded  by  General  W.  B.  Frank- 
lin, and  from  this  time  to  the  end  of  th(>  war  the  Forty-ninth  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers  formed  a  part  of  this  fanu)us  command. 

The  next  march  l)rought  us  to  Cold  Harl)or.  and  the  next  to  the  banks  of  the 
Cliickahominy.  and  the  siege  of  Kichmond  was  inaugurated.  The  regiment  re- 
nuiined  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Cliickahominy  until  about  .Tune  15,  when  Ave 
crossed  to  the  .south  side  and  took  u])  line  of  battle  near  Garnett's  Hill.  The 
malarial  swamps  in  this  vicinity  Avas  very  destructive  to  the  regiment.  Very 
many  sickened  and  numbers  died. 

On  the  afternoon  of  June  "27,  the  lighting  commenced  in  our  front.  The 
regiment  supported  artillery  and  Avas  under  heavy  artillery  firing  during  the 
afternoon,  and  about  sunset  the  enemy  advanced  but  was  handsomely  repulsed. 
The  Forty-ninth  lost  five  killed  and  al)Out  iilteen  Avounded.  one  mortally.  The 
next  day.  '28th,  regiment  engaged  at  Golding's  farm  and  the  brigade  captured 
Colonel  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar  of  Mississipi)i.  In  this  day's  engagement  regiment  lost 
tAAo  killed  and  several  Avounded. 

Kegiment  was  engaged  at  Savage  Station  .Tune  29,  AVhitc  Oak  Swamp  .June 
;!()  and  Malvern  Hill  Jul\- 1  and  arrived  at  Harri.son 's  Landing  on  .July  2  throusih 
a  drenching  rain  and  mud  knee  deep.     The  retreat  ended  and  the  base  changed. 

The  regiment  and  the  armj'  remained  at  Harri.son's  until  August  15,  then 
moved  down  the  peninsula  to  Fortress  Monroe  and  embarked  on  the  steamer 
Montreal  and  arrived  at  Alexandria  on  Sunday  afternoon,  August  24,  where  Ave 
remained  until  the  29th.  On  the  morning  of  this  day  we  marched  off  in  great 
ha.ste  to  the  relief  of  Pope  and  arrived  at  Aimandale  in  the  evening,  havin"- 
made  the  prodigious  march  of  four  miles  in  one  da\\  The  next  day  marched 
to  Centerville  but  arrived  too  late  to  do  anything  for  Pope  as  the  second  battle 
of  Bull   Pun  had  been  fought  and  lost  before  our  arrival.     We  occupied  the 


29*2  Peu)isf/lva7iia  at  Gettysburg. 

forts  around  Centerville  and  prevented  tlie  further  advance  ofthe  enemy  in 
that  direction.  But  while  in  tlii.s  ]K>sition,  were  in  great  danger  of  being  cut 
olVby  the  advance  ofthe  enemy  to  Chantillv.  The  regiment  returned  with 
the  army  to  Washington,  crossed  the  Potomac  at  I.ong  Ihidge,  through  Wash- 
ington and  Georgetown  to  Tennallytown.  Then  on  the  Maryland  campaign  to 
Cnimptou's  Gap  into  Pleasant  Valley  and  remained  thereuntil  Harper's  P^'erry 
capitulated  and  the  battle  of  Antietam  well  on,  when  the  regiment  with  the 
cxirps  moved  in  rear  from  left  to  right  of  the  whole  army  through  Boonsljoro,  etc. , 
and  went  into  the  engagement  on  the  extreme  right,  relieving  Sumner's  Corps. 
Upon  our  arrival  at  the  front,  General  Richardson  having  been  mortally 
wounded,  General  Hancock,  our  beloved  brigade  commander,  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  Richardson's  Division  ofthe  iSecond  Corps.  Our  loss  in  the 
battle  was  slight  ;  one  killed  and  a  few  wounded.  The  one  killed  was  Charlie 
King  of  Company  F,  drummer,  a  bright  boy  of  about  thirteen  years  of  age. 

After  the  battle  moved  to  the  I'otomac  near  tShepherdstown,  thence  to  Bakers- 
ville  where  we  encamped  about  two  Aveeks,  then  marched  to  the  Pennsylvania 
line  in  an  attempt  to  intercept  the  enemy's  cavalry  raid.  On  this  movement 
the  regiment  did  picket  duty  in  our  native  State  facing  north.  The  enemy 
succeeded  in  making  his  escape  and  recrossed  into  Virginia.  Regiment  re- 
turned to  Hagerstown  and  went  into  camp  and  remained  there  until  the  army 
again  moved  sotith.  While  at  Hagerstown,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Brisl)ane  and 
Chaplain  Earnshaw  resigned  and  Major  Hulings  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel 
and  Captain  John  B.  Miles  to  major. 

From  Hagerstown  the  regiment  moved  through  Boonsboro,  Middletown  and 
Petersville, crossed  the  Potomac  at  BerHn,down  Loudoun  Valley  to  White  Plains, 
where  we  went  into  camp  for  a  few  days.  While  here,  the  first  snow  storm  of 
the  season  occurred,  accompanied  by  \  ery  cold  weather,  causing  considerable 
sufteriug  among  the  men.  A  number  ofthe  regiment  who  went  out  foraging 
from  this  camp  were  captured  by  the  guerrillas  under  Mosby.  The  ne.xt  move 
brought  us  to  New  Baltimore.  Here  General  McClellan  was  relieved  ofthe 
command  ofthe  army  and  General  Burnside  assigned  in  his  stead.  Shortly 
after  this  event,  the  army  was  organized  into  three  grand  divisions.  The  First 
and  Sixth  Corps  formed  the  left  grand  division  command(!d  by  Major-General 
W^  B.  Franklin,  the  Sixth  Corps  by  General  W.  F.  Smith,  our  division  by 
General  Howe,  General  Pratt  retaining  the  command  of  the  brigade. 

From  New  Baltimore  marched  to  Aquia  Church,  to  Stafiord  Court  House,  to 
Stalford  Heights  opposite  Fredericksburg.  The  Sixth  Corps  going  into  camp 
near  Wliite  Oak  Church.  Participated  with  the  left  grand  division  in  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg.  December  12  to  14,  1862.  Recrossed  the  river  on  the  pon- 
toon ])ridge  on  the  night  ofthe  14th  and  returned  to  our  old  camp  and  remained 
until  the  Chancellorsvill«>  campaign. 

On  January  11.  1HG:{,  the  regiment  having  become  very  much  depleted  in 
numbers,  by  a  .special  order  from  the  W^ar  Department,  was  consolidated  into 
four  companies.  Companies  U  and  I  formed  new  A,  Captain  Wakefield,  First 
Lieutenant  Thompson,  Second  Lieutenant  Hilands.  Companies  K  and  F  and 
part  of  V.  formed  new  B,  Captain  Freeburn,  First  Lieutenant  Swain,  Second 
Ijieutenant  Barr.  Companies  G  and  D  and  the  balance  of  E  formed  new  C, 
Captain  Hutchis(jn,  First  Lieutenant  Wombacker  and  Second  Lieutenant  J. 
P.  Smitli.  Companies  A,  B  and  part  of  (J  formed  new  D,  Cai)tain  Quigley, 
First  Lieutenant    Sherwood,  Second    Lieutenant,   B.   H.   Downing.       Captain 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  293 

Hickman  was  serving  at  division  licadquarters  as  ordnance  officer  ;  Captains 
Campbell  and  DeWitt  resigning.  Colonel  Irwin, Major  Miles, Captains  .Sweeney, 
Eckeberger  and  Cox,  Lieutenants  Eitner,  E.  D.  Smith  and  D.  J.  Walliugs  and 
all  the  supernumerary  non-commissioned  officers  were  sent  to  Pennsylvania  on 
recruiting  service.  The  colonel  and  major  only  remained  during  the  balance 
of  the  winter  and  then  rejoiiied  the  battalion.  The  rest  remained  in  dift'erent 
parts  of  the  State  until  November  19,  1S63,  when,  by  an  order  from  the  War 
Department,  the  supernumerary  line  officers  were  mustered  out  and  honorably 
discharged  and  the  non-commissioned  officers  were  returned  to  the  regiment 
and  assigned  to  the  new  companies  then  being  organized. 

The  battalion  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ilulings  took  part 
in  the  "  Mud  March."  Shortly  after  the  army  again  exchanged  ccnumanders, 
Hooker  succeeding  Burnside,  and  the  army  went  back  to  the  corps  organization. 
Among  other  general  officers,  Franklin  and  Smith  were  relieved  and  Major- 
General  John  Sedgwick  was  assigned  to  command  the  Sixth  Corps,  General 
Brooks  the  division  and  General  Russell  the  brigade.  About  this  time  the 
light  division  was  formed,  and  two  regiments  from  our  brigade  (Fifth  Wiscon- 
sin and  Sixth  Maine)  were  assigned  to  it.  Their  places  in  the  brigade  were  filled 
by  two  other  regiments. 

On  May  1,  the  Chancellorsville  campaign  opened  and  the  Forty-jiinth  crossed 
the  Rappahannock  in  pontoon  boats  under  the  lire  of  the  enemy.  They  succeeded 
in  crossing  and  held  the  ground  while  the  pontoon  bridge  was  thrown  across. 
In  this  engagement  Colonel  Irwin  and  Captain  Freeburn  were  wounded,  the 
latter  mortally.  Corporals  Cresswell  and  Bruce  were  also  wounded.  After  the 
corps  succeeded  in  crossing,  the  regiment  took  part  in  its  movements  and  after 
being  almost  surrounded  after  Hooker's  defeat,  succeeded  in  escajjing  across 
the  river  at  Banks'  Ford. 

After  Chancellorsville,  nothing  of  importance  occurred  until  Lee  made  his 
movement  north.  On  .June  20,  the  Forty-ninth  and  brigade  again  crossed  the 
Rappahannock  below  Fredericksburg  in  pontoon  boats  and  captured  the  enemy's 
pickets  and  picket  reserves  and  again  estal)lished  our  line  south  of  the  river 
and  entrenched  from  Deep  Run  to  the  Bernard  House.  After  completing  the 
works,  re-crossed  the  river  and  followed  the  army  now  in  pursuit  of  Lee.  Ar- 
rived at  Fairfax  Court  House  June  26,  Edwards'  Ferry  on  the  Potomac,  June 
28,  crossed  to  Poolesville,  Maryland,  and  after  two  days'  marching  arrived  at 
\Vestminster,  Maryland,  on  the  evening  of  July  1,  and  the  first  days'  battle  had 
been  fought  at  Gettysburg.  From  Westminster  marched  to  Gettysburg,  thirty- 
two  miles,  in  a  broiling  July  sun,  with  but  one  halt  to  make  coffee  and  get  some" 
thing  to  eat.  Arrived  on  the  battle-field  about  2  p.  m.  of  the  second  day  and 
formed  the  reserve.  On  the  night  of  the  2d,  took  position  on  the  side  of  Round 
Top  but  were  not  engaged.  On  the  morning  of  the  3d  took  position  on  this 
ground  covering  the  left  flank  of  the  army.  Grant's  Vermont  Brigade  with 
Russell's  formed  in  line  at  right  angles  with  the  main  line  of  the  army,  Fifth 
Wisconsin  Volunteers  on  the  extreme  left  and  the  Forty -ninth  joined  it  on  the 
right.  In  this  position  held  the  ground  under  heavy  artillery  fire  but  no  cas- 
ualties are  reported.  After  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  the  Sixth  Corps  led  the 
advance  in  pursuit,  first  in  the  direction  of  Chambersburg,  then  to  the  left  in 
the  direction  of  Emmitsbnrg,  arriving  at  the  foot  of  the  Catoctin  Mountains 
about  dark  and  attempted  to  cross  during  the  night  but,  owing  to  the  darkness 
and  heavy  rains,  were  compelled  to  go  into  camp  on  the  top  of  the  mountain 


294  Pennsylvania  at  Geiiyshurg. 

near  Hamburg.  Early  the  next  luorning  continued  our  march  west  througli 
Middletown.  crossed  the  South  ]\Iountain  at  Turner's  Pass  and  camped  at 
Boonsboro.  The  next  day  the  Forty-ninth,  being  in  the  extreme  advance  of 
llie  army,  Avere  deployed  as  skirmishers  on  either  side  of  the  National  turnpike 
in  the  direction  of  Hagerstown.  Skirmishing  continued  during  the  day;  we 
advancing  and  the  cnem}'  falling  back  on  his  main  body.  When  near  Wil- 
liamsport,  Maryland,  in  the  evening  of  that  same  day,  in  skirmishing,  Lieuten- 
ant Swain  was  wounded  through  the  thigh.  No  attack  in  force  being  made 
that  evening  the  enemy  withdrew  across  the  Potomac.  The  Union  arm^'  crossed 
at  Berlin  via  Boonsboro,  marched  through  Loudoun  Yallej'and  went  into  camp 
at  "NVarrenton,  Virginia,  and  remained  comparatively  inactive  until  November 
6,  1863.  While  in  camp  here,  on  October  24,  Colonel  Irwin  resigned  and  re- 
turned home,  the  command  devolving  on  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hulings. 

On  November  0,  moved  in  the  direction  of  lvai)pahanock  Station.  On  the 
7th,  the  Forty-ninth  again  in  advance,  did  the  skirmishing  until  near  evening 
vrhen  the  Sixth  Maine  took  our  place  and  we  returned  to  the  main  column.  By 
this  time  we  were  in  front  of  the  enemy's  works  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
near  the  station,  held  by  Hoke's  and  Hays'  brigades  of  Lee's  army.  The 
works  were  carried  })y  stornt  and  almost  all  of  the  enemy  captured.  The  .se- 
verest loss  on  our  side  fell  to  the  Fifth  Wisconsin  and  Sixtli  Maine  wlio  lost 
heavily.  The  lo.ss  in  the  Forty-ninth  was  three  killed,  three  mortally  and  lif- 
teen  others  wounded.  Among  the  latter  was  Captain  Hutchison  and  Adjutant 
J.  T.  Stuart.  Among  the  severely  wounded  was  Quartermaster-Sergeant  J. 
D.  W.  Henderson  who  gallantly  borrowed  a  musket  and  went  into  the  fight 
and  was  badly  wounded. 

From  this  point  the  regiment  moved  to  Brandy  Station  and  went  into  camp 
near  Hazel  creek  where  the  winter  was  spent.  Early  in  December  a  movement 
■was  made  to  ]\Iine  run  where  the  enemy  was  found  in  force.  No  strong  attack 
•was  made,  but  for  two  days  the  regiment  was  under  artillery  fire,  during  which 
a  shell  burst  in  the  regiment,  wounded  slightly  Captain  Quigiey  and  four  men. 
Returned  to  the  camp  and  put  up  winter  quarters.  About  this  time  the  super- 
numerary non-commissioned  officers  rejoined  the  regiment,  and  drafted  men  and 
substitutes  also  arriving,  four  new  companies,  E,  F,  G  and  H,  were  organized 
and  commanded  respectively  by  Wombacker,  Sherwood,  Stuart  and  Swain.  A 
new  company  of  volunteers  recruited  by  Sergeant  Kephartakso  joined  the  regi- 
ment and  was  commanded  by  Captain  W.  P.  Kephart.  The  regiment  now 
filled  to  the  minimum,  Colonel  Hulings,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Miles  and  Major 
Hickman  Avere  mustered  in  as  the  field  officers.  The  supernumerary  non-com- 
missioned officers  were  assigned  to  the  newcomjianies.  Eight  new  lieutenants 
were  mustered.  Lieutenant  Ililands  promoted  to  adjutant,  and  the  regiment 
was  well  manned  and  officered  for  the  spring  campaign,  liaving  nine  companies 
■well  filled,  about  .seven  hundred  and  fifty  .strong,  a  large  regiment  for  those 
days. 

On  May  4,  the  regiment  moved  with  the  army  in  the  direction  of  theenemj', 
cros.sed  the  Ilapidan  at  Germanna  Mills.  On  the  morning  of  the  5th  formed 
line  of  battle  and  moved  forward  into  the  Wilderness.  Struck  the  enemy  about 
10  o'clock  who  o])ened  a  volley  on  us  at  about  thirty  yards.  More  than  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  men  in  the  regiment  were  new  and  untried  and  many  of  them 
liad  been  comi)elled  to  serve  by  draft,  but  Ihey  stood  the  shock  Avith  an  invin- 
cibility tliat  would  have  done  lionor  to  Na])oleon\s  Imperial  Guard  in  its  palmiest 


Pnin.sffJrruna  at   (Tettiinhurti  295 

days.  We  drovt-  tlie  enemy  l>ack  a  short  distance  and  entrenched.  In  this  en- 
gagement the  regiment  lostal)oiit  forty  men.  of  whom  three  were  killed  and  two 
mortally  wounded. 

Maintained  our  po-sition  until  after  dark  of  the  (ith.  On  tliis  evening  the 
enemy  in  great  force  attacked  the  -ight  of  our  corps  and  tlie  army  and  succeeded 
in  turning  the  flank,  capturing  two  brigadi'  commanders  in  the  Tliird  Division 
and  many  of  the  men.  At  the  same  time  the  Forty-ninth  ^vas  subjected  to  a 
very  heavy  tire,  suftering  a  loss  of  ten  men  wounded,  one  of  them  mortally. 
After  the  ilanking  movement  was  stopj^ed  our  line  was  changed  at  right  angle.s 
to  the  one  previously  held  and  remained  in  this  po.sition  until  after  dark  of  the 
7th  when  the  race  for  Spotsylvania  commenced,  the  Sixth  following  the  Fifth 
Corps.  We  arrived  at  Locust  Grove  about  (!  p.  m..  Sunday,  May  8.  and  found 
the  Fifth  Corps  engaged  and  alx)ut  to  charge  the  enemy.  We  formed  line  to 
support  the  charge.  For  some  reason  it  Mas  not  made.  Remained  in  this  jjosi- 
tion  during  the  night  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  !)th  extended  our  line 
taking  position  on  the  left  of  the  Fifth  Corps  joining  it  on  our  right.  While 
these  dispositions  were  being  made,  the  gallant  and  heroic  commander  of  the 
Sixth  Corps,  Major-General  John  Sedgwick,  Avas  shot  by  a  .sharpshooter  and 
kille<l.  This  calamity  threw  a  gloom  over  everyone.  All  felt  that  while  the 
army  and  country  had  lost  a  valuable  and  able  commander,  every  member  of 
his  gallant  corps  had  lost  a  personal  friend.  General  H.  G.  Wright  succeeded 
to  the  command  of  the  corps,  General  Kussell  of  the  division.  General  Eustis  of 
the  Third  ISrigade.  With  the  exception  of  the  death  of  the  lamented  Sedgwick, 
this  day,  May  9.  passed  in  comparative  quiet  in  our  front. 

About  o  a.  m.,  of  May  10,  companies  I)  and  G.  Captains  Quigley  and  Stuart, 
with  two  companies  from  the  One  hundred  and  nineteenth  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
UT'teers,  all  under  command  of  Captain  Landell,  were  sent  forward  as  skirmishers 
into  the  dense  woods.  Advanced  about  three  hundred  yards  and  found  a  strong 
line  of  skirmishers  of  the  enemy.  We  advanced  and  drove  them  back  on  their 
supports  and  then  back  on  their  line  of  ]>attlf  in  entrenchments.  In  this  ad- 
vance we  reached  a  cart  road  at  which  a\  e  stojiped,  still  under  cover  of  about 
seventy-five  yards  of  timber  with  jjiles  of  fence  rails  for  barricades.  At  this 
point  the  officer  commanding  the  right  of  the  line,  ordered  the  men  to  hold  this 
road  and  to  protect  themselves  behind  trees,  rail  piles,  etc.  At  this  moment  a 
field  officer,  a  lieutenaut-cohtnel.  rode  ahmg  and  directed  the  line  to  advance 
to  the  edge  of  the  woods.  The  lieutenant  with  his  men  knowing  the  attempt 
would  result  in  certain  defeat  obeyed  the  order  and  mo\ed  forward  about  fortv 
yards  and  received  a  galling  lire  from  a  line  of  battle  entrenched.  The  enemy- 
then  poured  out  against  us  and  we  were  driven  back  two  hundred  and  fiftv  or 
three  hundred  yards  into  the  woods  fighting  as  we  went.  We  then  halted,  faced 
about,  and  again  moved  forward  under  a  terrible  fire,  losing  men  from  our  weak 
line  at  every^  step.  We  fought  our  way  back  to  the  cart  road  and  rail  piles  at 
which  point  we  stopped  and  held  that  line.  The  first  time  we  had  reached  this 
position  with  very  small  loss,  but  to  re-take  it  cost  the  two  companies  more 
than  Ibrty  men,  one-third  of  whom  were  killed.  We  held  the  position  until 
about  2  p.  ni.,  when  we  were  relieved  by  companies  A  and  Y.,  Captains  Wake- 
fiekl  and  Wombacker. 

The  two  relieved  companies,  D  and  G,  returned  to  the  regiment  and  rested 
until  about  4.30  p.  m.,  when  Eustis'  Brigade  with  Upton'sand  another,  makiii<' 
a  divi.sion  of  twelve  regiments  of  infantrv,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Emerv 


296  Pennstf/vania  id   (Teffyshurt/. 

I'pton,  of  the  One  hundreil  and  Iwenty-lii-st  New  Vi)ik  Volunteers,  moved  for- 
ward to  assault  the  enemy.  The  storming  column  was  formed  in  four  lines 
with  a  front  of  three  regiments  and  the  lines  twenty  paces  apart.  The  same 
cart  road  which  had  been  so  gallantly  fought  for  and  held  by  the  skirmishers 
during  the  day  was  the  very  spot  where  the  assaulting  columns  were  formed 
and  from  which  tlie  charge  was  made.  The  Forty-ninth  was  upon  the  right  of 
the  second  line  and  was  represented  by  six  companies  Companies  A  and  E 
were  still  on  the  skirmish  line  in  front,  and  Companj-  C  was  detailed  to  picket 
the  right  of  the  corps.  Upon  the  tiring  of  a  signal  gun  the  assaulting  column 
dashed  forward,  fii-st  through  the  timber  about  seventy-five  yards  into  an  open 
field  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  yards  wide  and  then  into 
slashed  timber  about  one  hundred  yards,  to  strongly  entrenched  works,  well 
manned  with  infantry  and  artillery.  It  seemed  that  when  we  emerged  from 
our  cover  of  timber,  the  first  line  of  battle  had  melted  away  before  the  de- 
structive fire  of  the  enemy  and  we  w  ho  had  been  in  the  second  line  now  led  the 
charge.  We  moved  rapidly  forward  under  a  terrible  fire  of  infantry  and  artil- 
lery, across  the  open  field,  through  the  slashed  timber  and  over  the  first  line  of 
earthworks  filled  with  the  enemy,  who  threw  down  their  arms  and  were  sent  to 
the  rear,  then  forward  through  another  line  of  rifle-pits.  While  between  these 
two  lines  we  suffered  dreadfully  from  a  battery  about  one  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant on  our  right  which  threw  canister  into  us  by  the  bushel.  A  little  later  the 
])attery  Avas  captured.  Captain  Honey  of  the  Sixth  Maine  cutting  down  an 
artilleryman  with  his  sword  with  his  hand  on  tlie  lanyard.  The  charge  was  up 
to  this  time  a  complete  success,  but  a  little  while  after,  owing  to  the  failure'  of 
the  supports  to  arrive  in  time  to  protect  our  flanks,  the  enemy  on  the  flanks 
changed  front  and  compelled  the  withdrawal  of  the  whole  force  who  were  able 
to  leave  the  field.  The  Forty -ninth  with  the  other  regiment  did  all  in  this 
charge  that  could  possibly  be  done  by  the  same  number  of  men  and  with  the 
support  received,  but  at  dreadful  cost.  Colonel  Hulings,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Miles,  Captain  Kephart  and  Lieutenant  Ly tie  were  killed;  Captains  Barr,  Quig- 
ley  and  Stuart  wounded,  the  former  mortally;  Lieutenants  Irwin,  Russell. 
Hilands,  .1.  B.  Downing  wounded,  and  Lieutenant  Barton  wounded  and  cap- 
tured. Seventy-one  enlisted  men  killed,  twenty-one  mortally  wounded  and 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  others  wounded  and  missing.  X  total  of  two  hun- 
dred and  eightj'-six  oflicers  and  men  out  of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  en- 
gaged, a  loss  of  sixty-three  and  one-half  per  cent,  of  all  who  went  into  the  en- 
gagement. The  total  loss  to  the  regiment  in  this  day's  fighting  was  about 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  men. 

The  next  day.  May  11,  it  was  comparatively  quiet  in  our  Iront.  Lieutenant 
.John  M.  Thompson  was  badly  wounded  in  the  left  arm  Ity  a  sharpshooter  while 
on  picket. 

On  the  morning  of  May  12,  General  Hancock,  with  the  Second  Corps,  charged 
at  what  afterwards  was  known  as  the  "lUoody  .Vngle,"  captured  two  general 
oflicers  and  several  thousand  iiri.soners,  but  was  unable  to  continue  the  moM- 
nient  and  the  Sixth  Corps  was  sent  to  his  relief.  The  Forty-ninth  fought  the 
enemy  for  the  whole  day  at  only  a  few  yards  distance,  as  many  ;is  two  hundred 
rounds  of  ammunition  being  used  per  man,  and  the  mu.skets  ])ecame.so  foul  :ind 
lieated  that  the  rifle  in  the  bore  was  worn  smooth,  and  after  this  light  they  would 
not  carry  a  ball  thirty  yards.  They  were  afterwards  changed  for  Springfield 
rifles.     In  this  fight  large  oak  trees  were  literally  cut  ofl"  by  liullets  ;  no  artil- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  297 

lery  conkl  be  used.  The  legimont  lost  in  this  engagement,  sixteen  killed,  two 
mortally  woiuuleil  and  about  thirty  othei-s  wounded.  Among  the  latter  was 
Captain  Wombacker,  Lieutenants  ]'..  H.  Downing  and  Ilowell. 

The  losses  in  officers  in  these  engagements  made  the  following  promotions: 
Major  Hickman  to  lieutenant-colonel,  Captain  Wakelield  to  major,  Lieutenant 
Thompson  to  captain  Company  A,  .Second  I.,ieutenant  Wix.  to  first  and  Sergeant 
J.  B.  Rodgers  to  second  lieutenant  A,  Lieutenant  layers  to  captain  of  1, 
Hackenberg  first  lieutenant  and  D.  A.  Stahl  second  lieutenant,  John  S.  Brat- 
ton  to  captain  B,  Samuel  H.  Irvin  first  and  John  J.  Higlit  second  lieutenant, 
Joseph  W.  Wallace  first  and  O.  S.  Kumberger  second  lieutenant  of  H  and  Howell 
and  Davison  first  and  second  lieutenants  of  F. 

After  the  sanguinary  engagements  at  Spotsylvania  were  ended,  moved  by 
the  left  flank  to  the  Pamunk(\v  river  and  Cold  Harbor  where  the  regiment  was 
under  fire  and  partly  engaged  daily  from  June  1  to  7,  losing  nine  killed,  two 
mortally  wounded  and  about  thirty  others  wounded  and  missing,  among  the 
latter  Lieutenant  James  P.  Smith  and  several  men  were  captured  by  the  enemy. 
Lieutenant  Smith  was  held  a  prisoner  until  the  following  spring  and  rejoined 
the  regiment  after  Lee's  surrender. 

From  Cold  Harbor  moved  again  by  the  left  and  crossed  the  .lames  river  and 
took  part  in  the  siege  of  Petersburg  until  July  7,  1864.  While  here  Colonel 
Oliver  Edwards  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Ma.ssachu setts  Volunteers  succeeded 
General  Eustis  in  command  of  the  brigade. 

On  July  7,  1864,  a  strong  force  having  been  sent  to  menace  Wasliington  and 
Baltimore,  the  Sixth  Corps  cut  loose  from  tlie  Army  of  tlie  Potomac  and  took 
transports  at  City  Point  for  the  National  Capital,  arriving  in  Washington  on 
the  evening  of  July  9.  We  raced  the  enem^'  from  Fort  Stevens  in  the  defenses 
of  Washington  to  Snicker's  Gap,  but  they  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Shenandoah 
and  escaped.  Returned  to  Wa.shingtoii  passing  through  our  old  Camp  Griffin 
on  the  way.  Marched  through  ^Maryland  to  Frederick  City  and  to  Harper's 
Ferry.  By  this  time  the  Middle  ^Military  Division  was  formed  and  composed  of 
the  Sixth,  Eighth  and  Nineteenth  corps,  all  under  the  command  of  Major-Gen- 
eral  Philip  H.  Sheridan  who  gained  for  his  troops  additional  glory  and  they  in 
return  made  him  world  famous  by  the  time  the  campaign  ended. 

Shortlj-  after  our  arrival  at  Harper's  Ferry  the  small-pox  broke  out  in  the 
regiment  and  it  was  isolated  at  Bolivar  Heights  for  aV)out  a  month.  On  Septem- 
ber 13.  rejoined  the  division  then  encamped  near  Berryville. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  September  19,  moved  in  the  direction  of  Winchester. 
Struck  the  enemy  near  Opequon  creek  and  fought  a  fierce  battle  during  the 
whole  of  the  day,  the  enemy's  forces  tailing  back  towards  Winchester.  About 
noon  two  brigades  of  Early's  forces  which  had  been  .sent  in  the  direction  of 
Martinsburg  returned  and  made  a  desperate  attack  on  the  left  of  the  Nineteenth 
Corps,  driving  them  back.  This  repulse  uncovered  the  right  flank  of  Russell's 
Division  of  the  Sixth  Corps.  Russell  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  brigade 
and  hurried  in  to  retrieve  the  disaster,  and  succeeded  in  stopping  the  enemy, 
but  in  the  movement  the  general  was  killed,  shot  to  death  with  a  cannon  ball. 
General  Frank  Wheaton  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  division.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  day,  and  while  the  infantry  and  artillery  were  driving  the  enemy, 
the  cavalry  division  struck  them  on  their  left  flank,  doubling  them  up  and 
sent  them  "Whirling  through  Winchester,"  winning  a  glorious  victory  on  the 
open  field.     In  this  engagement  First  Lieutenant  .Toseph  W.  Wallace  was  killed 


298  Pennstjlvania  of  Geityshiini. 

and  Captain  John  .M.  Thompson  desperatelj-  wounded  in  seven  phices  by  the 
explosion  oC  a  sclirapnel,  directly  in  front  of  him.  Ten  enlisted  men  were 
kiliid  and  alx)uf  tliirly  wounded,    eight  of  them  mortally. 

While  the  light  was  at  its  height  Major  Wakefield,  wlio  had  l>een  away  on 
special  service,  was  returning,  an<i  hearing  tlie  sound  of  the  battle,  with  two  or 
three  comrades  wen;  hurrying  up  from  Berry  villc  to  rejoin  their  commands,  and 
when  within  a  mile  of  the  line  of  the  Union  army  in  action  were  captured  by  a 
gang  of  Mosby's  men  and  carried  around  the  flank  of  our  army  to  Richmond. 
He  was  confined  at  Danville,  Ya.,  until  the  next  spring. 

.Vfter  this  engagement  the  brigade  was  detailed  to  guard  the  post  at  Win- 
chester, guarding  trains  t4)  and  from  Martinsburg  etc..  until  after  the  battle  of 
Cedar  Creek,  on  October  l!».  18()4. 

Wliile  encamjied  at  Winchester  the  regiment  received  from  the  State  a  new 
stand  of  colors  which  wer<>  presented  by  Colonel  Edwards,  and  received  on  the 
part  of  the  regiment  by  ('ai)tain  .Tames  T.  Stuart. 

On  Octol)er  24,  the  brigade  rejoined  the  corps  at  Cedar  Creek  and  remained 
there  until  after  the  presidential  election,  then  moved  midway  between  Mid- 
dletown  and  Winchester  until  about  December  6,  when  the  Sixth  Corps  left  the 
valley  and  returned  to  the  siege  of  Petersburg.  Went  into  the  line  in  front  of 
Yellow  House  near  Fort  Wadsworth.  The  regiment  succeeded  in  finding 
splendid  winter  (juarters  built  by  some  soldiers  of  the  Fifth  Corps.  Here  we 
remained,  with  the  exception  of  a  reconnaissance  to  Hatcher's  Run,  until  April 
2,  1865. 

In  the  last  days  of  March  troops  in  large  bodies  were  passing  in  the  rear  of 
us  to  the  left,  moving  to  Five  Forks  and  the  series  of  battles  were  commencing 
to  end  the  rebellion. 

On  Sunday  morning.  April  2,  the  regiment  and  brigade  ( having  formed  dur- 
ing the  previous  night  in  front  of  Fort  Fisher)  at  the  early  dawn  charged  the 
works  in  our  front  and  broke  through  the  enemy's  lines.  The  regiment  turned 
to  the  left  and  emptied  the  rifle  pits  for  about  a  mile,  wlien  troops  from  the 
Second  Corps  took  our  place  and  continued  the  movement  while  we  faced  about 
and  closed  in  on  Petersburg,  the  Sixth  Corps  holding  the  line  from  the  Appo- 
mattox river  to  the  old  rebel  line  of  works.  Lo.ss  of  the  regiment  in  the  en- 
gagement, one  killed  and  about  a  dozen  wounded.  Among  the  latter  was  the 
adjutant  who  received  a  .slight  saber  cut  in  the  left  hand  in  going  over  the 
rebel  entrenchments. 

The  movement  of  this  day  compelled  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  and  Pet- 
ersburg. Early  on  the  morning  of  the  :>d,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  in 
the  direction  of  Amelia  Court  House.  General  Sheridan  had  been  pleading 
for  the  Sixth  Corps  from  the  beginning  of  the  cam])aign  but  until  now  (Irant 
had  work  for  them  and  they  could  not  be  spared.  The  Sixth  Corps  now  moved 
rapidly  across  the  army  to  the  extreme  right  to  Sheridan's  helj).  We  caught 
up  with  him  at  Sailor's  creek  about  5  p.  m.,  of  April  6,  and  inimediatelv 
formed  line  of  battle  under  Sheridan's  direction,  the  brigade  in  the  following 
order  :  Fifth  Wisconsin  on  the  right  joined  by  the  One-hundred  and  nine- 
teenth Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  the  Forth-ninth  in  the  center  joined  by  the 
Sixth  Maine  to  the  left  and  the  Thirty -seventh  Massachusetts  on  the  left  of 
the  brigade.  While  forming  Major  Gray  of  the  One  hundred  and  nineteenth 
asked  the  general  of  the  situation.  He  replied  aloud,  "Boys,  Custer  is  acro.ss 
there    pointingi  about  two  miles  with  his  cavalry  and  fourteen  pieces  of  artil- 


Pennsylvania  at  GeUysimnj.  299 

lery  aiul  we'ro  here,  and  J",  well  with  liis  rorps  is  bclwecn  us  and  if  we  press  them 

the}'  will  be   in  a tight  lix."'     As  soon  as  the  lines  were  formed  we 

'"pressed."  Moved  forward  in  line  of  battle  down  sloping  ground  to  the  creek 
which  we  crossed,  it  being  from  knee  to  waist  deep.  After  crossing  we  lay 
under  cover  of  a  knoll  a  few  minutes  to  perfect  the  alignments.  In  a  few  min- 
utes Captain  Colt  of  Edwards'  staff  rode  along  and  directed  an  advance  on  the 
double-(iuick.  The  enemy  was  under  cover  of  a  woods  about  one  hundred  and 
fiifty  yards  in  our  front  and  between  us  open  ground.  The  regiment 
advanced  rapidly  through  a  perfect  storm  of  bullets  but  in  fifteen 
minutes  it  was  all  over  and  General  Ewell  commanding  the  corps,  with 
seven  other  general  officers  and  about  7.000  officers  and  men  were  captured. 
The  regiment  in  this  engagement  was  opposed  by  a  regiment  of  marines 
from  Richmond  who  had  never  been  in  an  engagement  but  they  fought 
Aaliantly  and  when  flanked  and  surrounded  hardly  knew  enough  to  surrender. 

The  loss  of  the  regiment  in  this  battle  was  excessively  severe.  Owing  to  the 
hard  and  wearisome  marches  made  for  four  days;  we  carried  only  about  250  men 
into  the  battle.  Of  these  fifteen  were  killed  including  Lieutenant  Hackenberg, 
six  mortally  wounded  including  Lieutenants  John  B.  Rodgers  and  John  D.  Gil- 
lespie, about  sixty  others  were  wounded.  The  most  distressing  part  of  these 
losses  was  that  this  was  our  last  battle  and  a  number  of  those  killed  were  men 
■who  had  been  with  us  from  the  organization  of  the  regiment.  Notably,  Lieu- 
tenants Rodgers  and  Gillespie,  Sergeant-Major  J.  Roy  Hackenberg  and  First 
Sergeant  Calvin  Cain. 

Shortly  after  the  end  of  the  fight  the  Forty-ninth  was  detailed  to  guard  pris- 
oners at  Sheridan's  headquarters.  During  the  night  Custer's  cavalry  brought 
in  a  large  number  in  addition  to  those  previously  captured.  About  8  a.  m.  of 
the  7th,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  conduct  the  prisoners  to  Burkeville  Jimction 
which  was  a  full  day's  march  from  the  battle-field.  Arrived  at  Burkeville  about 
dark  and  turned  the  prisoners  over  to  the  provost  marshal,  drew  rations  and 
■went  into  camp  for  the  night.  Early  on  the  next  morning  (April  8)  we  started 
for  the  front,  marched  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  Appomattox  Court  Hoase, 
passing  through  Farmville  and  reached  the  front  and  joined  the  brigade  on  the 
morning  of  the  lOth,  after  the  surrender  of  Lee  which  had  occurred  the  day  be- 
fore (April  9,  1865). 

We  then  returned  with  the  army  to  Burkeville  Junction  and  went  into  camp 
where  we  remained  until  the  35th.  While  in  camp  here,  on  April  16,  Adjutant 
Downing  was  mustered  as  captain  of  Company  F  and  Lieutenant  Robert  Davison 
of  Company  F  as  adjutant  of  the  regiment.  Here  also  we  were  joined  by  a  com- 
pany of  volunteers  from  Allegheny  county,  Company  K,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain J.  F.  Reynolds,  First  Lieutenant  James  H.  Bascom  and  Second  Lieutenant 
Thomas  M.  Gillespie. 

On  April  25,  General  Johnson  not  having  yet  surrendered  to  Sherman,  the 
Sixth  Corps  marched  to  Danville  in  the  very  southern  edge  of  Virginia,  making 
the  march  in  four  days.  Here  we  found  many  men  from  Lee's  army  awaiting 
transportation  further  south.  The  old  corps  marched  through  the  city  ■with 
colors  unfurled  and  the  men  never  felt  prouder  nor  marched  better  than  on  this 
occasion.  We  went  in  camp  south  of  the  city  on  the  edge  of  North  Carolina 
and  remained  until  after  Johnson's  surrender. 

While  here  one  recruit  arrived  and  was  assigned  to  Companj'  F,  which  lacked 
one  man  of  the  minimum,  and  as  a  result.  First  Sergeant  Glass  was  mustered  as 


300  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

second  lieutenant  of  the  companj'  which  event  occurred  jnst  in  time,  for  the  mail 
arrived  while  Glass  was  at  the  mustering  officer's  which  brought  news  of  the 
death  of  George  Stanford,  wounded  at  Sailor's  Creek,  and  two  others  discharged 
for  disabilit}'.  Had  Glass  been  an  hour  later  he  would  have  failed  in  being 
mustered. 

On  May  6,  we  returned  by  rail  to  Burkeville  and  the  corps  was  distributed 
along  theSouthside  railroad.  The  Forty-ninth  headquarters  were  at  Wellsville 
with  eight  companies,  while  two  companies  under  the  command  of  Cai)tain 
"Wombacker  were  stationed  at  Blacks  and  "Whites  Station,  about  eight  miles 
further  south.  While  here  the  Arm}-  of  the  Potomac,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Sixth  Corps,  returned  to  Washington.  Sherman's  army  from  Atlanta  also  passed 
hy  us  ou  their  way  to  the  National  Capital.  After  the  grand  review  of  the  two 
armies  in  Washington,  the  Sixth  Corps,  about  June  1,  broke  camj)  and  marched 
to  Petersburg  and  Manchester  opposite  Richmond,  went  into  camp  for  two 
days,  then  marched  through  Richmond,  reviewed  by  General  Halleck,  on  to 
Mechanicsville  and  Fredericksburg,  and  arrived  at  Hall's  Hill  opposite  Wash- 
ington, where  we  remained  until  July  15.  In  the  meantime,  however,  the 
Sixth  Corps  also  passed  in  review  through  Washington.  On  July  12,  orders 
were  received  to  make  the  muster-out  rolls,   preparatory  to  discharge. 

Everything  being  prepared  Captain  A.  M.  Tyler,  mustering  officer,  visited  us 
and  mustered  the  regiment  out  of  the  service  on  July  15,  1865,  three  years  and 
ten  months  after  organization. 

We  proceeded  through  Washington  and  Baltimore  to  Harrisburg  where  the 
officers  and  men  w^ere  paid  and  finally  discharged,  and  the  Forty-ninth  Regiment 
of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  had  passed  into  history. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

53°  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September  ii,  1S89 
ADDRESS  OF  FIRST  LIEUT.  CHAS.  P.  HATCH,  ADJUTANT 

COMRADES  :— We  meet  to-day  for  a  noble  and  glorious  j^urpose,  and  one 
which  (umnot  but  appeal  to  the  heart  of  every  soldier  here  who  was  a 
member  of  our  old  command.     At  the  same  time  Itwoirld  be  strange 
indeed,  if  the  occasion  did  not  engender  Avithin  us  emotions  of  a  con- 
flicting nature. 

AsT  look  arounil  me  and  sec  how  few  there  are  of  us  left,  memories  of  the 
past  come  crowding  before  me.  I  recall  to  memory  those  days  in  '63  when 
we  were  battling  with  the  enemy  upon  this  very  field.  I  am  carried  still 
farther  back  to  '61  when  we  started  out  uiion  our  military  career,  and,  compar- 
ing that  starting  out  with  to-day,  one  cannot  but  be  profoundly  impressed  not 
alone  by  the  changed  and  happj'  conditions  now  existing,  but  .sorrowfully  as 
well,  as  wo  recall  to  inemorv  our  former  comrades,  now  dead  and  gone  but  then 
with  lis  brave,  eager  and  enthusiastic. 

The  records  of  the  War  Deixvrtmcnt  show  that  from  '61  to  '63  our  regiment 
had  already  gone  through  ten  principal  engagements,  not  counting  the  numer- 
ous minor  ones,  and  in  each  many  were  stricken  from  our  ranks,  and  when,  in 


PHOTO.     BY    W.    H.    TIPTON,    GETTYSBURS. 


PRINT:    THE    F.    GUTEKUNST    CO.,    PHILA. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  301 

lH(i;;,  we  marched  upon  the  liekl  orcioltvsburg,  our  rauks  luitl  already  been  sadly 
depleted,  but  again  our  thin  ranks  were  further  reduced  in  numbers.  From 
Gettysburg  to  Appomattox  inelusive  the  Fifty-third  took  part  in  sixteen  addi- 
tional principal  engagements,  making  twenty-six  in  all,  averaging  one  princi- 
pal engagement  or  battle  for  each  hfty  days  of  service,  including  the  time  spent 
in  winter  quarters,  and  not  counting  the  reconnaissances,  special  services  and 
incidental  encounters  with  the  enemy  between  battles,  in  all  of  which  however 
we  suffered  constant  losses  in  killed  and  wounded. 

Our  regimental  reiwrts  of  casualties  during  the  war  foot  up  thirty-flve 
officers  and  seven  hundre<l  and  two  enlisted  men,  giving  a  total  of  seven 
hundred  and  thirty-seven.  Of  these,  the  record  of  killed  in  iiction  or  died  of 
wounds  received  in  action  is  four  officers  and  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  en- 
listed men,  a  total  of  exactly  two  hundred  killed.  These  facts  and  remin- 
iscences vividly  recall  the  past  and  we  would  be  indeed  singularly  constituted 
were  our  feelings  not  wrought  upon  liy  the  retrospect. 

Still,  with  it  all  comes  over  us  theproitd  consciousness  of  a  soldier's  faithful 
service,  and  associated  with  it  a  sentiment  of  pride  and  admiration  in  the  gal- 
lantry and  fortitude  of  our  old  comrades  who  gloriously  laid  down  their  lives 
in  the  cause  which  we  had  all  alike  assumed,  and  when  we  remember  that  our 
presence  here  to-day  is  at  the  bidding  of  our  State,  as  being  worthy  of  its  honors 
for  the  service  they  atul  we  performed,  we  experience  feelings  of  jirofouud 
gratitude  and  satisfaction,  in  that  it  is  our  privilege  to  .see  this  memorial  monu- 
ment erected  and  dedicated  in  honor  of  those  old  comrades  and  of  our  gallant 
old  regiment,  for  it  was  a  gallant  regiment,  as  its  official  record  bears  witness, 
and  we  are  amply  entitled  to  all  our  feelings  of  pride  in  having  been  members 
of  it.  That  it  served  in  line  with  the  numerous  other  gallant  commands  from 
our  own  as  well  as  other  States,  would  alone  be  sufficient  glory  for  the  Fifty- 
third,  even  though  it  had  no  other  claims  for  credit,  but  I  believe  the  evidence 
will  show  that  probably  few  regiments  in  our  whole  armj'  saw  more  arduous  or 
severe  service  during  the  war,  a  fact  not  realized  by  us  at  the  time  but  now 
demonstrated  in  the  statistical  summing  up.  It  will  however  be  out  of  place 
for  me  here  and  at  this  time  to  even  attempt  to  trace  the  career  of  our  old  com- 
mand during  the  war,  or  enter  upon  its  active  participation  in  tlie  many  en- 
gjigements  in  which  it  bore  a  part  and  I  but  touch  upon  the  general  facts. 

As  with  many  another,  our  regiment  had  its  origin  in  that  great  uprising  in 
1861,  a  year  we  well  remember  who  lived  and  moved  in  its  excitements,  but  of 
which  the  younger  and  present  generation  can  have  no  adequate  conception. 

An  economic  and  political  question  which  had.  at  the  time  the  constitution 
of  the  country  was  first  under  discussion  and  being  formulated,  already  been 
the  cause  of  anxious  thought  and  then  adjusted  by  compromise,  a  qtiestioa 
which  later  on  was  the  cause  of  renewed  discussions  and  new  compromises, 
■which  had  passed  all  the  stages,  from  anxious  debate  to  acrimonious  contro- 
versy, finally  reached  its  culmination  in  1861,  when,  though  I  cannot  say  with- 
out warning  or  premonition,  the  blow  fell  which  was  the  knell  of  war  between 
the  two  sections  of  the  country.  There  were  those  no  doubt  on  the  one  side 
■who  had  early  determined  to  strike  the  blow,  there  were  those  in  the  North 
who  saw  its  coming,  yet  the  country  at  large  could  not  believe  in  the  possibility 
of  such  a  calamity  and  was  amazed  as  well  as  astounded  when  it  come,  but  be- 
fore that  first  shot  upon  Fort  Sumter  had  ceased  echoing  over  the  land,  the 
revulsion  came  in  a  mighty  cry  of  denunciation  for  those  who  had  done  the 


302  I'ri,)is///rinii((   III   ( irft/fyhirrg. 

deed,  and  men  in  countless  iimiibei-sjiiid  I'loiu  ull  sides  olTlie  loyal  Noith  d<- 
mauded  lo  be  led  to  the  defense  of'our  countrv's  Hag. 

Si),  and  then,  the  Fifty-third  I'ennsylvania  was  horn  and  orj^anized,  not  for 
hope  of  })ersonal  reward,  not  for  love,  hut  throujih  that  exalted  and  vivifying 
putriotisni  whieh  pervaded  the  hearts  of  the  loyal  North,  asking  only  to  he  led 
to  the  front  to  meet  the  enemj'.  There  was  l>ut  one  thought,  that  in  the 
Providence  of  God  there  was  one  duty  above  every  other  presented  to  us,  and 
that  wiis  the  defense  of  our  flag,  the  maintenance  of  our  government  and  gl<)- 
rious  national  it}'  in  all  its  integrity,  and  for  this  the  men  of '61  freely  volun- 
teered their  services  and  if  need  he  their  lives.  .\s  was  natural  under  the  ten- 
sion of  public  feeling  then  existing,  the  people  were  in  advance  of  the  constituted 
authorities,  coming  together  intuitively  and  hy  a  common  impulse,  taking  tlie 
initiative  in  organization  and  selecting  their  leaders  under  whom  they  desired 
to  .serve. 

We  found  ours  in  Captain  John  \l.  Brooke  who  had  already  served  as  an  ol- 
ficer  in  the  preliminary  three-mouths'  .service,  and  he  became  our  colonel,  and 
as  corroboration  of  the  worthiness  and  fitness  of  the  selection,  as  well  as  testi- 
fying a-s  to  the  (quality  of  the  command  under  him,  I  have  hut  to  mention  that 
after  the  close  ot  the  war  he  was  commissioned  in  the  regular  military  service 
(if  the  United  States  and  is  to-day  holding  the  rank  of  brigadier-general. 

Our  lieutenant-colonel  was  Richards  McMichael  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  a  veteran 
of  the  Mexican  war,  while  our  major  was  Thomas  Yeager  of  AUentown,  I^i.t 
who  lost  his  life  at  Fair  Oaks. 

On  the  one  side,  therefore,  were  arrayed  those  who  had  taken  up  arms  in  de- 
fense and  for  the  perpetuation  of  our  National  life.  On  the  other  were  arrayed 
those  who,  though  doubtless  equally  as  sincere  in  their  convictions,  yet  .sought 
the  destruction  of  our  National  government,  and  the  right  to  maintain  a  sepa- 
rate confederate  government. 

The  i.ssue  at  .stake  was  a  momentous  one  and  upon  the  outcome  of  those  days 
of  conflict  upon  which  we  were  about  to  enter,  dejx'nded  con.sequences  to  our 
country  and  humanity  which  would  shape  the  destiny  of  generations. 

Our  giand  government,  which  had  already  done  so  much  to  raise  the  diguit.\ 
ol' man  and  labor,  which  had  long  ])ecn  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  civilized 
people  as  they  viewed  the  progress  and  pro.sperity  already  attained  by  a  peo- 
ple living  under  constitutional  guarantees  of  liberty  and  freedom,  was  now 
threatened  with  subversion.  In  the  principles  involved  it  was  as  a  .struggle 
between  giants.  It  was  in  fact  a  war  between  men  of  kindred  blood  and  an- 
tecedents. 

With  the  great  i.ssues  before  us,  and  with  the  .spirit  prevailing  and  which  ani- 
niate<l  oui-  regiment,  therefor(!,  how  im2)atiently  were  pas.sed  tho.se  early  days 
r)l"  neces.sary  jtreparation  in  Camp  Curtin,  until  that,  to  us,  eventful  day,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1^01,  when, a  completely  organized  and  ecjuipped  regiment,  the  Fifty-third 
was  drawn  up  in  line  and  presented  with  its  colors  by  the  tiovernor  of  our 
State,  Andrew  G.  Curtin. 

That  which  we  had  a.sked  had  come  to  us,  and  the  emblem  which  we  were  to 
defend  had  1)een  (ilaced  in  our  charge.  How  that  charge  was  fulfilled,  our  duty 
performed,  is  attested  hi'ie  and  by  these  ceremonies  to-day,  with  our  colors  re- 
stored to  the  State  unsullied  and  without  stain,  though  they  may  be  and  are  in 
lact  raggi'd  and  torn  by  service  and  ex])osure  on  the  numerous  fields  of  battle 
when;  they  had  been  so  gallantly  borne  l)y  the  I'i ft ,\  -third,  and  they  rest  to-day 


J*rnn.s//lr(i]ii(i  nl   ( r<lfii,shin<i.  303 

in  lionored  comiiiinion.'^liip  in  the  ta}iit()l  ol'  ilic  Slalt'.  I  roni  llic  moment  ilic 
Fifty-third  received  its  colors  they  were  never  out  of  its  possession  until  the 
day  they  were  aj^ain  returned  to  the  Stat<-  at  the  close  of  the  war  and  the  i<tri- 
ment  disbanded. 

Following  the  prescntiition  of  our  colors  we  received  niarcliinj;  orders,  and  at 
9  a.  m.,  November  9,  1861,  left  Camp  Curtin,  being  trun-siwrted  by  rail  from 
Harrisburg  to  Washington,  by  way  of  York  and  Baltimore,  where  we  became  a 
part  of  the  Third  Brigade,  Sumner's  Division,  afterward  known  as  First  Divi- 
sion, Second  Army  Corps.  We  remained  connected  with  th«!  Third  Brigade  until 
.\pril  14,  1863,  when  a  Fourtli  lirigade  for  our  division  was  organized,  to  b<; 
commanded  by  Colonel  Brooke, to  which  our  regiment  was  naturally  transferred. 

Originally  enlisting  lor  three  years  our  regiment  re-enlisted  for  the  war,  De- 
cember 22,  1863,  and  thus  became  entitled  to  be  known  as  the  Fifty-third  Fenn- 
sylvania  Veteran  Volunteers.  It  was  present  at  Appomattox  Court  House  at 
the  surrender  of  General  Lee  and  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  June  30,  1865. 

Gettysburg  will,  I  think,  be  hereafter,  if  it  is  not  already,  classetl  among  the 
great  battles  of  the  world,  a  crucial  period  in  the  war,  governing  the  eventual  out- 
<;ome  or  fate  of  a  cause.  It  is  true,  battles  had  been  fought  by  us,  successes 
achieved  bj'  our  arms,  but  none  had  yet  seemed  to  possess  that  potent  and  de- 
cisive influence  which  presaged  defeat  or  victory  to  the  cause  at  large.  At  the 
period  there  were  two  great  points  of  conflict,  Vicksburg  and  Gettysburg. 

Upon  the  3d  day  of  July,  Vicksburg  asked  terms  of  surrender,  on  the  same 
day  and  almost  the  .same  hour  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  command  of 
(Jeneral  Meade,  dealt  the  Confederate  army,  commanded  by  General  Lee,  its 
final  blow,  one  it  never  recovered  from,  for  though  it  fought  bravely  and  vig- 
orously through  the  Wilderness  Campaign  of  '64,  after  withdrawing  behind  the 
defenses  of  Kichmond  and  Petersburg  it  was  never  again  able  to  take  the  of- 
fensive in  the  fleld  and  only  left  those  defenses  in  the  spring  of  '6.')  to  surrender 
in  a  few  days  to  the  illustrious  commander  of  our  armies.  General  Grant. 

The  defeat  of  the  main  army  of  the  Confederates  at  Gettysburg,  probably  the 
strongest  and  best  equipped  they  had  at  any  time  sent  into  the  fleld,  composetl 
of  veterans,  and  encouraged  by  their  advantages  at  Frederick.sburg  and  Chan- 
cellorsville,  was  irreparable.  Their  cause  was  thereafter  hopeless.  That  its 
importance  was  read  right  at  the  time  by  those  who  had  watched  the  drift  of 
events  and  knew  the  art  of  war  is  without  doubt.  In  this  connection  I  need 
but  quote  the  words  of  our  old  corps  commander,  noble  generous-hearted  Han- 
cock, spoken  while  on  the  field  and  but  shortly  prior  to  the  final  charge  of  tin- 
enemy  under  Pickett.  It  was  while  the  artillery  fire  of  the  3d  was  in  full 
progress,  and  which  you  will  remember  had  opened  on  lx)tli  .sides  about  1  p.  ni. 

About 2.30  p.  m.,  Colonel  Brooke  with  his  stafi',  including  mj'self,  had  ridden 
out  to  a  small  farm  house  some  two  hundred  yards  in  front  of  our  line  of  battle. 
a  little  to  the  left,  observing  the  effect  of  our  artillery  fire  upon  the  enemy's 
lines  and  watching  their  movements,  when  General  Hancock,  accompanied  by 
some  of  his  staff,  also  rode  up.  After  some  general  conversation  pertinent  to 
the  occasion,  Hancock  started  to  return  to  our  lines  again,  as  he  did  so  however 
he  drew  himself  up  in  the  saddle  in  the  manner  which  gave  him  the  name  of 
"Superb,"  and  remarked: 

"Gentlemen,  after  this  artillery  fire  is  over  it  will  be  followed  by  an  infantry 
attack  upon  our  lines.     This  battle  is  the  turning  point  of  the  war  :  if  we  win 


304  Pennsylvania  at  (ToUiishurg. 

tliis  light  the  war  is  practiciilly  over,"  ami  as  giving  a  further  ]K)rlrayal  of  his 
ailmirable  qualities.  1  c-iinnot  refrain  from  also  quoting  his  closing  remarks 
which  were  as  follows:  "We  Ciinnot  tell  where  any  of  ns  may  be  before  this 
(lay  is  over;  before  leaving  you  I  wish  to  say  T  speak  harshly  sometimes.  If  I 
have  at  any  time  ever  .said  anything  to  otTend  or  hurt  the  feelings  of  aiiy  one 
of  you  I  wish  now  to  oiler  an  apology." 

Those  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  General  Hancock  personally,  can 
easily  recall  and  fully  appreciate  his  characteristic  nobility,  generosity  and 
magnaminity  ;  he  was  actuated  by  all  these  graceful  attributes  of  the  true 
soldier  and  as  well  gave  evidence  of  his  clear  military  sagacity  when  he  thus 
spake,  and  then,  as  though  his  mind  at  ease  and  prepared  and  ready  for  any  fate 
which  might  be  in  store  for  him.  he  rode  olT,  and,  as  is  w^ell  known,  was,  not  much 
later  on  during  the  charge  on  our  lines,  badly  wounded  and  borne  from  the  field. 

We  none  of  us  of  course  understood  him  to  imply  that  this  w'as  to  be  the  last 
battle  to  be  fought,  but  that  its  loss  would  be  di.sastrous  and  vital  to  the  enemy, 
that  the  end  was  thereafter  a  foregone  conclusion  in  a  military  sense,  and  such 
was  the  case,  for  the  enemy  never  recovered  from  the  blow  it  received  here. 
It  is  therefore  because  Gettysburg  was  the  turning  point,  the  great  culminating 
battle  of  the  war,  that  it  has  been  accorded  such  prominence,  that  it  has  been 
thought  well  to  mark  this  field  with  these  imperishable  memorials  to  stand 
hereafter  to  the  glory  and  credit  of  those  who  participated  in  its  dangers,  and 
the  monuments  will  certainly  lose  none  of  their  significance;  in  truth  itshould 
be  all  the  greater,  in  being  located  and  dedicated  by  those  who  themselves  had 
taken  part  in  the  conflict,  while  to  the  .student  and  historian  of  the  future,  their 
value  must  prove  inestimable,  for  who  will  question  the  correctness  of  the  story 
of  Gettysburg  written  in  these  imperishable  characters  by  those  who  fought  the 
fight.  When,  in  1863,  the  enemy,  being  then  around  Fredericksburg,  started, 
northwest  upon  his  Gettysburg  campaign,  our  regiment  was  in  camp  near  Fal- 
mouth, Va.,  opposite  Fredericksburg,  and  at  the  time  constituted  a  part  of  the 
Fourth  Brigade, First  Division, Second  Army  Corps, the  other  regiments  being  the 
One  hundred  and  forty-fifth  Pennsylvania,  Second  Delaware,  Sixty-fourth  New 
York  and  Twenty-seventh  Connecticut. 

The  brigade  was  under  command  of  Colonel  John  11.  Brooke,  colonel  of  our 
regiment,  while  the  regiment  was  under  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Rich- 
ards McMichael,  1,  your  adjutant,  being  on  the  staffof  the  brigade  conlmander 
a.s  acting  assistant  adjutant-general  At  the  period  named  our  brigade  received 
orders  at  2  a.  m.,  June  14,  to  be  ready  to  march  at  8  a.  m.,  and  at  the  latter  hour 
we  were  under  arms  awaiting  orders.  It  was  at  the  time  part  of  our  duty  to 
"picket''  a  portion  of  the  front  before  Fredericksburg  and  we  therefore  had  but 
about  five  hundred  men  for  duty  in  the  brigade. 

We  remained  under  arms  until  2  p.m.,  when,  a  section  of  artillery  having 
been  ailded  to  our  force,  we  received  orders  to  move  in  ha.ste  and  occupy  Banks' 
Ford  on  the  Rajjpahannock;  we  marched  at  once  and  upon  reaching  our  destina- 
tion found  tlie  Fifty-second  New  York  of  the  Third  Brigade  already  arrived 
there  and  wliich  for  this  duty  was  placed  in  our  brigade.  Our  duty  was  to  pro- 
tect the  ford,  prevent  its  use  by  the  enemy  and  observe  their  movements,  their 
columns  being  then  in  movement  up  the  south  side  of  the  river.  We  held  the 
ford  until  9  p.  m.  that  night,  when,  leaving  the  Fifty-.seoond  New  York  at  the 
ford,  the  brigade  withdrew  to  Berea  Church  about  two  and  one-half  miles  from 
the  ford  wlu-re  we  took  up  position  for  attack  and  then  went  into  bivouac.  The 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty  si )nr</.  305 

next  morning  early  the  regiment  at  tlie  ford  was  also  withdrawn  and  at  ."..;;(» 
a.  m.,  the  brigade  took  up  the  line  of  march  lor  Stallbrd  Court  House  to  reaeh 
which  we  had  to  retrace  our  route  through  the  camps  aroiuid  Falmouth,  all  oC 
which  were  now  silent  and  deserted. 

That  portionol'our  brigade  which  had  been  on  picket  duty  before  Fredericks- 
burg was  at  the  same  time  withdrawn,  ami  rejoined  us  as  we  passed  Falmouth. 
Our  brigade  was  the  last  to  leave  the  front  ot  Frederick-sburg.  Our  march  to  Staf- 
ford Court  House  was  a  rapid  one,  as  we  reached  there  about  10  a.  m.,  making 
the  distance  about  twelve  miles,  in  about  four  and  one-half  hours;  upon  reach- 
ing Stafford  we  found  our  corps  and  division,  which  had  halted,  anxiously 
awaiting  our  withdrawal,  wheu  after  a  further  halt  of  about  two  hours  we  with 
our  corps  resumed  our  march  and  that  afternoon  about  5  p.  m.  went  into  bivouac 
at  Aquia  creek.  The  day  had  been  inten.sely  warm,  some  thirty  men  of  the 
corps  being  sunstruck  on  the  march,  while  hundreds  almost  exhausted  by  the 
heat  and  unable  to  keep  up  with  the  column  struggled  in  the  rear  as  best  they 
could,  but  most  came  in  after  dark,  though  many  were  captured  by  the  enemy's 
cavalry. 

June  16,  at  (i  a.  m..  our  corps  again  resumed  its  march,  our  brigade  with  a 
section  of  artillery  now  acting  as  rear  guard  for  the  column.  At  11  a.  m.  we 
forded  the  Occoqnan  and  passing  beyond  a  short  distance  went  into  camp  about 
2  p.  m.  This  day  like  the  preceding  was  exhausting  and  the  heat  oppressive,  our 
men  suffering  severely.  June  17,  7.30  a.  m.,  we  again  struck  camp  and,  moving 
via  Dumfries,  went  into  camp  at  Sangster's  Station  about  noon,  where,  actino- 
under  orders,  all  extra  baggage  and  all  men  not  able  to  endure  the  march  were 
forwarded  to  Washington,  We  remained  at  Sangster's  until  4  p.  m,  June  19, 
when,  breaking  camp,  we  moved  to  Centerville,  which  we  reached  at  7,30  p.  m.  " 
At  this  point  our  ))rigade  was  ordered  to  occupy  and  hold  Thoroughfare  Gap, 
while  our  corps  moved  on,  and  fortius  purpose  our  brigade  broke  camp  at  noon 
June  20,  reaching  and  occupying  the  Gap  at  11  p,  m.  that  night.  We  held  the 
Gap  until  9  a.  m.,  June  25,  the  enemy  making  occasional  demonstrations  on  our 
pickets,  and  at  times  forcing  us  to  go  into  line  of  battle,  but  beyond  some  skirm- 
ishing, by  which  we  lost  one  killed  and  five  or  six  wounded,  nothing  of  moment 
occurred,  and  at  the  hour  mentioned  we  withdrew  and  marched  to  Gum  Sprino-s, 
being  followed  from  the  Gap  ])y  the  enemy's  cavalry,  where  we  a<^aiu 
came  up  with  our  corps.  At  (i  a.  m.,  June  26,  our  whole  column  was 
again  on  the  march  and  now  directly  for  the  Potomac  river,  which  we 
crossed  at  Edwards'  Ferry  at  midnight,  going  into  bivouac  about  2.30  a.  m., 
June  27,  on  the  north  side,  where  we  halted  until  3  p,  m.  when  we  again 
resumed  our  march,  going  into  camp  near  Barnesville,  Md,,  about  11  p.  m.  June 
28,  6  a.  m.,  we  started  for  and  at  4  p.  m.  reached  the  Monocacy  river,  where  we 
halted,  and  our  brigade  went  into  camp  on  the  same  ground  occupied  similarly 
by  us  the  year  previous  when  on  our  march  tor  jVntietam,  June  29,  6  a,  m.,  we 
crossed  the  Monocacy  by  the  stone  bridge  and  marching  via  Frederick  Citj^ 
and  Union  Bridge,  went  into  camp  near  Uniontown,  Md,  al)out  9,30  p.  m.,  mak- 
ing for  the  day  an  unusually  long  march  of  thirty-three  miles.  Here  we  re- 
mained until  the  morning  of  .July  1.  On  this  day,  which  witnessed  the  open- 
ing of  the  three  days'  battle  at  Gettj'sburg,  we  broke  camp  at  Uniontown  at  (>  a. 
m,  and  took  up  our  line  of  march  via  Taneytown,  After  making  a  few  miles 
the  familiar  sound  of  artillery  firing  was  heard  in  the  advance,   which  we  then 

2U 


306  Pennsylvania  at  Getfy.sfmrg. 

had  leamoci  was  at  or  near  (lettTsbnij;,    toward  \vliirli   our  ^oh1nlll^   wove  now 
rapidly  converging. 

Vou  no  doubt  all  remember  our  crossing  the  boundary  line  into  Teunsyhania 
and  what  riniriug  cheers  went  up  from  our  regiment  when  we  found  oursehes, 
aft<»r  so  long  an  absence,  once  more  treading  the  soil  of  our  native  State  and 
that  we  were  to  do  battle  so  near  our  homes.  Footsore  and  jaded  as  all  were, 
the  step  became  more  si>ringy,  the  gait  (juickened  as  our  forward  movement 
went  on,  while  the  sound  of  artillery  became  momentarily  more  rapid  as  well 
as  more  distinct  as  we  advanced.  In  fact  the  great  fight  had  fairly  begun,  and 
we  knew  must  he  in  full  progress  in  the  front,  and  as  we  recall  the  scene  there 
is  even  now  the  old  thrill  and  inspiration  in  the  contemplation  of  our  veteran 
column  jmshing  on  with  all  the  determination  and  speed  possible  toward  the 
field  which  we  knew  was  the  prelude  to  the  desperate  encounter  we  were  our- 
selves to  engage  in  with  the  enemy. 

It  was  about  'i.'AO  p.  m..  while  our  column  was  thus  pushing  forward,  our 
brigade  being  in  the  lead  and  our  regiment  leading  the  brigade.  General  Han- 
cock with  Colonel  Brooke  and  their  respective  staft's  were  at  the  time  riding  at 
the  head  of  the  line,  when  a  mounted  orderly  came  rapidly  down  the  road  to- 
ward us  and,  approaching  General  Hancock,  handed  him  the  communication 
from  General  Meade  apprising  him  of  the  death  of  General  Reynolds  and  di- 
recting him  to  at  once  take  command  of  the  forces  in  the  front  and  then  en- 
gaged with  the  enemy.  Delaying  only  to  announce  the  purport  of  the  order 
and  to  give  (Jolonel  Brooke  some  instructions  as  to  our  further  march,  Hancock 
rode  off  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  Gettysbuig.  In  a  short  time  after  the  am- 
bulance bearing  the  body  of  the  lamented  Reynolds  passed  us  in  the  (;ontrary 
direction. 

That  night  about  10  p.  m.  we  went  into  bivouac  about  two  miles  from  Gettys- 
burg, the  l)attle  for  the  day  having  ceased,  but  by  7  a.  m..  July  2,  we  were  as- 
signed position  on  Cemetery  Ridge  about  one  mile  north  of  Little  Round  Top 
on  the  right  of  the  Third  Corps,  the  enemy  being  in  our  front  across  tlie  valley 
about  one  mile.  The  weary  hours  we  spent  in  this  position  I  need  liardly  men- 
tion. V)eing  varied  (mly  by  shifting  our  position  here  and  there,  but  never  far, 
and  this  continued  from  7  a.  m.  until  4  j).  m.,  when  all  our  weariness  vanished 
as  we  unexpectedly  and  somewhat  to  our  surprise,  .saw  the  Third  Corps  under 
General  Sickles  advancing  from  our  left  and  moving  acro.ss  the  valley  to  the 
peach  orchard  and  the  Emmitsburg  load.  At  first  uncertain  what  it  meant 
we  soon  saw  them  penetrate  the  peach  orchard,  and  realized  by  the  rattle  of 
musketry  which  followed  that  the  second  day's  fight  had  opened.  Entertain- 
ing no  doubt  l)ut  that  w(;  would  shortly  be  ordered  forward  to  join  in  it,  we 
were  intently  watching  the  fighting  going  on  before  us.  when  we  were,  about 
5  p.  m..  .suddenly  called  to  attention  and  our  brigade  was  ordered  to  the  left, 
at  double-ijuick,  our  movement  being  left  iu  front.  We  were  soon  in  line  of 
battle  at  the  edge  of  the  wheat-field,  where  by  the  time  of  our  arrival  the  Fir.st 
Brigade  of  ourdivision,  under  command  of  Colonel  Cross  of  the  Fifth  New 
Hampshire,  had  already  become  hotly  engaged  and  were  being  pressed  by  the 
enemy.  Halting  only  to  rectify  our  ranks,  our  brigade  was  ordered  to  advance 
to  the  relief  of  the  First  Brigade,  and  we  at  once  moved  forward  faced  by  the 
rear  rank,  liaving  no  time  to  form  by  the  front,  and  passing  the  line  of  the  First 
P)rigade  at  the  edge  of  the  field,  .struck  the  enemy  and  we  also  found  ourselves 
hotly  engaged.     Oui  brigade  however  pressed  forward  st<'adily.  firing  as  it  ad- 


Pennsylvania  at   (rttfysburij.  307 

Yjinced,  opposed  by  hoih  inlUiitr.v  and  artilh-iN,  tlie  lallcr  bein<;'  posted  on  the 
higli  f!;round  ])eyond,  but  we  nevertheless  soon  drove  the  eneni3''s  I'ront  line  by 
fnir  linn  advaiue,  but  the  enemy's  artilh'rv  lire  was  now  lelt  by  Colonel  Brooke 
Xii  be  telling;  1o()  severely  upon  us  at  this  time  and  lie  therefore  orilered  a  charge 
by  the  brigade  which  gallantly  reri])onded.  and.  dashing  forward,  broke  the 
enemy's  second  line  and  mounting  the  high  ground  beyond  the  run,  drove  thi; 
enemy's  artillery  from  its  position,  and  it  was  in  this  charge  and  at  this  time 
the  PMfty-third  Pennsylvania  reached  the  identical  spot  now  marked  by  this 
monument,  the  Sixty-fourth  New  York  being  on  our  left,  two  companies  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  Connecticut  on  our  right,  with  the  One  hundred  and  forty-fifth 
Pennsylvania  on  the  right  of  the  line  and  their  respective  monuments  stand 
with  our  own  on  this  glorious  and  advanced  line. 

A  partof  the  Third  Brigade  of  our  division  (our  original  brigade)  was  not  far 
oil',  and  hoping  to  maintain  our  position,  Colonel  Brooke,  in  the  emergency,  at 
once  ass\imed  command  over  them,  ordering  them  to  our  aid,  to  hold  what  wv 
had  gained,  but  we  were  too  far  in  advance  of  our  lines,  and  the  enemy  still 
being  in  strong  force  in  our  fi-ont  and  moving  upon  both  <mr  right  and  left  flanks, 
.seeing  no  troops  coming  to  our  sissi-stance.  Colonel  Brooke  wjis  obliged  to  order 
our  line  to  fall  back,  which  it  did  slowly  and  in  good  order,  firing  as  it  retired. 
In  fact  we  retired  none  too  soon,  as  our  brigade  was  almost  enveloped  by  the, 
enemy  before  it  had  reached  and  repassed  the  wheat-field,  where  we  reformed 
behind  some  stone  walls  in  line  with  (jur  other  troops,  prepared  to  continue  the 
fight,  but  at  this  time  fresh  troops  came  up  and  relieved  our  brigade,  when  we 
withdrew  to  a  point  nearer  Little  Ivound  Top  to  reform,  it  l)eing  then  about 
7  p.  m.  and  tlie  fight  for  the  day  practically  over. 

After  reforming,  we  moved  to  a  position  near  that  occupied  by  us  betbre  the 
battle  where  we  rested  under  arms  until  early  the  next  morning,  July  :5.  when 
we  again  moved  with  our  position  in  the  Iront  line  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  the 
enemy  having  our  movement  in  plain  view,  shelling  us  severely  ;  we  lost  several 
of  our  brigade  in  killed  and  wounded.  Here  we  dug  rifle  pits  and  then  awaited 
further  events.  That  the  fight  would  reopen  we  knew  was  inevitable,  and  there 
was  apparent  evidence  that  both  armies  were  preparing  for  its  renewal,  but 
beyond  some  desultory  firing  here  and  there,  there  was  comparative  quiet  until 
about  1  p.  m.  when  the  silence  was  broken  by  the  crasli  of  artillery  firing  which 
opened  on  each  side  with  a  terrific  roai-.  This  was  kept  up  without  apjjreciable 
diminution  on  either  .side  until  about  2.30  p.  m.  when  our  own  guns  gradually 
slackened  their  fire,  though  that  of  the  enemy  continued  in  full  volume  until 
about  4  p.  m.  when  it  also  diminished  in  volume  and  we  saw  their  inlantr\- 
deploying  by  their  left,  a  little  to  the  right  of  our  own  front,  and  we  realized 
another  struggle  was  at  hand.  As  tliey  came  from  the  cover  of  the  trees  and 
secured  proper  frontage,  their  lines  moved  slowly  forward,  and  then  we  saw 
line  after  line  developed  until  the  charging  column  under  Pickett  was  formed 
and  moving  rapidly  upon  our  lines.  Then  it  was  our  guns  awoke  to  new  life. 
as  it  were,  and  reopened  vigorously  from  all  sides  upon  tlie  devoted  column 
but,  as  you  know,  great  as  was  the  havocs  wrought  in  its  ranks  by  our  guns  its 
forward  movement  only  ceased  when  it  struck  our  Second  Division  immediatclv 
on  the  right  of  our  own.  I  need  speak  no  further  of  it  than  to  say  it  was 
a  gallant  and  magnificent  charge,  as  gallantly  and  as  magnificently  met  and 
repulsed. 

Upon  this  occasion,  however,  neither  our  regiment  or  brigade   were  directly 


308  Pennsylvania  at  Geftysfmry. 

eugaged,  l)Ut  as  showing  the  close  proximity  ol'  the  lighting,  I  would  mention 
that  the  skirmish  line  of  the  charging  column  extended  across  a  portion  of  our 
own  front  and  right,  and  likewise  readied  our  lines,  but  coming  on  Avithout 
firing  a  shot,  and  our  men,  seeing  no  troops  following  them,  immediately  refrained 
from  liring  ujkju  them  :  on  the  contrary,  as  their  skirmishers  reached  our  lines 
thev  were  jx-rmitted  to  enter  unmolested,  and  our  men  after  sliaring  the  con- 
tents of  their  haversacks  with  them,  sent  them  to  the  rear  as  prisoners,  even 
while  the  light  was  in  desperate  progress  so  near  upon  our  right.  Defeated  and 
shattered,  the  fragments  of  Pickett's  coin  inns  withdrew  and  the  third  day's  light 
was  ended. 

The  next  day,  July  4,  broke  upon  us  bright  and  clear,  and  found  all  ready 
for  a  resumption  of  the  contest  if  it  was  to  come,  but  we  early  learned  that  the 
enemy  was  already  in  full  retreat,  altliough  there  was  still  considerable  picket 
liring  in  progress,  muttering  of  the  storm  of  battle  as  it  were,  which  had  just 
jtassed.  At  last  our  men  could  take  the  rest  they  so  sorely  needed,  after  their 
long  march  from  the  Kappahanock  and  the  wearing  fatigue  and  desperate  light- 
ing of  the  past  three  days,  and  we  went  into  bivouac  in  position  where  we  Avere; 
but  not  for  long,  for  at  4  p.  m.,  July  5,  we  took  up  our  line  of  march  from  Cem- 
etery Ridge  for  Two  Taverns  where  we  again  went  into  bivouac  and  remained 
until  5  a.  m.,  July  7,  when  we  marched  for  Taneytown,  Maryland,  which  we 
reached  at  11  p.  m.  July  8,  5  a.  m.,  we  left  Taneytown ;  our  march  for  the  day 
bringing  us  to  a  point  about  four  miles  from  Frederick  City.  July  9,  5  a.  m.,  we 
were  again  in  motion  and  marching  through  Frederick  City  reached  Burkittsville 
at  0.30  p.  m.  Halting  but  one  hour,  we  resumed  our  march  and  passing  through 
Crampton's  Gap  went  into  l)ivouac  about  9. 30  p.  m.  at  Kohrersville,  Maryland. 

July  10,  f)  a.  m.  our  column  was  again  on  the  march,  moving  ri<i  Keedysville, 
and  passing  over  the  old  Antietam  battle-field  about  1.30  p.  m. ;  we  went  into 
bivouac  at  a  XJoi^t  about  six  miles  from  Williamsport.  July  11,  6  a.  m.,  we 
inarched  for  Jones'  Cross  Roads  where  we  went  into  line  of  battle,  expecting  an 
attack  by  the  enemy  but  none  followed.  July  12,  2  p.  m.  we  moved  forward  about 
three-fourtlis  of  a  mile  from  the  enemy,  where  we  again  halted  and  threw  up 
entrenchments,  remaining  in  this  position  until  5  a.  m.,  July  14,  when  our  corps 
went  into  line  of  battle  and  moved  ujmui  the  enemy's  position,  our  line  of  battle 
being  preceded  by  a  skirmish  line  under  command  of  Colonel  Brooke,  composed 
of  the  Fifty-third  Pennsylvania,  Second  Delaware,  Sixty-lourth  New  York  of 
our  own  brigade,  to  which,  for  this  sju-cMal  duty,  was  added  the  Fifty-.seventh 
New  York  of  our  old  Third  Brigade  and  the  Fifth  New  Hampshire  of  the  First 
Brigade  of  our  division. 

With  our  skirmish  line  deployed  at  one  pa(;e  interval,  we  moved  upon  the 
enemy's  position,  but  tlicy  had  generally  recrossed  the  Potomac  and  we  fell  in 
only  with  a  strong  rear  guard  near  Falling  "Waters  with  which,  liowever,  we 
had  a  sharp  encounter  before  they  could  cross  the  river,  in  which  several  hun- 
dred of  them  were  captured  by  us,  after  which  we  went  into  bivouac  until  .") 
a.  m.,  July  l.'>,  when,  there  l>eiug  none  of  the  enemy  north  of  the  Potomac,  we 
took  up  our  line  of  march  with  our  corjjs  for  Harper's  Ferry,  marching  na  Downs- 
ville  and  Sharp-sburg  and  at  (»  p.  m.  went  into  l)ivouac  along  the  tow-path  ol 
the  canal,  having  marched  all  day  without  food.  The  next  day  we  moved  to 
Plea.sant  Valley  where  our  corps  remained  until  (J  a.  m.,  .July  Is,  when  we  tcok 
up  our  march  again  for  Hari)er's  Ferry,  at  which  point  wc  fonl(>d  the  Potomac 
and  again  found  ourselves  ui   Virginia  mo\in'j.  .southward  on  tlu-  cast  side  of 


Pennsylcania  af  (idliishnni.  301) 

the  Jilue  Kidge,  wiiilt-  the  eiieiuy  was  m()\  iiifi  on  paralhl  lines  on  tlie  west   side 
ol'  the  ridge. 

It  seems  a  singular  eo-incident,  yet  such  are  the  Ikcts,  tliat  our  corjis,  then 
eomnianded  by  General  Sumner,  was  the  advance  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
in  its  movement  on  Fredericksburg  in  '62,  while  our  regiment  was  one  of  the 
brigade  which  led  the  corps,  and  was  the  first  to  enter  Falmouth  and  a2)pear 
before  Fredericksburg.  Again,  when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  abandoned  the 
front  of  Fredericksburg,  our  corps  was  the  last  to  withdraw,  while  our  regiment 
was  one  of  the  brigade  Avhich  was  rear  guard  for  the  corps,  and  consequently 
the  last  to  leave  the  front  of  Fredericksburg.  And  again,  as  our  army  turns 
its  steps  southward,  following  the  enemy's  retreating  columns,  our  own  regi- 
ment, together  with  a  majority  of  our  brigade,  is  in  the  skirmish  line  of  the 
last  line  of  battle  which  moved  iipon  the  enemy  north  of  the  Potomac,  and 
our  regiment  took  part  in  the  la.st  action  had  with  the  enemy's  rear  guard  and 
tired  the  last  shots  as  closing  the  Gettysburg  campaign. 

Drawn  from  memory  and  aided  by  memoranda  made  by  me  at  the  time  I 
have  given  you  as  briefly  as  po.ssible.  assuming  it  would  be  of  interest,  our 
movements  from  the  day  we  started  from  Falmouth,  .Tune  14,  to  meet  the  enemy 
at  Gettysburg  until  the  battle  over,  we  had  our  Unal  combat  with  them  just 
one  month  after,  on  July  14,  and  the  Getty.sburg  campaign  was  past,  fraught 
with  all  its  influences  upon  the  subsequent  operations  of  the  enemy.  In  com- 
mon with  the  other  commands  which  had  seen  equal  service,  our  regiment  went 
into  action  at  Gettysburg  much  reduced  in  numbers. 

Three  companies  numbering  about  one  hundred,  and  under  command  ol 
Captain  ]\Iintzer,  were,  during  the  battle,  on  duty  at  corps  headquarters  as  i)ro- 
\-ost  guard,  and  were  engaged  in  tjuarding  prisoners  taken  in  the  fight,  subse- 
(juently  about  three  thousand  ot  them  being  marched  to  Westmin.ster,  Maryland, 
assisted  V)y  .some  cavalry,  all  under  command  of  Captain  Mintzer.  The  other 
seven  companies  remained  with  the  brigade,  and  taking  active  part  in  the  battle 
numbering  exactly  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  otiicers  and  men,  and  were  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  McMichael  ;  a  pitiful  remnant  of  the  gal- 
lant regiment  which  had  left  Camp  Curtin  nine  hundred  and  twenty  strong, 
less  than  two  years  before,  but  the  difi'erence  in  numbers  is  easily  understood 
when  we  refer  to  the  previou.sly  mentioned  regimental  reports  of  casualties  in 
action,  to  which  might  well  be  added  the  numbers,  and  they  were  not  a  few, 
who  died  of  sickness  contracted  in  the  service,  and  the  large  numbers  in  hos- 
pital, wounded  or  sick.  Truly,  our  regimental  rejwrt  for  the  day  was  "All 
present  or  accounted  for. "'  Of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  who  entered 
the  fight  on  the  2d  of  .Inly  in  line  with  the  brigade,  the  los.ses  were  as  follows: 

Killed.     ^V(lU)ll^e<i.     ('apturedur  Missino.     J'otal . 

Ofticers --  11  -  11 

Fnlisted  men 7  ")()  (i  (i9 

Totals 7  J57  Jl  _8p 

Of  the  total  niiml)er  engaged  : 

Our  aggregate  losses  of  all  kinds  equalled •">9x"(T  per  cent 

Our  losses  m  killed  and  wounded '-'tV  ""      " 

Our  losses  in  killed  alone r)j2_    "      ■• 

Our  losses  in  captured  and  niissinir  .  4,*o    "      '' 


310  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Out  ol'the  one  liniKheil  and  thirty-live  wlio  went  into  the  light  but  fifty-five 
were  left  in  line  of  battle  under  our  regimental  colors  the  next  morning,  but  few 
as  thev  were  Ihey  were  there  in  line  of  battle  with  their  brigade  and  ready  on  the 
'M,  to  sustain  the  previous  well-earned  reputation  of  the  gallant  Fifty-third  ; 
our  regiment  needs  no  eulogy  at  our  hands,  for  what  it  achieved  is  written  iu 
history.  That  it  did  its  duty  nobly  and  unflinchingly  we  very  well  know,  but 
still  some  statistical  facts  in  this  connection  may  not  prove  uninteresting. 

Colonel  William  F.  Fox,  in  his  work  upon  losses  sustained  in  battle,  enu- 
merates forty-five  regiments  which,  of  all  regiments  serving  in  the  armies  of 
the  United  States  during  the  war.  suftered  a  loss  each  of  two  bundled  or  more 
iu  killed  in  action  or  ilied  of  wounds  received  iu  action.  The  Fifty-third  Penn- 
sylvania is  one  of  the  forty-live.  Out  of  the  forty-five  regiments  enumerated, 
three  were  members  during  the  war  of  our  own  Fourth  Brigade  viz  :  The  One 
liundred  and  forty-eighth  Pennsylvania,  One  hundred  and-forty-fifth  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Fifty-third  Pennsylvania,  the  fiist  mentioned  under  command  as 
colonel  of  the  present  Governor  of  our  State,  General  James  A.  Beaver,  whose 
regiment  became  attached  to  our  brigade  with  the  opening  of  the  Wilderness 
campaign,  while  he  himself  had  command  of  our  brigade  after  the  wounding 
of  Colonel  Brooke  at  Cold  Harbor,  and  until  he  also  was  wounded  at  our  head.  Of 
the  Ibrty-five  regiments  mentioned  twelve  of  them  belonged  to  our  own  corps, 
the  Second,  or  more  than  twenty-six  per  cent. 

Again.  Colonel  Fox  enumerates  nine  heavy  artillery  regiments  which  simi- 
larly suffered  a  loss  each  of  two  hundred  or  more  iu  killed  iu  action  or  died  of 
wounds  received  in  action.  Of  these  one  regiment,  the  Seventh  New  York,  was 
a  member  of  our  brigade,  having  been  added  to  it  during  the  Wilderness  cam- 
paign of  '(54  a  few  days  after  it  had  seen  its  first  engagement;  while  five  out  ol 
the  nine  regiments,  or  more  than  fifty-five  per  cent.,  belonged  to  our  corps. 

By  the  same  authority,  the  infantry  regiment  which  suftered  the  largest  loss 
in  killed  of  any  infantry  regiment  in  all  our  armies  was  the  Fifth  New  Hamp- 
shire, of  the  First  Brigade  of  our  division,  our  near  neighlwr  in  many  alight 
and  to  who.se  relief  we  went  in  the  figlit  on  the  "id  of  .July. 

From  the  statistics,  therefore,  the  Fourth  Brigade,  First  Division, Second  Army 
Corps  .seems  tn  have  had  a  somewhat  remarkable  .service  in  its  severity,  not 
that  I  would  arrogate  for  it  or  for  our  regiment,  which  was  a  member  of  it,  a 
.soldierly  rank  higher,  or  claim  for  it  a  spirit  more  gallant  than  pertained  to 
other  commands,  but  simply  that  the  exigencies  of  the  service  seems  to  have 
thrown  it  into  the  forefront,  that  it  seems  to  have  been  its  fortune  to  find  its 
place  as  a  rule  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  these  .statistics,  .showing  as  they  do, 
stamp  our  old  Fourth  ISrigade  and  with  itilie  Fifty-thiid  Peniisyhania  ascom- 
mands  possessing  reniarkal)le  soldierly  braveiy  and  fortitude. 

If  this  is  regarded  as  regimental  egotism,  I  simply  invite  tho.se  wln)  .so  regard 
it  to  read  and  analyze  the  figures.  Though  1  love  my  old  regiment  and  old 
brigatle.  yet  mine  are  not  the  partial  words  of  praise  of  one  who  was  a  member 
of  them,  nor  words  of  exaggeration.  They  are  deductions  logically  drawn  from 
1  lie  cold  ninorseless  figures  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  twenty-five  years.  1 
give  tliem  because  the  facts  show  the  comjiany  we  were  in,  and  nothing  could 
more  forcibly  illustrate  the  Irnth  that  our  regiment  was  em]>hatical]y  in  the 
front  when  we  .see  that  it  served  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  .same  brigade,  di- 
vision and  corps  with  commands  .so  illustriously  distingui.shed.  and  looking 
over  all    this,  we   naturally  exi>erienee  a  warm  glow  of  S()ldierly  pride  in  our 


IPTOH,   f.ETTYSOUHG. 


Pennsylvania  at   Getti/s/nm/.  311 

rt'giiiieiit  which  Ixjic  its  due  sluuc  of  tlie  burden  of  battle  and  served  with  such 
iK)l)U;  and  galhuit  troops  as  we  undoubtedly  had  in  our  old  Second  Corps,  and 
iis  leaviutj  out  this  leeling,  I  believe  to-day,  that  next  to  our  lla<>,  we  love  our 
old  corps  badge,  the  red  trefoil. 

I  remember  a  visit  I  once  paid  to  our  lirst  brigade  commander,  Urigatlier- 
Oeueral  William  H.  French,  after  he  had  been  promoted,  and  was  at  the  time 
in  command  of  a  division  in  another  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

As  I  was  about  to  leave,  he  drew  from  his  pocket-book  a  simple  red  trefoil, 
one  cut  from  red  flannel  and  as  issued  at  the  time  by  tlm  government,  with  the 
remark,  "When  f  feel  homesick  and  downhearted  1  take  this  out  and  look  at 
it,  and  it  cheers  me  up."  We  old  soldiers  undei stand  tliat  fedinji  and  proba- 
l)ly  have  the  same  lor  it  now. 

By  the  country  at  large  of  course,  the  Fifty -thirtl  Pennsylvania  Veteran  Vol- 
unteers may  be  regarded  simply  as  one  of  the  numerous  regiments  which  were 
organized  and  sent  to  the  iront  during  the  war  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
served  the  purpose  of  its  creation  and  was  then  disbanded.  To  us  however  it 
hiis  more  stirring  as  well  as  more  tender  memories,  and  is  still  a  living  reality, 
binding  us  together  in  the  warm  affection  of  comradeship  aiul  will  be  while 
life  itself  is  left  to  any  of  us. 

It  is  this  feeling  of  affection  for  our  old  regiment  which  gives  us  our  deep 
appreciation  for  this  memorial,  for  next  to  the  soldier's  personal  consciousness 
that  he  and  his  comrades  fulfllled  their  duty  on  the  lield  is  its  public  acknowl- 
edgement, and  this  crowning  gratification  of  the  soldier  is  given  us  in  this  monu- 
ment, and  when  we  once  again  leave  the  field  of  Gettysburg  we  may  do  .so  with 
the  feeling  that  our  work  here  is  indeed  completed,  but  with  the  added  assur- 
auce  that  the  Fifty-third  Pennsylvania,  vigilant  in  its  country's  cause,  will 
hereafter,  even  when  we  may  all  be  sleeping  the  long  sleep,  still  maintain  on 
permanent  post  a  sentinel  to  represent  the  Fifty-third  Pennsylvania  Veteran 
Volunteers,  and  by  his  silent  presence  keep  alive  the  same  self-sacriticing  pa- 
triotism it  displayed.  , 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

56™  REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

September   ii,   1889 
ADDRESS  OF  BREVET  BRIG.-GEN.  J.  WILLIAM  HOFMANN,  U.  .S.  VOLS. 

SURVIVING  comrades  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Veteran 
Volunteers — I  greet  30U: — We  are  assembled  to-day  to  dedicate  the 
memorial  erected  by  the  liberality  of  our  great  Commonwealth  in  appre- 
ciation of  your  services  upon  this  field.  The  memorial  marks  the  ground 
whereon  you  stood,  twenty-five  years  ago,  as  the  representative  of  her  infantry 
regiments,  at  the  opening  of  the  great  battle  which  here  took  place,  one  of 
the  long  series  of  battles  fought  during  the  great  struggle  for  the  preservation 
and  perpetuation  of  the  Union,  and  its  beneficent  government,  under  which  its 
people  had  made  such  rapid  aud  unprecedented  progress  in  all  that  tends  to  the 
elevation  and  happiness  of  man.  In  fact  a  struggle  the  most  momentous  and 
far-reaching  in  its  character  aud  in  its  results,  of  any  that  ever  devolved  upon 


312  Pennsylvania  at  GeUysJmrg. 

mail  to  (It'tennino.  A  strugjiU'  duiiiig  which  the  patriotism  aud  devotion  of 
ilie  i)eoj)U'  ot  thi'  Com inon wealth  ol'  Pennsylvania  to  the  eause  of  ]il)erty  and 
luimau  freedom,  was  voiced  in  her  contriluitions  of  treasure,  and  the  lives  and 
services  of  her  sons. 

Owing  to  her  geographical  position  at  the  lime  of  the  adoption  of  the  Cousti 
tntion  of  the  United  States — having  six  .states  upon  her  right,  and  six  upon  her 
left,  Pennsylvania  wa.s  accorded  the  lionorarv'  title  of  the  "Keystone  State"  of 
the  federal  arch.  And,  although  no  longer,  geographically,  the  center  of  the 
arch,  which  for  many  years  has  spanned  the  Continent  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
yet  when  the  grand  arch  was  trembling  under  the  measured  tramp  of  a  mighty 
host  organized  and  marshalled  for  its  destruction,  then  the  <jrand  old  Common- 
wealth proved  worthy  of  the  mi.ssion  implied  by  her  title. 

The  memorial  marks  the  ground  whereou  you  stood  on  the  morning  of  July 
1.  1863.  ere  the  sun  had  reached  the  meridian.  It  .stands  within  forty  miles 
of  the  Capital  of  our  State,  to  which  point  you  came  from  its  most  distant  parts 
in  response  to  the  call  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  volunteers,  for 
three-years'  service  in  the  field,  in  defense  of  our  country's  flag.  There,  in 
Camp  ("urtin — .so  iiamed  in  honor  of  the  patriotic,  zealous  aud  efficient  War 
(lovernor — you  were  organized  into  a  regiment,  and  instructed  in  the  duties  of 
tlie  .soldier.  Thus  the  regiment  was  pre-eminently  a  State  organization,  and  as 
a  unit,  was  without  any  local  ties,  a  fitting  circumstance  to  jjrecede  its  distin- 
guished services  upon  this  memorable  field.  And  no  less  was  it  iire-eminently, 
a  volunteer  organization. 

On  the  morning  of  March  8,  ls6'i.  the  regiment,  under  command  of  Colonel 
S.  A.  Meredith,  moved  from  Camp  Curtin  with  nearly  eight  hundred  officeis 
and  men  destined  for  the  Army  of  the  I'otomac,  then  at  Washington.  Sixteen 
mouths  of  active  field  service  and  the  sun  of  that  July  morning  shone  down  upon 
the  regiment  as  it  came  upon  this  field  with  its  eft'ective  force  reduced  to  seven- 
teen ofiicers.  t  wo  hundred  and  thirty-five  men;  and  trire  is  it  also,  that  the  regi- 
ment was  back  withiij  the  borders  of  our  State,  and  within  so  short  a  distance 
from  the  camp  of  rendezvous,  and  that  the  great  .struggle  in  which  it  had  been 
engaged  was  still  undecided.  If  we  follow  the  track  of  the  regiment's  march, 
wc  shall  lind.  however,  that  it  had  already'  marched  a  great  distance,  that  it 
had  already  cro.ssed  many  fields  of  battle,  had  moved  over  roads  covered  with 
stifling  dust,  or  bottomless  mud.  through  exhausting  heat,  through  biting  cold, 
through  rain  and  hail  and  .snow,  had  forded  rapid  streams  aud  crossed  rugged 
mountains.  The  exposure  incidental  to  these  marches  had  brought  many  a 
stout-liearted  comrade  to  the  hospital  vai.  to  rise  only  after  months  of  agonizing 
])ain,  and  ])erhaps  with  health  irreparably  shattered,  or  there  to  end  his  days 
upon  earth.  .Vdd  to  the.se  cases,  the  long  list  of  comrades  killed  and  wounded 
in  the  1)attles,  and  the  absent  at  that  morning's  loll-call  are  accounted  for. 

Moving  liv  rail,  that  factor  so  essential  losucH'e.ss  in  modern  warfare,  the  regi- 
ment arrived  at  "Washington  on  the  morning  of  March  9,  und  encamped  on 
Kalorama  Heights.  Then  moved  to  Fort  Albany,  west  of  the  Potomac  river. 
Ai)ril  1,  it  moved  )i\  Imnl  in  the  ■Luwcr  Potomac""  to  guard  government  stores 
lc(t  there  by  Hooker's  Division,  which  had  gone  to  the  Penin.sula.  On  the 
"Mth.  the  regiment  was  (tarried  to  Aquia  Landing,  then  the  northern  ter- 
niiuus  of  the  Richmond  and  Wa.shingtoii  railroad.  There  the  regiment  was 
engaged  for  some;  tinu?  in  repairing  tli<'  wharf,  rrbiiildiiig  the  railroad,  cut- 
ting   wood    :ind    ntlicr   uncongenial   duties:     iinroiigcnial.    liccause   at    the   time 


Fennsi/luania  at  Gettyshitry.  313 

deeiucd  to  be  unsold ieiy  dniics.  Long  l)et'ore  the  war  liad  t)Cfn  ))ronglit 
to  a  close,  it  was  learned  that  destroying  and  rebuilding  railroads,  and  the  gen- 
eral use  of  the  pick,  and  the  spade,  and  th«'  axe,  formed  in  I'act  a  legitimate 
part  of  a  soldier's  duty.  May  7,  found  the  regiment  at  the  Rappahannock  riven-, 
engaged  in  guarding  the  railroad  back  to  the  Potomac  creek  bridge.  It  was 
now  assigned  to  the  brigade  commanded  by  General  A.  Doubleday,  and  known 
as  the  Second  Brigade,  FMrst  Division  (King's),  First  Corps  (McDowell's).  On 
the  afternoon  of  August  9,  the  regiment  joined  the  lirigade  column,  crossed  the 
Rappahannock  at  Fredericksburg,  and  entered  upon  the  march  that  led  to  Cedar 
Mountain,  tlience  to  the  battle-fields  of  Rappahannock  Station,  to  Sulphur  Spring, 
then  to  Gainesville,  where  Captain  Corman  gave  his  life  to  his  country,  and 
where  Colonel  Meredith  was  severeh'  wounded,  and  for  his  gallantry  here  was 
promoted  to  brigadier-general. — Then  to  Grovetou,  and  to  Manassas,  each  of 
these  in  turn  claiming  a  sanguinary  tribute  from  the  regiment.  Then  recrossing 
the  Potomac  river  at  Washington,  the  march  led  through  Frederick  city  and 
Middletown  to  the  foot  of  the  eastern  slope  of  the  South  Mountain,  about  a  mile 
north  of  Turner's  Gap, the  crest  of  the  mountain  at  the  time  glittering  with  the 
arms  of  the  enemj'.  A  gallant  ascent  of  the  steep  slope,  in  line  of  battle,  a  four 
hours*  fight,  and  the  victory  was  won.  Under  cover  of  the  night  the  enemy 
retreated.  Early  in  the  battle.  General  Hatch,  commanding  the  division,  was 
wounded,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Doubleday,  the  command  of  the  brigade 
then  devolved  upon  your  lieutenant-colonel,  and  remained  in  mj'  hands  until 
the  early  part  of  November  ;  the  command  of  the  regiment  devolved  upon  Cap- 
tain F.  "Williams.  This,  as  an  index  of  the  severity  of  our  losses  in  a  campaign 
then  extending  not  over  five  weeks,  for,  on  leaving  Fredericksburg  my  name 
stood  only  number  seven  in  the  order  of  seniority  upon  the  brigade  roster.  I 
pause  a  moment  in  the  narration  t^  pay  a  well-earned  tribute  to  two  officers 
■whom  it  became  necessary  now  to  detach  from  their  company  for  duty  upon 
my  improvised  staff,  Lieiitenant  (now  Colonel)  Laycock  and  his  friend  Lieu- 
tenant Samuel  Healy.  Although  new  to  the  duties  tliat  now  devolved  upon 
them,  the  euerg}%  zeal  and  efficiency  with  which  these  were  performed,  con- 
firmed my  admiration  for  them,  awakening  in  the  night  battles  at  Gainesville 
and  at  Gros'eton,  and  which  was  never  le.sseued  thereafter,  Avhether,  in  many 
changes  which  followed,  they  served  in  the  line  or  on  the  staff  Next  morning, 
September  15,  the  road  was  again  open  for  the  march  that  now  led  to  the  field, 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  warfare,  as  the  battle  of  Antietam.  A  battle  of 
charges  and  counter-charges,  but  a  victory  .so  fruitful  in  its  results.  The  enemy 
was  driven  back  into  Virginia,  IMaryland  was  saved  to  the  Union.  The  intense 
anxiety  ol  the  people  of  the  North  fcjr  the  safety  of  the  National  Capital  was  re- 
lieved. President  Lincoln  utilized  the  victory  as  a  fulcrum  for  his  pen,  and 
sent  fortli  the  edict,  one  of  the  mightiest,  most  just,  most  humane  of  any  issued 
l)y  a  ruler  during  historic  times — the  edict  that  expunged  for  all  time  the  word 
slave  from  our  statute  book.  Thenceforth  all  who  .stood  beneath  our  country's 
flag  stood  there  as  freemen.  Such  were  the  results  that  were  wrought  by  the 
victory  achieved  by  the  valor  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  upon  the  field  of 
Antietam. 

October  30  found  the  regiment  again  cro.ssingthe  Potomac  river  into  Virginia, 
now  by  a  pontoon  bridge  laid  at  Berlin.  The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  under 
General  Lee,  was  retreating  southward  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  The 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  General  McClellan,  was  pursuing  in  the  Loudoun 


314  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

valley.  The  First  Corps,  under  General  lieynolds,  with  our  division,  under 
General  i)oul)leda\,  leading,  was  in  the  advance;  our  cavalry,  under  General 
rie;u<onton,  was  in  Iront,  engaged  in  driving  the  enemy's  cavalry,  under  General 
Stuart,  into  the  gai)s  of  the  mountain  that  forms  the  wall  dividing  the  two  val- 
leys. When  in  Iront  of  Philomont,  General  Pleasonton  requestetl  an  infantry 
support.  Our  brigade  was  honored  by  being  detailed  for  this  special  duty,  and 
on  the  morning  of  November  2,  it  reported  to  him  while  in  front  of  the  town 
of  Union,  and  at  the  time  sharply  engaged  with  the  enemy.  In  conformity 
with  his  directions,  the  brigade  was  formed  in  line  of  battle,  and  then  advanced 
steadily  from  point  to  point  throughout  the  day,  and  steadily  the  enemy  wa.s 
dri%en  back.  The  next  day  the  brigade  held  the  ground  that  had  V)een  gained 
and  the  cavalry,  aided  by  the  First  New  Hampshire  Battery,  then  forming  part 
of  the  brigade,  drove  the  enemy  through  Upperville  into  Ashby'sGap.  General 
Pleasonton,  in  his  note  from  Fpperville,  on  the  evening  of  November  3,  in- 
forming General  Doubleday  that  he  will  not  need  the  services  of  the  brigade 
any  further,  pays  a  well-earned  tribute  to  your  gallantry  on  the  preceding  day. 
Gratifying  to  the  soldier,  as  is  the  commendation  of  his  commanding  officer, 
no  less  so  is  that  extorted  from  his  enemy.  Since  the  close  of  the  war,  a 
number  of  those  who  were  against  you  in  battle  on  that  day,  have  placed  them- 
selves upon  record,  freely  according  your  gallantry  and  success  in  your  several 
attacks  upon  them. 

Rejoining  the  division  at  Rectortown  on  the  evening  of  the  5th,  the  march 
led  to  Warrenton,  where  General  McClellan  was  relieved,  and  General  Burn- 
side  was  placed  in  command  of  the  army.  Then  the  march  led  back  to  Aquia 
Landing.  Then*  to  the  battle-field  of  Fredericksburg;  and  after  the  sanguinary 
repulse  the  army  met  with  on  the  right — to  the  winter's  camp,  near  Belle  Plain 
on  the  Potomac  river,  where  it  rested  till  the  close  of  April.  During  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg  the  division,  under  General  Doubleday,  was  in  line  along  the 
Bowling  Green  road,  on  the  left  of  the  army,  ready  to  advance.  When  the 
army  withdrew  on  the  night  of  the  loth  Decem]>er,  although  you  were  not  the 
extreme  left,  you  had  gained  the  confidence  of  General  Reynolds  so  fully,  that, 
by  his  direct  order,  you  were  detailed  to  cover  the  withdrawing  of  the  troops 
from  that  part  of  the  field,  and  were  the  last  regiment  to  leave  it. 

The  only  incident  of  special  note  during  the  camp  life  that  now  followed  be- 
ing that  known,  and  vividly  remembered  by  those  who  participated,  as  the 
'•  mud  march,"  and  another  change  in  commanding  officers:  General  Hooker 
assuming  command  of  the  army.  General  Wadsworth  that  of  the  division  and 
General  Cutler  that  of  the  brigade.  Then  followed  the  second  Fredericksburg. 
Then  Chancellorsville,  with  humiliating  and  depressing  results.  Then  the  regi- 
ment rested  again  in  camp  for  a  few  weeks,  now  near  the  Fitzhugh  House  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  a  few  miles  below  Fredericksburg. 

I.ate  on  the  afternoon  of  .lune  7,  the  regiment  entered  upon  the  Gettysburg 
campaign;  again  honored  by  special  detail.  Some  days  previous  our  cavalry 
had  gone  on  a  reconnaissance  in  force  in  the  direction  of  Culpeper.  An  infantry 
force  was  now  sent  to  its  support.  The  Sixth  and  the  Eleventh  corps  each 
furnished  a  brigade.  The  First  Corps  furnishing  a  provisional  brigade,  consist- 
ing of  the  Fifty-sixth  Pennsylvania  and  the  Seventh  Regiment  and  two  com- 
panies of  the  Second  Regiment  Wisconsin  Volunteers.  The  whole  of  the  in- 
fantry assembled,  about  midnight,  at  Hartwood  Church,  under  command  of 
General  Russell  of  the  Sixth  Corps.    On  the  morniug  of  the  yth  the  detail  from 


Pennst/lvania  at  Getfffsburg.  315 

ilie  First  Corps  moved  to  Kelly's  I'dkI  oh  the  KaiUKiluinnock  river,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th,  when  the  cavalry  under  General  Ciregg  had  crossed,  forded 
the  river  and  moved  to  near  Brandy  Station.  At  noon  the  Fifty-sixth  was  de- 
tached, and  moved  to  Beverly  Ford,  where  it  covered  the  recrossing  of  a  part  of 
(jllir  (!avalry,  the  regiment  recrossing  at  dark,  and  being  the  last  of  our  troops 
to  recross  at  that  point.  On  the  i;>tli  the  regiment  rejoined  the  brigade  at 
Bealton,  the  whole  division  having  arrived  there.  Then  the  manth  led  to  Cen- 
terville.  then  to  near  Leesburg. 

The  army  under  General  Lee  having  again  cro.ssed  the  Potomac,  wa.s  now 
moving  on  Harrisburg,  via  the  C'unil)erland  Valley. 

The  Army  of  tlie  Potomac  pursued,  the  First  Corps  cros.sed  the  river,  over  a 
pontoon  bridge  laid  at  the  mouth  of  Goose  creek,  on  the  25th,  then  moved  imi 
Jefferson,  the  Catoctin  Mountain  and  Middletown,  to  F'rederick  City.  General 
Hooker  having  asked  to  be  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  army,  General 
Meade,  then  commanding  the  Fifth  Corps,  was  assigned  to  the  command  and 
entered  upon  his  new  duties  by  issuing  tlie  following  modestly-worded,  .soldierly 
and  effective  order  : 

"By  direction  of  the  President  ef  the  United  States  I  hereby  assume  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  As  a  soldier,  in  obeying  tliis  order,  an  order  totally  unexpected 
and  unsolicited,  I  have  no  promises  or  pledges  to  make.  The  country  looks  to  this  army 
to  relieve  it  from  the  devastation  and  disgrace  of  a  hostile  mvasion.  Whatever  fatigue 
and  sacrifices  we  may  be  called  on  to  undergo,  let  us  have  In  view  constantly  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  interests  involved,  and  let  each  man  determine  to  do  his  duty,  leaving  to 
an  ail-controlling  Providence  the  decision  of  the  contest.  It  is  with  just  diffidence  that 
I  relieve  in  the  command  of  this  army  an  eminent  and  accomplished  soldier,whose  name 
must  ever  appear  conspicuous  in  the  history  of  its  achievements,  but  I  rely  upon  the 
hearty  support  of  my  companions  in  arms  to  assist  me  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
the  important  trust  that  has  been  confided  to  me.'"  George  G.  Meade. 

Major  Oeneral  Ctrmmandmg. 

On  the  29th  our  brigade  was  detailed  for  duty  as  the  rear-guard  of  the  corps. 
The  regiment — which  had  been  on  picket  duty  during  tlie  night  under  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Osborn,  as  gallant  an  officer  as  ever  drew  sword,  and  as  efficient 
as  he  was  gallant — came  in  about  5  a.  m.,  and  was  soon  formed  in  column  ready 
for  the  march.  But  a  long  wagon  train  was  passing,  and  there  was  a  tedious 
delay;  it  was  after  9  a.  m.  when  the  column  was  put  in  motion,  and  then  kept 
in  rapid  motion,  with  but  two  short  rests,  until  after  midnight,  when  it  went 
into  bivouac  near  the  southern  end  of  Emmitsburg.  At  a  very  early  hour  on 
the  30th,  it  was  in  line  of  battle  in  front  of  the  town,  and  at  noon  went  into 
bivouac  on  the  south  bank  of  Marsh  creek,  near  where  it  crossed  by  the  bridge 
on  the  Emmitsburg-Gettysburg  pike.  During  the  afternoon  there  was  the 
usual  bi-monthly  muster  for  pay,  then  a  formation  in  line  of  battle  to  resist  an 
apprehended  attack  by  the  enemy,  then  came  tattoo  with  its  roll  call.  How 
many  brave  comrades  answered  that  roll  call  "Here"  for  the  last  time  !  Then 
came"  taps,"  and  the  regiment  slept,  slept  all  the  more  soundly  because  of  the 
brief,  early  broken  rest  of  the  previous  night;  and  all  unconscious  of  the  mo- 
mentous events  that  the  morrow  had  in  store  for  it. 

On  the  morning  of  .July  1,  the  brigade  moved  out  at  about  8  o'clock,  crossed 
the  creek  by  the  bridge  on  the  pike,  and  moved  on  Gettysburg,  distant  about 
four  miles.  The  Seveuty-si.xth  New  York  led  the  brigade,  the  Fifty-sixth  Penn- 
.sylvania  followed,  and  was  itself  followed  by  the  One  hundred  and  forty-sev- 
enth New  York,  Ninety-fifth  New  York  and  the  Fourteenth  Brooklyn.  The 
Seventh  Indiana  w.as  detailed  for  special  duty.     In  rear  of  the  brigade  followed 


31 G  Pennsylvania  at  Getfi/slnirg. 

Hall's  battery.     In  front  of  the  brigade  rode  General  Cutler  and  stalf,  in  front 
ofhiiu,  General  AVadsworth  and  staff,  in  the  advance  rode  General  Keynolds 
and  staff".     At  the  farm,  now  known  historically  as  theCodori  Farm,  the  column 
left  the  pike,  inclined  to  the  left  andcros.sed  the  Seminary  Ridge  near  the  sem- 
inary building,  descended  into  the  swale  in  front  of  it;  then  the  Seventy-sixth, 
Fifty -sixth  and  One  hundred  and  forty-seventh  were  moved  north  across  the 
Getty.sburg-Chambersburg  pike,  and  beyond  the  railroad  grading,  and  were 
then  IbrTned  in  line  of  battle  near  the  gentle  elevation  upon  which  you  now 
stand.     The  regiment  was  then  moved  forward  a. short  distance.     As  the  hori- 
zon opened,  a  line  of  battle  was  seen  approaching  to  the  right  and  front.  Gen- 
eral Cutler  being  in  your  immediate  rear,  having  decided  that  the  line  was  a 
line  of  the  enemy,  you  received  the  command  to  aim  to  the  "right  oblique,"" 
and  then  the  command  to  "tire,"'  when  you  delivered  the  opening  tire  of  the  in- 
fantry, in  the  great  and  decisive  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Thus  the  honor  of  hav- 
ing delivered  the  opening  fire  of  the  infantry,  belongs  to  no  individual  officer 
or  man,  but  to  the  Fifty-sixth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  as  a  unit.     And  it  is 
doing  you  but  simple  justice  to  state,  as  an  indication  of  the  coolness  and  steadi- 
ness of  the  officers  and  men  nnder  the  exciting  circumstances,  that  a  more 
solid  volley,  "by  battalion,"  has  seldom  been  heard.     General  Cutler,  a  few 
months  afterwaids,  deemed  the  event  so   well  worthy  ot  note,  that  he  Avrote  to 
Governor  Curtin,  setting  forth  thefac-t  that  it  was  the  Fifty-sixth  Pennsylvania 
"Volunteers  that  opened  the  battle,  and  reciuested  him  to  have  it  so  recorded  in 
the  archives  of  the  Commonwealth  as  an  act  of  justice  to  the  regiment.     And 
so  it  has  been  done,  and  so  it  now  appears  to  your  honor,  in  the  enduring 
bronze  memorial  now  before  you.     The  event  cannot  be  relegated  to  the  chap- 
ter of  accidents.     You  were  not  the  leading  regiment  that  morning,  the  result 
was  owing  in  fact  to  long  persistent  eliorts,  to  cheerful  compliance  with  all 
orders,  many  involving  great  sacrifice  to  personal  comforts.     Comrades,  this  it 
was,  constant  cheerful  obedience  to  all  orders,  that  enabled  you  to  give  prompt 
response  to  commands  when  the  instant  for  action  arrived;  and  it  has  there- 
lore,  been  deemed  proper  that  the  event  should  be,  as  stated,  so  recorded  in  the 
enduring  bronze,  together  with  the  long  list  of  battles,  before  and  since  the  bat- 
tle of  Gettysburg,  in  which  the  regiment  bore  an  honorable  part.     There  is  also 
recorded  in  the  bronze  the  fact  that  the  regiment  re-enlisted  and  became  a  vet- 
eran regiment  serving  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Tlie  severe  losses  sustained  on  this  ground  by  the  three  regiments,  caused 
General  Wadsworth  to  order  them  to  retire  for  a  time.  General  Cutler  then 
moved  the  Fifty-sixth  and  the  Seventy-sixth  to  the  railroad  embankment  east 
of  the  Seminary  Kidge;  but  when  they  were  rejoined  there  by  the  One  hundred 
and  Ibrty-soventh,  which  had  not  received  the  order  at  once,  ))y  reason  of  Col- 
onel Miller  being  wounded,  and  had  held  on  to  its  ground  heroically,  as  the 
other  two  regiments  had  done  until  the  order  was  received — the;  three  regi*- 
ments  were  at  once  moved  forward  and  again  occupied  their  original  ground. 
In  the  meantime,  the  Fourteenth  Brooklyn  and  the  Ninety -fifth  New  York, 
which  had  been  detached  after  having  crossed  the  Seminary  Kidge,  and  sent 
westward,  under  Colonel  Fowler,  to  support  Hall's  battery  which  went  into 
l)Osition  near  the  ^NlcPher.son  barn — being  joined  by  the  Sixth  "Wisconsin  under 
I.ieutcnaiit-Coloncl  Dawes,  of  the  First  P.rigade,  that  had  now  arrived  ujion 
the  field— had  caj>turod  a  large  number  of  the  enemy  who  had  taken  shelter  in 
the  railroad  c\it  upon   their  approach.     The   First    Brigade,  u])on  its  arrival. 


Pennsylvania  at  frcftysburg.  317 

charged  into  the  woods  south  of  the  pike,  ami  iiui  with  a  hrilliant  success, 
capturing  a  general  officer  and  a  large  part  ol'  his  hrigadc.  It  i.i  deserving  of 
note  to  state  that  iu  this  first  onset  with  the  enemy,  Wadsworth's  Division, 
which  consisted  of  only  the  iwo  brigades,  aiul  also  the  division  of  Heth's  with 
which  it  was  then  engaged,  both  h)st  a  greater  i)ercentage,  in  killed  and 
wounded  than  was  sustained  by  the  column  of  the  enemy  that  made  the  charge 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  tliird  day  of  the  battle,  and  which  has  comnuxnded  so 
much  attention  as  a  grand  exhibition  of  valor.  Early  in  this  onset  an  irre- 
parable loss  had  befallen  us,  the  army  and  the  country  !  General  Reynolds, 
then  commanding  the  First,  the  Third,  and  the  Eleventh  Corps,  constituting 
the  left  wing  of  the  army,  had  fallen.  Among  those  of  the  regiment  who  had 
fallen,  was  Lieutenant  Gordon,  who  had  earned  his  commission  by  brave  and 
faithful  service  in  the  ranks.  General  Doubleday,  our  former  brigade  and  divi- 
sion commander,  now  commanding  the  corp.s,  directed  the  movements  after  the 
fall  of  Reynolds.  Subsetiuently  (General  Howard  arrived,  and,  by  virtue  of 
seniority,  assumed  command  of  the  left  wing  of  the  army.  A  lull  in  the  battle 
now  followed.  It  lasted  for  over  an  hour.  Additional  forces  of  the  enemy 
came  from  Cashtown  on  the  west,  from  Carlisle  on  the  north,  and  from  York  on 
the  east.  The  Second  and  the  Third  Divisions  of  our  corps  also  arrived,  and, 
later,  the  Eleventh  Corps. 

The  three  right  regiments  of  Cutler's  were  now  moved  to  the  north  end  of 
the  wood  on  Seminary  Ridge,  in  front  of  which  was  a  tield  of  grain  in  full  ear. 
Here  they  became  immediately  engaged  with  Iverson's  Brigade  of  Rodes'  Di- 
vision. They  were  now  soon  joined  by  the  Fourteenth  and  Ninety-tifth,  and  then 
supported  on  the  right  by  Ba.xter's  Brigade  of  Robin.sou's  Division  of  our  corps, 
and  by  joint  action  a  large  part  of  what  was  then  left  of  Iverson's  Brigade  was 
then  captured.  The  ammunition  of  Cutler's  Brigade  was  now  expended,  and 
it  was  relieved  by  Paul's  Brigade  and  moved  to  the  east  slope  of  the  ridge,  but 
while  here,  it  was  enfiladed  by  a  battery  that  the  enemy  had  placed  in  position 
on  Oak  Hill.  The  extreme  right  of  our  corps  was  at  this  time  gallantly  held 
by  the  Ninetieth  Pennsylvania  of  Baxter's  Brigade.  The  Eleventh  Corps  wa.s 
then  formed  nearly  at  right  angles  with  the  general  direction  of  oui  (iorps;  but 
an  opening  was  left  on  our  right,  and  into  this  the  enemy  i)enetrated,  and  our 
line  then  became  untenable.  Then  came  the  order  to  retire,  l)ut  it  came  late, 
so  that  while  passing  through  the  thronged  streets  of  the  town  the  brigade  lost 
heavily  by  capture.  It  reformed  in  the  cemetery,  and  was  there  rejoined  by 
the  Seventh  Indiana.  But  that  regiment  was  at  once  sent  to  Culp's  Hill,  by 
order  of  General  Hancock,  who  had  been  sent  forward  by  General  Meade  to  as- 
sume command  of  all  the  forces  then  present;  there  that  regiment,  under  Col- 
onel Grover,  rendered  invaluable  services  iu  capturing  a  scouting  party,  or 
rather  a  part  of  it,  for  some  escaped  and  the  report  which  these  made  influenced 
General  Ewell  in  postponing  the  attack  on  the  hill  which  he  had  proposed  to 
make  that  evening,  until  next  day.  Never  was  delay  more  fatal  !  A  short 
time  sufficed  to  reinforce  the  thin  line  of  the  Seventh  by  the  remnant  left  of 
Wadsworth's  Division,  and  then  came  shortly,  a  division  of  the  Twelfth  Corps, 
having  upon  its  battle  flag  a  silver  star.  And  when  Ewell's  Corps  made  the 
attack  on  the  following  evening,  you  had  the  honor  of  aiding  in  inflicting  the 
sanguinary  repulse  that  it  then  met  with.  During  the  afternoon  of  that  day 
the  enemy  had  made  a  vigorous  and  persistent  attack  on  the  left  of  our  lines 
then  resting  far  out  iu  front  of  the  Round  Tops,  and  at  flrst  gained  some  ground. 


318  ]'('unsiih:ani(t  nf   (rcffi/shitrg. 

l»ressiii<i  our  tioojis  haok  to  the  geueral  liiu';  but  there  they  met  with  a  san- 
guinary repulse.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  of  the  battle,  the  enemy 
opened  a  cannonade  from  his  guns  stationed  along  the  Seminary  Ridge,  and  di- 
reeted  against  our  troojis  holding  the  Cemetery  Ridge,  hoping  to  shake  the  morale 
of  our  troops,  then  penetrate  there  and  cut  our  army  in  two  !  The  cannonade 
lasted  for  two  hours,  during  which  th«>  very  hills  seemed  to  be  shaken  by  tlie 
roar  of  the  two  liundred  guns  that  were  brought  into  action.  But  the  can- 
nonade failed  in  its  object;  tlie  morale  of  our  troops  remained  unshaken,  as  tho 
enemy  discovered,  when,  allowing  his  overheated  guns  to  cool,  he  launched 
forth  that  great  column  of  infantry  in  which  he  had  placed  his  last  hopes  for 
success,  and  he  saw  that  great  column  torn,  broken  and  shattered  to  pieces. 
Thus  ripon  its  left,  upon  its  right,  and  at  the  center,  the  army  had  in  turn  been 
attacked;  and  at  the  left,  at  the  right  and  at  the  center,  it  had  inflicted  a  san- 
guinary repulse  u}X)n  the  assaihmt.  and  had  thus  proved  itself  worthy  of  tlie 
contidenee  that  was  repo.sed  in  it  l)y  its  new  commander,  the  illustrious  Meade. 

Late  on  tlie  afternoon  of  this  day.  the  Fifty-sixth,  Seventh  and  the  Ninety- 
lifth.  were  detached  from  the  lirigade  and  moved  to  the  foot  of  the  eastern  slope 
of  Cemetery  Ridge,  to  support  the  batteries  upon  the  crest,  and  within  the 
cemetery  grounds,  and  remained  in  sujjport  of  these  during  the  night.  Next 
morning  (July  4)  the  Fifty-sixth  and  the  Seventh  were  moved  through  tlur 
town  to  the  northeast  angle,  with  the  view  ol  bringing  in  the  wounded  that 
might  be  found  on  the  tield  in  that  direction;  but  after  some  delay  after  having 
arrived  at  that  point,  the  movement  was  suspended,  and  the  two  regiments  re- 
joined the  iirigade  then  still  upon  Gulp's  Hill. 

On  the  morning  of  the  oth,  the  ))rigade  moved  to  tlie  western  slojie  of  Ceme- 
tery Ridge,  and  bivouacked  near  the  ground  charged  over  by  the  enemy  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  third  day  of  the  battle,  and  remained  there  trntil  the  morning  of 
the  (ith.  The  field  return  of  the  regiment  for  that  day,  shows  "present  for 
duty"  eleven  othcers,  one  hundred  and  eleven  men.  Of  the  losses,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  o(!cnrred  on  the  tirst  day  of  the  battle.  A  terrible  loss,  but 
the  victory  wiis  won  1  And  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  tinder  General  Ivce, 
was  again  inovitig  rapidly  for  the  Potomac  river. 

Comrades,  the  great  lo.s.ses  sustained  on  this  lield  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  liy  its  adversary,  would  alone  cause  tlic  battle  of  (Jettysburg  to  rank  as  one 
of  the  greatest  ])attles  of  the  world;  but  l)eyond.  are  potent  rea.sons  why  it  will 
be  .so  classed. 

It  cnlminated  in  defeating  a  great  and  powerful  host,  one  of  a  number  that 
had  been  organized  and  marshalled  to  destroy  that,  which  in  the  language  of 
the  immortal  Lincoln  was — and  let  us  thank  Providence  that  it  .still  is — "a  gov- 
ernment of  the  people,  for  the  people  and  by  the  people,"  it  was  upon  this  lield 
that  that  great  host  which  you  had  met  on  so  many  fields  of  battle,  was  defeated 
and  turned  back  n^jon  the  march  that  thereafter  ever  led  .southward;  and  al- 
though at  times  .standing  at  ])ay.  and  olwtinately  lighting,  still,  ever  thereafter 
march<'d  southward,  until  at  Apjiomattox  it  finally  surrendered  its  coloi-s  to  the 
grand,  undaunted,  indestructible  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Comrades,  when  the  grand  master  of  the  art  of  warfare  had  carried  his  army 
to  the  foot  of  the  Pyramids,  and  was  surrounded  by  an  active,  vigilant  foe,  de- 
siring to  animate  his  troops  to  renewed  deeds  of  valor  in  the  impending  ])attle. 
he  turned  to  them,  and.  pointing  to  th<>  Pyramids,  exclaimed.  "Soldiers  !  Fortr 
<enturies  are  looking  down  upon  y<iu  I  "     (.'omrades,  no  voice  calls  ui>on  you 


fHOTO.     BV     W.     M.     TIPTON,     GETTYSBURG 


Pennsylvania  at   (rcftysburg.  319 

to-day  for  ront^wed  deeds  ol'  vulor  !  Your  worlv  is  done,  your  arms  are  staeked. 
and  yonr  battle  flag,  rent  and  torn  so  olt  by  shot  and  shell,  is  I'uiled.  Ten 
times  forty  centuries  will  not  obliterate  from  the  pages  of  the  world's  history 
the  deeds  of  valor  which  you  and  your  comrades  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  per- 
formed on  the  many  battle-fields  whose  names  cluster  around  that  of  Gettysburg. 
But  liark  !  There  comes  a  voice,  softly,  calling  to  you  !  It  comes  from  yon- 
der slope  where  victory  on  high  tenders  the  wreath  ol'  laurel.  It  comes  from 
the  many  battle-fields  that  border  the  Potomac,  the  ]iapi)aliannock,  the  Kapi- 
dan,  the  North  Anna,  the  Totojjotomoj',  the  Chickahomiuy,  the  James  and  the 
Appomattox  rivers.  It  comes  from  the  graves  of  comrades  who  fought  at  your 
aide,  and  who,  while  gallantly  fighting,  fell.  It  asks  a  kind  recognition  at 
this  hour  for  those  who  sleep  in  a  patriot-soldier's  grave  I  Comrades,  in  appre- 
ciation of  their  gallant  deeds,  in  the  ai>preciation  ol  the  .saeiufice  whicli  they 
made,  and  all  that  these  hav(>  brought  to  their  surviving  comrades  and  to  all  who 
dwell  in  the  land,  let  us  respond  by  embalming  their  memory  .sacredly  within 
our  hearts.  And  let  us  thank  Providence,  that  in  taking  a  retrospective  view 
from  this  field  to-day,  there  comes,  irresistibly,  the  conviction,  that  the  great 
and  incomputable  exiienditure  of  treasure  and  of  life,  and,  incidentally,  the  un- 
told suflering  and  distress  extending  far  beyond  the  lines  where  the  hosts  were 
contending,  that  the  sacrifice  has  not  been  in  vain;  that  the  victory  will  redound 
to  the  happiness  of  millions  who  will  follow  us  in  the  distant  future;  that  al- 
ready a  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed  since  the  la.st  Confederate  banner  dis- 
appeared from  the  land;  that  upon  this  very  field  the  survivors  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  have  extended,  in  amity,  the  fraternal  hand  to  those  wlio  were 
their  adversaries  on  so  many  fields  of  battle:  that  again  the  llag  of  the  Republic, 
with  its  union  glittering  with  an  intensified  luster,  waves  unchallenged  and 
gracefullj',  overall  the  land,  from  the  i)ine-crested  hills  of  Maine  southward  to 
the  Rio  Grande,  and  from  the  Atlantic  ocean  westward  1o  the  Golden  Gate,  the 
symbol  of  a  free  and  reunited  people. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

57'^"  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

.Sp:i'Tember  i  i,  1889 

ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  E.  C.  STROUSS 

(COMRADES  : —  The  men  composing  the  Fifty -seventh  Regiment  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers  assembled  in  skeleton  companies  at  Camp  Curtin  at 
;      Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  during  the  autumn  months  of  1861.     These 
companies  receiving  recruits  from  time  to  time,  were,  about  the  middle 
of  November,  merged  into  the  Fifty-seventh  Regiment.     The  men  of  the  differ- 
ent companies  were  principally  from  the  following  counties  of  the  state,  viz  : 

Company  A,  Susquehanna  and  Wyoming;  Company  B  and  C,  Mercer;  Com- 
pany D,  Bradford  and  Tioga;  Company  E,  Mercer  and  .\llegheny;  Company 
F,  Mercer;  Company  G,  Bradford;  Company  I,  Mercer  and  Venango;  Company 
K,  Crawlbrd. 

The  original  field,  staft'and  line  otticersof  the  regiment  were  as  follows: 
Colonel,    William    Maxwell,   of  Mercer;     Lieutenant-Colonel,   Elhanon    W. 
Woods,  of  Mercer;  Major,  Jeremiah  Gulp,  of    Bradford;  Adjutant,  William  B. 


320  Pennsi/Ivania  at  Gettysburg. 

Keeper,  of  Allegheny;  Quartermuster,  Horace  Williston,  of  iiradford;  Surgeon, 
Jonas  \V.  Lyman,  of  Clinton;  Assistant  Surgeon,  A.  W.  Fisher,  of  Xorthumher- 
land;  Chaplain,  "William  F.  McAdam,  of  Mercer. 

The  company  commanders  were:  Company  A,  Captain  Peter  Sides;  B,  Cap- 
tain Samuel  C.  Simonton;  C,  Captain  Jerome  B.  Hoagland;  D,  Captain  Hiram 
\V.  Caulking;  E,  Captain  James  B.  Moore;  F,  Captain  Kalph  Maxwell;  G, 
Captain  George  S.  Peck;  H,  Captain  John  Grittin;  I,  Cai)tain  Thomas  S.  Stro- 
liecker;  K.  Captain  Cornelius  S.  Chase.  Non-commissioned  stafi':  Sergeant- 
Major  William  Wert  Chase;  Hospital-Steward  William  Bollinger;  Quarter- 
mxster-Sergeant  George  Snell;  Commi.ssary -Sergeant  John  H.  Rodgers.  The 
original  .strength  of  the  regiment  was  almost  eight  hundred  and  tifty,  including 
officers  and  men. 

About  the  1st  of  December,  the  regiment  received  its  arms.  Companies 
A  and  K  had  the  Belgian  rifle,  the  other  companies  the  Harper's  Ferry  muskets. 
These  were  exchanged  about  the  1st  of  January,  186'2,  for  the  Austrian  rifles. 
The  latter  were  discarded  in  August,  186;>,  for  the  Springtield  rifled  muskets, 
which  remained  the  arm  of  the  regiment  until  the  clo.se  of  the  war. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  December  14,  the  regiment  received  its  coloi-s, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies,  from  the  hands  of  Governor  Curtin,  and  was  then 
marched  to  the  railroad  near  camp,  where  it  boarded  the  empty  freight  cars 
en  route  for  Washington,  D.  C.  The  next  day  we  were  in  Baltimore  where  we 
were  well  fed  by  the  '"  Union  Relief  Association  ''  of  tliat  city.  During  the  fol- 
lowing night  we  arrived  at  Washington,  where  we  were  quartered  at  the  large 
building  known  as  the  "'Soldiers'  Retreat,  "'  adjoining  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
railroad  depot.  The  next  day,  after  receiving  a  sufficient  number  of  "Sibley 
tents,''  the  regiment  was  marched  to  a  point  about  a  mile  northeast  of  the 
capital,  where  it  encamped  near  the  toll  gate  on  the  old  Bladensburg  road. 
While  we  remained  in  the  camp  we  formed  a  part  of  the  Provisional  Brigade 
commanded  by  General  Silas  Casey.  In  February.  1862,  we  moved  across  the 
Potomac,  and  encamped  near  Fort  Lyon,  about  two  miles  southwest  of  Alex- 
andria, Virginia.  While  here  we  were  assigned  to  .Tameson's  Brigade  of 
Heintzelman's  Division.  On  March  8,  1862,  by  order  of  President  Lincoln,  the 
formaticjn  of  "'  Army  Corps  "  was  adopted.  General  Hcintzelman  was  assigned 
to  the  command  of  the  Third  Corps.  He  was  succeeded  in  command  of  his  di- 
vision (the  Third)  by  General  C.  S.  Hamilton.  The  First  and  Second  Divisions 
were  commanded  by  General  Fitz  .John  Porter  and  Josej)!!  I  looker  respectively. 
The  comix)sition  of  Hamilton's  Division  was  as  follows: 

First  Brigade,  General  C.  D.  .Tameson,  Fifty-seventh,  Sixty-third  and  One 
hundred  and  fifth,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  Eighty-Seventh  New  York 
Volunteers.  Second  Brigade,  General  D.  B,  Birney,  Third  and  Fourth  Maine 
Volunteers,  Thirty-eighth  and  Fortieth  New  York  Volunteei-s.  Third  Brigade, 
General  H.  G.  Berry,  Thirty-seventh  New  York  Volunteers,  Second,  Third  and 
Fifth  Michigan  Volunteers.  The  artillery  of  the  division  consisted  of  the  fol- 
lowing batteries:  Thompson's  Battery  G,  Second  United  States  Artillery; 
Beam's  Battery  B,  New  Jersey  Artillery,  and  Randoljjh's  Battery  E,  I'irst 
Rhode  Island  Artillery.  Colonel  Maxwell  of  the  Fifty-seventh  resigned  JMarch 
10,  1862,  and  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  Cluules  T.  Campbell,  formerly  colonel 
of  the  First  Pennsylvania  Artillery.  On  March  17,  Hamilton's  Division  began 
toembark  for  the  Peninsula.  The  Fifty-.seventh  marched  to  .Mexandria  on  that 
day,  but  as  the  transports  were  not  all  ready  we  passed  the  night  on  the  wliarves 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  321 

at  that  place,  and  next  morning  got  on  hoard  the  steamer  "  Kennebec,"  on  which 
was  also  a  part  of  the  One  hnndred  and  fifth  Pennsylvania,  and  steamed  down 
the  Potomac.  The  next  afternoon  we  landed  at  Fortress  Monroe  durinji  a  rain 
storm.  For  several  days  we  were  quartered  in  the  lofts  of  some  cavalry  she<ls, 
after  which  we  went  into  oamj)  near  the  burned  town  of  Hampton.  Here  for 
two  weeks  we  were  abundantly  exercised  in  drill,  inspections  and  reviews. 

On  the  morning  of  April  4,  we  struck  tents,  and  startetl  towards  Yorktown, 
Va.,  arriving  before  that  place  on  the  afternoon  of  April  5.  The  first  picket 
duty  of  the  regiment  was  performed  by  companies  A  and  K,  on  the  night  of  the 
6th.  On  the  left  of  the  line,  where  Company  K  Avas  stationed,  the  enemj' opened 
fire  on  the  morning  of  the  7th.  Their  fire  was  returned  witli  good  effect,  as  they 
were  seen  carrying  off  several  bodies,  while  on  our  side  there  were  no  casual- 
ties. While  the  regiment  was  on  picket  near  the  same  place,  a  few  days  later, 
we  were  fired  on  l»y  a  piece  of  the  enemy's  artillery  from  a  small  fort  in  our 
front.  One  of  their  shells  exploded  near  a  group  of  our  men,  killing  one  in- 
stantly. His  name  was  George  Varrick,  of  Company  G.  He  was  the  first  man 
killed  in  the  regiment.  The  first  skirmish  the  regiment  had  witli  the  enemy 
occurred  at  Palmentary's  peach  orchard  near  the  Warwick  road  on  the  after- 
noon of  April  11.  The  Sixty-third  Pennsylvania  was  on  picketand  was  fiercely 
attacked  by  the  enemy,  when  the  rest  of  our  brigade  was  ordered  out  in  sup- 
port. The  Fifty-seventh  formed  line  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  behind  a  rail 
fence,  and  soon  became  briskly  engaged  with  the  enemy.  Some  of  our  artil- 
lery also  opened  fire,  and  for  a  while  considerable  noise  was  made.  The  rebels 
were  driven  back  to  their  works  and  theaftair  was  soon  over.  In  this  skirmish 
four  men  of  the  Fifty-seventh  were  wounded,  one  of  them  dying  a  few  days 
afterward.  We  were  kept  busy  while  at  Yorktown,  constructing  earthworks 
and  roads,  picketing  and  skirmishing  with  the  enemy.  Out  of  the  thirty  days 
we  were  in  front  of  the  place  it  rained  at  least  twenty.  The  inclement  weather 
together  with  the  bad  water  we  were  obliged  to  drink  while  there,  greatly  in- 
crea,sed  our  sick  list,  so  that  we  were  obliged  to  leave  forty-five  sick  in  the 
hospitals  when  we  left  the  place. 

General  Hamilton  who  had  protested  against  the  excessive  fatigue  duty  re- 
quired of  his  men,  was  relieved  from  command  of  the  division  on  the  1st  of  May, 
and  succeeded  by  the  famous  one-armed  soldier  General  "Phil  Keamy. "  The 
enemy  evacuated  their  stronghold  at  Yorktown  on  Saturday  night.  May  3,  and 
the  next  morning  Stoneman's  Cavalry  and  Hooker's  Division  led  the  advance  in 
the  pursuit,  followed  by  our  division  about  3  p.  m.  We  marched  to  a  point  about 
three  miles  west  of  Yorktown,  and  then  encamped  for  the  night.  It  began  to 
rain  daring  the  night  and  continued  to  do  so  throughout  the  ne.xt  day.  We 
were  up  by  daylight  on  the  oth,  and  had  finished  our  breakfast,  expecting  to 
move  at  once  toward  the  front.  We  did  not  go  forward,  however,  until  9 
o'clock  a.  m.  Meanwhile  we  were  watching  the  troops  of  all  arms  moving  past 
us  toward  the  front.  When  we  did  start  we  had  gone  but  a  short  distance, 
when  we  found  our  march  much  obstructed  by  wagons  stuck  in  the  mud,  and 
by  the  troops  of  Sumner's  and  Keyes'  corps.  Hooker,  about  7  a.  m..  became 
engaged  with  the  enemy  at  Williamsburg,  twelve  miles  west  of  Yorktown,  and 
Kearny  was  striving  hard  to  go  to  his  assistance.  Our  brigade  was  the  rear 
one  in  the  division  that  day,  and  from  the  horrible  condition  of  the  roads  it 
seemed  as  though  we  were  making  little  or  no  progress  toward  the  front. 
When  within  about  two  miles  of  the  battle-field,  we  were  ordered  to  throw  oft" 

21 


322  ]*ennniilvanlo  af  Gi  ffi/sftmr/. 

<>iirkuaps;uks  whit-h  wtrc  lel"t  in  cliurj^c  ()t''iu;ml> — aiul  jjioceed  U)  the  front 
wiih  all  ]>,)s.sil)le  speed.  Night  was  last  approaching,  and  Hooker  whose  regi- 
ments were  hard  pressed,  thought  lie  must  yield  totheeueiuy  his  hard  fought 
lor  position,  when  Kearn.v.  with  two  of  his  brigades,  arrived  to  supjxjrt  him. 
Our  brigiule  arriving  on  the  field,  was  formed  in  line  near  the  enemy,  the  Fifty- 
seventh  on  the  left  of  the  Williamsburg  road,  with  tlie  One  hundred  and  fifth 
Pennsylvania  in  its  rear.  The  Eighty-seventh  New  York  was  formed  on  the 
right  of  the  road,  with  the  Sixty-third  Pennsylvania  in  its  rear.  We  were  con- 
.siderably  exposed  t.>  the  tire  of  the  enemy,  but  did  not  become  actively  en- 
gaged. At  night  we  moved  to  the  front  line  and  bivouacked  for  the  night 
among  our  dead  and  wounded  comrades.  This  was  the  first  real  battle  on  the 
Peninsula,  and  the  night  spent  on  that  field,  in  the  cold  rain,  among  the  dead 
and  dying,  will  long  be  remembered  by  the  men  of  the  Fifty-seventh,  as  one  of 
the  most  harrowing  in  all  its  experience. 

The  next  morning  it  was  found  that  the  enemy  had  again  retreated,  when,  at 
(laylight,  we  advanced  and  occupied  the  town,  the  Fifty-seventh  going  a  mile 
or  so  in  advance  on  picket. 

On  May  7,  we  resumed  the  advance,  marching  a  few  miles  each  day,  until 
about  the  loth  when  we  reached  Cumberland  Landing  in  New  Kent  county. 
The  wholearmy  was  concentrated  here,  but  moved  forward  the  day  after  our  ar- 
rival. The  place,  which  is  on  the  Pamunkey  river,  was  made  a  temporary  de- 
pot of  supplies,  and  the  Fifty -.seventh  remained  here  for  a  week  doing  guard 
duty  aft<>r  the  re.st  of  the  army  had  left.  A  new  depot  having  been  established 
further  up  the  river,  at  White  House  Landing,  the  one  at  Cumberland  was  aban- 
doned, whereupon  the  Fifty-seventh  moved  on  and  rejoined  the  division  at  Bal- 
timore Cross  Roads. 

On  Sunday,  May  2r>.  we  cro.ssed  the  Chickahominy  at  Bottom's  bridge,  thir- 
teen miles  from  Uichmond  ria  the  Williamsburg  stage  road. 

On  the  afternoon  and  night  of  May  30  it  rained  in  torrents,  which  raise<l  the 
Chickahominy  bank  full  and  overflowed  the  low  land  on  its  borders.  At  this 
time  the  corps  of  Sumner.  Franklin  and  Porter  were  on  the  left  or  east  bank  of 
the  Chickahominy,  and  the  corjxs  of  Heintzleman  and  Keyeswere  on  the  right 
bank.  (Casey's  Division  of  Keyes'  Cori)s  was  in  advance,  at  a  place  called  "'Seven 
Pines."  on  the  Williainsliurg  road,  about  seven  miles  from  Richmond.  The 
camp  of  the  Fifty -seventh  was  about  five  miles  in  rear  of  this,  in  a  pine  grove 
near  the  Richmond  and  York  River  railroad.  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  who 
<-oinmanded  the  rel)€l  forces,  knowing  that  the  swollen  state  of  the  Chickahominy 
would  render  it  difficult  or  imi>ossible  tor  the  right  of  our  army  to  assi.st  the 
left,  concluded  to  attivck  that  portion  on  his  side  of  the  river. 

About  1  o'clock  p.  m..  of  May  :!1,  he  suddenly  and  fiercely  attacked  Casey's 
Division  whi<li  .soon  was  overpowered  and  driven  from  the  field.  The  other 
divisionsof  Keyes'  Corps,  and  part  of  Kearny's  Division,  were  next  engaged.  In 
the  cam])  of  the  Fifty-seventh  we  were  ordered  to  fall  in.  and  after  being  told 
to  remain  in  camp  and  hv.  ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice,  we  stacked  arms, 
broke  ranks  and  lounged  alx)ut  wondering  where  we  were  to  be  sent.  About 
2  ]).  m,  the  regiment  left  camp,  and  marched  through  the  woods  for  a  short  dis- 
tan(-e.  until  we  rea(!hed  the  railroad,  when  we  filed  to  the  left,  and  .started  up 
the  mad  on  the  double-(juick  in  the  diriM-tion  of  Richmond. 

On  reaching  the  battle-lichl  we  were  ordered  tosui)j)ort  the  Thinl  Maine,  who 
were  in    |K)si1ioii    Ix-hinil  a  rail    fence  a    few  riids  in  mii    fniiit.      We  were  there 


Pviinsylvanid  at  G(ttijshHi<i.  323 

l)nt  a  i\-\\  iiiiimtcs  wiieii  we  were  ordered  to  j^o  to  the  sui)iM)it  oltlic  First  J.oiig 
Island  (Sixty-seventh  New  York)  wliicli  Avas  su])iMWed  to  he  somewhere  in  the 
woods  on  the  left  of  the  AVilliamsburg  road.  Caj)tain  Hassler  of  (ieneral 
Jamesons  staff  was  to  guide  ns  to  the  jilace.  After  donndering  about  in  th<; 
woods,  through  swamps  and  over  logs,  further  seareli  (or  the  First  I>ong  Island 
was  abandoned. 

The  Fifty-seventh  then  fornred  line  on  the  edge  ot'tlie  woods,  with  the  light 
resting  near  the  road.  We  were  soon  attacked  by  the  enemy  who  were  thrice 
our  strength,  l)ut  our  little  regiment  made  a  gallant  stan<l,  and  it  was  not  until 
our  colonel  and  major  were  stricken  down,  aiul  we  were  outflanked  on  our  right, 
that  the  reginu-nt  retired  from  the  field. 

Our  lo.sses  in  this  engivgement.  which  is  known  as  the  battle  of  "Fair  Oaks."' 
were  Major  Gulp  killed.  Captain  C.  S.  (Jha.sc  wounded  (died  .Tune  17),  Colonel 
Campbell  severely  wounded  in  arm  and  groin,  and  several  other  ofHeeis  slightly 
^^ound(!d.      Enlisteii   men,  ten   killed,  lin-ty-nine  wounded  and   three  missing. 

The  battle  was  renewed  next  day  when  Hooker's  Division  and  a  partof  Suni- 
uer's  Corps  dro\('  the  enemy  from  the  licld  and  occupied  the  ground  in  advance 
of  Ca.sey's  tormer  position.  From  June  1  to  .June  2o,  the  regiment  was  engaged 
in  picketing  and  in  (constructing  roads  and  fortifications. 

On  the  morning  of  .June  35,  the  divisions  of  Kearny  and  Hooker  were  ordered 
to  advance,  which  .soon  brought  on  a  brisk  engagement,  resulting  in  a  loss  on 
the  Union  side  of  about  three  hundred  killed  and  wounded.  The  loss  in  the 
Fiftv-.seventh  was  two  men  wounded.  Although  the  enemy  was  driven  l>ack- 
ward  for  about  a  mile,  in  the  evening  our  forces  returned  to  the  position  occu- 
pied in  the  morning,  by  orders  from  army  headquarters.  This  engagement  is 
called  "Oak  Grove;'"  the  enemy  call  it  "Kings  School  House.'"  The  regiment 
remained  in  the  front  line  until  June  28,  when  Avith  the  division  it  moved  a 
mile  to  the  rear,  and  occupied  the  breastw-orks  at  the  crossing  of  the  Williams- 
burg road,  and  near  Savage  Station.  The  day  previous  the  enemy  had  defeated 
our  right  wing  at  Gaines'  Mill,  and  the  retreat  to  the  James  river  had  com- 
menced. 

In  the  evening  one  liundred  and  lifty  rounds  of  ammunition  was  issued  to 
each  man,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  order  of  General  Kearny,  every  oliicer  and. 
man  of  his  division  was  ordered  to  wear  on  his  cap  a  red  patch  about  an  inch 
and  a  half  .square,  in  order  that  they  might  be  readily  di.stinguished  in  battle 
and  on  the  march.  This  was  the  first  distinctive  badge  worn  in  the  Araiv  of  the 
Potomac.  In  April,  1863,  when  "Corps  Badges"  were  adopted  by  that  army, 
the  badge  a.ssigned  to  the  Third  Corps  was  in  the  shape  of  a  diamond  or  lozenge. 
"Kearny's  Old  Division  "  continued  to  wear  its  "  Ked  Diamond  "  until  the  cJo!^ 
of  the  war. 

The  swamps  among  which  we  had  be(>n  encamped  at  Fair  Oaks,  and  the  ba<l 
wat€r  we  were  obliged  to  drink,  had  greatly  increased  our  sick  list,  and  many 
of  the  Fifty-seventh  had  died  in  the  hospital  since  the  1st  of  June.  When  the 
retreat  commenced  the  sick  and  convalescents  were  ordered  to  Savage  Station, 
and  from  there  were  conducted,  in  charge  of  proper  officers,  to  James  river.  Of 
this  party  the  Fifty-seventh  furnished  at  least  a  hundred.  Of  those  who  re- 
mained with  the  regiment  and  carried  muskets,  the  number  was  about  two 
hundred  and  many  of  the.se  were  barely  able  to  stand  the  fatigue  of  the  march- 
On  the  morning  of  the  29th  the  regiment  was  sent  across  a  large  field  and  into 
the  wfMxls  near  the  camp  we  had  left  the  day  previous.     We  remained  here  on 


324  ■  Pennsylvania  at   Getti/sbunj. 

picket  until  noon,  when  we  moved  back  again  and  retook  our  position  at  the 
brejjst  works. 

The  rebel  General  Magruder  was  advancing  with  his  division,  and  shells 
from  his  artillery  were  bursting  near  us.  About  1  o'clock  p.  ra.,  we  moved  a 
short  distance  to  the  rear,  and  formed  line  in  a  large  field,  and  soon  after  we 
took  a  road  leading  through  the  woods,  and  were  on  our  way  to  White  Oak 
Swamp,  which  we  crossed  at  Brackett's  Ford.  General  J.  C.  Kobiuson  had 
command  of  our  brigade,  succeeding  General  Jameson,  who  was  injured  by  the 
falling  of  his  horse  at  Fair  Oaks.  General  Jameson  died  at  his  home  in  Maine 
in  November  following.  Having  crossed  the  White  Oak  Swamp,  we  arrived 
about  10  p.  m.  on  the  ground  where,  next  day,  June  30,  was  fought  the  battle 
of  "Glendale,"  better  known  by  the  men  of  the  Fifty-seventh  as  the  battle  of 
'"Charles  City  Cross  Koads." 

The  object  of  making  a  stand  here,  was  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  until 
our  long  train  of  wagons  and  ambulances  had  passed  in  safety  to  James  river. 
Had  the  enemy  succeeded  in  breaking  through  our  line  at  this  point  great  dis- 
aster would  have  Ijefallen  our  army.  On  our  side  the  battle  was  fought  prin- 
cipally by  three  divisions,  Slocum  on  the  right,  Kearny  in  the  center  and 
McCall  on  the  left.  These  troops  were  reinforced  during  the  battle  by  troops 
from  other  divisions. 

The  Fifty-seventh  had  a  good  position,  })ehind  a  low  rail  fence,  on  the  edge 
of  a  small  chaparral,  with  the  left  of  the  regiment  in  rear  of  Thompson's  bat- 
tery. The  battle  commenced  about  4  p.  m.,  the  enemy  making  the  most  des- 
perate charges  in  heavy  masses.  Their  ranks  were  fearfully  decimated  by  the 
fire  of  our  artillery  and  infantry,  and  their  most  persistent  efforts  failed  to 
make  a  lodgement  within  our  line.  The  firing  was  kept  up  until  10  p.  m.,  when 
silence  reigned  over  the  field. 

In  his  report  of  this  action  Lieutenant-Colonel  Woods  states  that  the  Fifty- 
seventh  had  fourteen  officers  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  enlisted  men 
engaged.  Our  casualties  were  seven  men  killed,  three  officers  and  fifty-four 
men  wounded  and  eighteen  men  captured.  Among  the  officers  wounded  was 
acting  Major  Simonton.  We  held  our  position  in  line  of  battle  until  1  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  July  1,  and  then  took  up  our  march  for  Malvern  Hill. 

In  the  battle  which  occurred  at  this  place  the  Fifty-seventh  did  not  become 
heavily  engaged,  although  we  suffered  some  loss  from  the  enemy's  artillery 
fire.  We  had  one  officer  and  one  enlisted  man  killed,  eight  enlisted  men 
wounded  and  four  missing.  During  a  lull  in  the  battle,  while  Lieutenant 
Charles  O.  Etz  and  the  first  sergeant  of  Company  D  were  lying  side  by  side 
fast  asleep,  a  rebel  .shell  exploded  nearby,  the  fragments  of  which  killed  both 
instantly.  We  left  the  field  of  Malvern  Hill  about  daylight  of  the  2d,  and 
after  a  weary  march  through  mud  and  rain,  we  reached  Harrison's  Landing  on 
the  James  river  alwut  fi  p.  m.  We  remained  in  camp  at  this  place  until  the 
middle  of  August,  during  which  time  we  performed  the  usual  routine  of  camp 
duties,  (ieneral  Kearny  used  to  drill  the  whole  division  together  three  times 
a  week  in  a  large  field  about  two  miles  from  camp. 

While  in  this  camp  Lieutenant-Colonel  Woods  was  taken  sick  and  sent  to  the 
hospital,  and  was  soon  after  honorably  discharged.  This  left  us  without  a  field 
officer  present.  There  were  but  two  captains  present.  Maxwell  and  Strohecker, 
and  these  at  different  times  had  command  of  the  regiment.  On  August  12, 
the  Fifty-seventh  was  transferred  to  General  Birney's  Second  Brigade,      .\bout 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  325 

the  same  time  Major  William  Birney  of  the  Fourth  New  Jersey  Volunteers 
was  temporarily  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  regiment  which  he  retained 
until  the  following  October. 

General  Lee  having  moved  a  large  portion  of  his  army  northward  to  confront 
General  Pope,  who  was  moving  southward  from  Culpeper,  Va.,  preparations 
were  made  by  our  army  to  evacuate  the  Peninsula  and  go  to  Pope's  assistance. 

Kearny's  division  began  its  march  on  August  15,  and  the  evening  of  that 
day  found  us  at  Jones'  bridge  on  the  Chickahoniiny.  On  the  16th,  we  marched 
to  Liberty  church  at  Diascond  bridge.  The  next  day  the  Fifty-seventh  was 
detached  from  the  division,  and  took  a  road  to  the  right  of  the  main  column, 
acting  as  flankers.  We  had  a  long  march  but  the  roads  were  good,  and  after 
dark  we  reached  the  old  Williamsburg  road,  and  encamped  near  the  rest  of  the 
division  a  few  miles  west  of  Williamsburg. 

On  the  18th,  after  a  hot  and  dusty  march,  we  arrived  at  Yorktown  about  .3 
p.  m.  The  next  day  we  got  on  board  a  steamer  (where  we  were  packed  like 
herring  in  a  box),  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  25th,  we  disembarked  at  Alexan- 
dria, Va.  About  dark  we  boarded  the  cars  of  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  rail- 
road, and  the  next  morning  found  us  near  Warrenton  Junction,  where  we  lelt 
the  train  and  encamped.  Our  division  was  among  the  first  troops  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  to  reach  Pope. 

For  several  days  we  moved  to  various  points  along  the  railroad  and  on  night 
of  the  26th,  we  were  on  picket  at  Bealton  Station,  near  the  Rappahannock. 
General  Lee  having  flanked  Pope's  right,  and  gained  oui  rear,  our  army  began 
to  fall  back  towards  Centerville.  On  August  27,  our  regiment  began  the  rear- 
ward movement,  and  marched  from  Bealton  to  Greenwich.  On  the  28th.  Ave 
moved  via  Bristow  Station  to  Mana.ssas  Junction,  where  we  halted  for  .several 
hours.  Here  could  be  seen  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  depot  and  long  trains  of 
cars  destroyed  by  Stonewall  Jackson  the  day  previous.  Resuming  our  march 
we  arrived  at  Centerville  after  dark,  and  halted  in  what  had  been  a  rebel  camp 
the  previous  winter.  At  daylight  next  morning  we  moved  toward  the  enemy, 
and  were  soon  upon  the  ground  where  was  fought  the  second  battle  of  Bull 
Run.  Our  division  occupied  a  position  near  Sudley  Springs.  About  8  p.  m., 
the  division  attacked  the  left  of  Jackson's  line,  and  drove  it  back  for  half  a 
mile.  The  Fifty-seventh  had  three  men  wounded  in  this  engagement.  On 
the  30th,  there  was  but  little  lighting  on  our  part  of  the  line,  but  on  the  left  the 
army  was  hotly  engaged,  and  was  repulsed.  The  whole  army  fell  back  to 
Centerville  at  night. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  September  1,  the  division  wiis  hurriedly  ordered  to 
fall  in,  and  was  then  rapidly  marched  several  miles  to  Chantilly,  where  a  bat- 
tle was  in  progress.  When  we  reached  the  field  a  violent  thunder  storm  was 
raging  and  it  was  almost  dark.  The  regiment  occupied  the  battle-field  that 
night  as  pickets.  In  this  action  we  had  one  man  wounded.  It  was  in  this 
battle  that  the  brave  and  accomplished  soldier.  General  *'Phil  Kearny,"  was 
killed.  He  fell  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy.  The  next  morning  his  body 
was  sent  inside  our  line  by  General  Lee,  when  a  detachment  of  the  Fifty- 
seventh  acted  as  an  escort  of  the  corpse  to  Washington. 

On  the  2d,  our  division  started  for  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  3d,  we  reached  that  place  and  encamped  once  more  near  Fort  Lyon. 

The  Fifty -seventh  had  been  greatly  depleted  in  numbers  since  it  left  this 
place  in  jMarch  previous.     Then  it  hatl  in  its  ranks  about  seven  hundred  men 


326  Pennsylvama  af  Gettysbicrg. 

for  duly,  now,  owing  to  battle  and  disease,  it  could  muster  barely  two  liundred 
and  fifty.  We  remained  in  this  vicinity  until  the  IGth  ol"  September,  when 
the  division  (now  commanded  by  General  Stoneman  i  moved  up  the  Potomac 
via  llockville  and  Poolesville  to  Conrad's  Ferry.  We  encamped  here  for  six 
weeks,  our  brigade  guarding  the  river  from  the  moiith  of  the  Monocacy  to 
Edwards'  Ferry. 

On  September  2.'),  (•t)ni])aiiies  I)  and  G,  were  disbandeil  ami  the  men  assigned 
to  other  (lompanie.s.  From  this  time  until  January  1."),  186"),  the  regiment 
consisted  of  but  eight  companies,  .\bout  the  1st  of  October  the  regiment, 
atrcompanied  by  a  section  of  artillery  and  a  scjuatlron  of  Colonel  Duffie's  cav- 
alry, crossed  the  I'otomac  at  Conrad's  Ferry,  and  made  a  reconnaissance  to 
Leesburg,  which  is  located .  about  three  miles  from  the  ferry.  We  captured  a 
few  prisoners  in  the  town  and  returned  to  our  camjis  in  the  evening. 

On  October  11,  our  brigade  took  part  in  the  expedition  sent  out  to  capture 
Stuart's  cavaliy,  which  had  crossed  above  the  right  of  our  army  and  made  a 
raid  on  Chambershurg.  Pennsylvania.  Owing  to  some  mismanagement,  the 
enemy  was  allowed  to  recross  the  river  with  all  his  booty  at  White's  Ford  vvitli 
a  loss  of  but  two  or  three  men  whom  we  captured.  On  the  10th  ofOctol)er. 
Colonel  Campbell  returned  and  took  command  of  the  regiment,  relieving  Major 
Birney,  who  was  assignetl  to  the  Thirty-eighth  New  York.  A  geneial  advance 
of  the  army  being  ordered,  we  crossed  the  river  on  October  '28  and  moved  south- 
ward. When  near  Warrentou,  Virginia,  on  November  7,  General  McClellan 
was  relieved  from  command  of  the  army,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Burn- 
side. 

On  November  12,  near  Waterloo  Bridge,  si.x  men  of  Company  K  were  captured, 
while  returning  from  a  ft)raging  expedition,  by  some  of  Stuart's  cavalry,  .\bout 
the  •20th  of  November,  we  reached  Falmouth,  Virginia,  and  the  whole  army 
being  concentrated  there,  we  expected  sfwn  to  l)e  engaged  with  tlie  enemy  who 
were  on  tlie  opposite  side  of  the  Rappahannock  on  the  hills  in  rear  of  Freder- 
icksb.urg.  No  immediate  attack  was  made  however,  and  the  weather  growing 
cold,  our  army  went  into  winter  quarters  about  the  1st  of  December.  On  the 
11th  we  broke  camp,  and  that  night  we  bivouacked  in  a  large  field  near  our 
camp.  On  the  evening  of  the  12th,  we  moved  down  the  river,  near  the  pontoon 
bridge,  where  Franklin's  Grand  Division  had  already  crossed.  About  11  a.  m. 
next  day,  our  division  began  to  cross  over,  and  after  marching  a  short  distance 
we  were  halted  and  then  laid  down  under  a  heavy  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery. 
About  3  p.  m.  we  were  ordered  forward  to  support  an  attack  that  had  been 
made  by  General  Meade's  Pennsylvania  Reserves.  Colonel  Campbell  moved 
the  regiment  forward  in  splendid  style,  and  after  passing  Randolph's  Battery 
we  took  position  in  a  ditch,  and  opened  fire  on  the  enemy  whidi  checked  their 
advance,  and  frustrated  their  hopes  of  capturing  Randolph's  Battery.  Our  po- 
sition in  the  ditch  enabled  the  battery  to  fire  over  us,  killing  a  number  of  the 
enemy,  some  of  whom  fell  into  the  ditch  we  occupied.  The  enemy  fell  back 
into  the  woods,  but  many  of  them  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  ditch  became 
our  prisoners  when  we  were  relieved  after  dark  l)y  the  One  hundred  and  four- 
teenth Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 

On  the  11th,  the  regiment  remained  on  the  field  in  rear  dlOur  batteries, 
until  dark,  when  we  were  again  sent  to  the  <'xtreme  front,  where  we  stayed  until 
about  midnight  on  the  l.")th.  when  with  the  rest  of  the  army  we  recrossed  the 
river.     In  the  battle.  Colonel  CaMii)bell,  who  still  carried   his  arm  in  a  sling 


Pennaiilvanux  af  Gettysburg.  327 

(IVoiu  a  wound  receivod  at  Fair  Oaks),  was  again  severely  wonnded  in  the  same 
arm  and  in  the  groin.  He  was  afterward  promoted  to  l)rigadier-general  and 
assigned  to  the  "Department  of  tlie  Northwest."  Surgeon  Kennedy  and  Cap- 
tain Strohecker  were  also  wounded.  The  latter  was  soon  after  honoral)ly  dis- 
charged. Our  loss  at  Frederieksburg  was  twenty-one  enlisted  men  killed, 
tlnee  officers  and  fifty-four  enlisted  men  wonnded  and  tifty-three  men  captured. 
Captain  Peter  Sides  of  Company  .\.  wlio  had  been  absent  onaccount  of  sickness, 
returned  on  December  15,  and,  having  l»een  promoted  lieutenant-colonel,  lie  took 
command  of  the  regiment.  The  division  reoccupied  its  old  camp  which  was 
now  named  "  Camp  Pitcher,''  in  honor  of  .Major  Pit<^her  of  the  Fourth  Maine, 
who  was  killed  at  Frederick.sl)urg. 

Between  the  '2()tl\  and  2lid  of  .lanuary,  Isti.i.  we  took  )>art  in  the  famous  •"  Mud 
March."  when  we  ""  marcluMl  so  far  in  one  day  that  it  took  us  two  days  to  get 
back." 

■  On  .January  2'\  General  Hooker  succeeded  (xeneral  Kurnside  in  command  of 
the  army.  General  Birney  our  division,  and  General  Ward  our  l)rigade. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  certain  evil-<lisposed  persons  at  the 
north  were  loud  in  their  assertions  that  the  Army  of  the  I'otomac  was  demoral- 
izetl  and  tired  of  the  war,  and  circulated  other  reports  derogatory  to  the  char- 
acter of  that  army.  To  confute  such  reports,  and  to  denounce  those  with  whom 
they  originated,  a  meeting  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Fifty-seventh  was  held 
on  February  36.  at  which  resolutions  were  adopted  denouncing  as  false  the 
calumnious  reports  circulated  concerning  the  arm}'.  One  of  the  resolutions  de- 
clared that  the  Fifty-seventh  would  sustain  the  government  in  the  future  as  in 
the  past,  a  resolution  which  was  made  good  by  three-fourths  of  the  regiment 
re-enlisting  for  three  years  in  the  following  December.  Our  regiment  was  the 
first  to  adopt  resolutions  of  this  nature,  which  were  ordered  to  be  published  in 
the  newspapers  in  the  counties  from  which  the  regiment  was  raised.  Our  ex- 
ample was  followed  by  many  of  the  regiments  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Camp  Pitcher  was  abaiidoned  on  March  4,  when  we  moved  about  four  miles 
and  laid  out  a  new  camp  near  the  railroad  bridge  over  Potomac  creek.  On  the 
same  day,  the  Fifty-seventh  was  reassigned  to  the  First  Brigade,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Collis.  who  was  succeeded  a  few  days  later  by  General  Charles  K. 
Graham.  The  brigade  now  consisted  of  six  Pennsylvania  regiments,  viz  :  Fifty- 
seventh,  Sixty-third.  Sixty-eighth,  One  hundred  and  fifth.  One  hundred  and 
fourteenth  and  One  hundred  and  forty-first.  The  two  last  mentioned  and  the 
Sixty-eighth  were  new  regiments  which  entered  the  service  in  September.  1862. 

On  the  afternoon  of  April  28,  1863,  we  left  camp,  and  in  a  drizzling  rain 
marched  to  near  Franklin's  Crossing  on  the  Rappahannock;  this  was  our  initia- 
tion into  what  is  known  as  the  Chancellorville  Campaign. 

On  the  29th  we  moved  backward  and  forward  to  various  points  along  the  river, 
the  object  of  which  seemed  to  be  to  lead  the  enemy  to  think  that  we  were  going 
to  cross  and  attack  at  that  place.  On  the  30th  the  weather  had  become 
clear  and  warm,  and  about  noon  we  started  up  tiie  river  road,  and  at  night 
halted  near  Hartwood  Church.  Next  morning  we  crossed  tlie  river  at  the  United 
States  Ford.  About  2  n.  m.  the  luarch  was  resumed  and  soon  after  we  reached 
the  Chancellor  House,  a  large  brick  building  on  the  Fredericksburg  and  Orange 
plank  road.  After  a  short  halt  our  brigade  was  marched  westward  along  the 
plank  road,  for  almost  a  mile,  to  Dowdall's  tavern  in  i-ear  of  the  position  of 
the  Eleventh  Corps.     We  remained  here  but  a  short  time  when  we  marched 


328  Pemisylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

kick  and  rejoined  the  division  near  the  Chancellor  House,  halting  lor  the  night 
in  a  Large  tieid.  The  enemy  annoyed  us  some  by  shelling  us  with  their  artil- 
lery which  was  posted  near  the  Old  Furnacte,  but  did  no  damage. 

On  the  morning  of  May  '2.  we  moved  west  on  the  plank  road  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, and  then,  turning  to  the  left,  we  marched  along  a  road  leading  through 
the  woods,  on  the  southern  border  of  wliich  we  threw  up  a  line  of  works  of 
lugs  and  dirt.  This  is  the  position  known  as  Hazel  Grove.  About  noon  a  col- 
umn of  the  enemy,  and  a  wagon  train,  was  seen  moving  across  our  front  about 
a  mile  distiiut,  and  as  their  course  was  southward  it  was  thought  that  they  w  ere 
letreating.  Our  artillery  opened  on  them,  which  caused  them  to  take  another 
road.  Our  division  was  advanced,  skirmishing  with  the  enemy,  and  soon  cap- 
tured the  Twenty-third  Georgia  which  was  stationed  at  Welford's  Furnace. 

Barlow's  Division  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  was  advancing  with  us  on  our  right. 
On  reaching  the  high  ground  overlooking  the  furnace  a  halt  was  made  and  the 
line  rectified.  It  wa,s  growing  late  in  the  day  and  everything  seemed  to  be 
moving  along  finely,  w  hen  about  (!  o'clock  a  tremendous  cannonade  was  heanl 
in  the  vicinitj-  of  the  plank  road  and  Hazel  Grove,  which  we  had  left  but  a  few 
hours  before.  It  proved  to  be  the  on.set  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  who,  by  marching 
along  roads  hidden  by  the  woods,  had  reached  the  right  and  rear  of  our  army 
and  wa.s  driving  back  in  cronfusion  the  divisions  of  8churz  and  Stein  wehr  of 
the  Eleventh  Corps. 

At  dark  we  were  ordered  to  fall  in  and  move  to  the  rear,  at  the  same  time  we 
were  cautioned  to  make  as  little  noise  as  ix)ssible.  We  .soon  reached  the  open 
field  in  front  of  the  line  of  works  we  had  thrown  up  in  the  morning,  and  which 
now  were  held  by  the  enemy.  Ward's  Brigade  on  our  right  made  a  charge  into 
the  woods  and  succeeded  in  driving  back  the  enemy  far  enough  to  give  us  an 
opening  to  get  out  in  the  morning.  At  the  dawn  of  day  on  the  3d  the  enemy's 
skirmishers  attacked  us  on  our  left,  their  fire  enfilading  our  line,  and  as  the 
ground  would  not  permit  our  forming  a  line  to  oppose  them,  we  faced  to  the 
right  and  double-quicked  until  we  reached  the  large  field  which  runs  back  to 
the  Chancellor  Hou.se.  Here  the  regiments  were  deployed,  and  laced  the  enemy, 
and  until  10  o'clock  we  were  in  some  of  the  hottest  fighting  seen  during  the 
war.  General  Hooker  had  been  injured  by  a  shell  and  (General  Couch  hat! 
t«mporary  command. 

Our  c(jrps  commander.  General  Sickles,  had  asked  to  be  reinforced  from  the 
unemployed  troops  in  the  rear,  but  none  came.  After  having  repulsed  charge 
after  charge  we  were  finally  withdrawn  to  a  new  line  in  the  rear. 

We  did  not  again  become  engaged  with  the  enemy  but  they  gave  us  a  severe 
shelling  while  we  occupied  the  new  entrenched  line,  on  the  evening  of  the  Uh, 
woun<ling  some  of  our  men. 

The  casualties  in  the  Fifty-seventh  at  Chancellorsville  were.  Captain  E.  .1. 
Rice  of  Company  E,  and  Lieutenant  Joseph  lirady  of  Comj)any  H,  killed  ; 
eleven  enlisted  men  killed  ;  three  oflicers  and  forty-five  enlisted  men  wounded 
and  twenty-three  men  captured.  Chaplain  MiAdam  and  Assistant-Surgeon 
Leet  were  captured,  but  were  soon  after  paroled  and  exchanged.  On  the  after- 
noon of  the  oth  a  rain  storm  .set  in,  whicli  continued  through  the  night  and 
next  day,  raising  the  river,  and  threatening  to  sweep  away  our  pontoon  bridges. 

On  the  morning  of  the  Gth,  we  recrossed  the  river  at  United  States  ford  and 
after  a  liard  nianh  through  mud  and  rain,  we  reached  our  old  camps  aiH)ut 
dark. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  329 

The  weatlier  h;ivin<;  become  (luite  warm,  we  abandoned  our  winter  ([Uarters 
the  last  week  in  May,  and  moved  alnnit  two  miles,  and  ]iitohed  our  tents  in  a 
large  field  near  Belle  Plain  Landing,  where  we  remained  until  the  Gettysburg 
campaign  opened  on  the  11th  of  June.  About  1  p.  m.  on  that  day  we  packed 
up  in  a  hurry  and  began  our  long  march  northward.  The  weather  was  exceed- 
ingly warm,  and  there  was  considerable  straggling,  but  the  men  all  came  up 
at  night,  after  we  had  halted  near  Tlartwood.  On  the  I'ith,  we  marched  to 
near  Bealton  Station  on  the  O.  &  A.  R.  R.  On  the  13th,  we  marched  a  lew 
miles  towards  Rappahannock  Station.  On  the  14th,  we  .started  in  the  even- 
ing and  marched  to  Catlett's  Station,  arriving  about  midnight.  On  the  loth, 
we  moved  to  Manassas  Junction.  This  was  one  of  the  hottest  days  of  the  sum- 
mer, and  about  forty  men  were  prostrated  by  sun.stroke  in  our  division. 

On  the  Kith,  we  moved  to  Bull  Run,  camping  at  Mitchell's  Ford.  On  the 
17th,  our  march  was  (ioutinued  to  Centreville.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
19th,  we  started  for  Gum  Springs.  We  had  not  gone  far  when  a  .severe  storm 
of  rain,  thunder  and  lightning  set  in.  We  arrived  at  Gum  Springs,  about  3 
a.  m.,  on  the  20th,  when  part  of  the  regiment  went  on  picket,  and  the  rest  laid 
down  on  the  drenched  .soil  to  sleep. 

We  remained  at  this  place  until  the  '25th.  It  having  been  ascertained  that 
Lee's  army  had  cro.ssed  the  upper  Potomac,  and  was  on  the  march  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, we  broke  camp  and  cro.ssed  the  Potomac  at  Edwards'  Ferry,  and  fiom 
thence  moved  up  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy.  On  the  26th,  we 
moved  to  Point  of  Rocks  on  the  Potomac. 

On  the  27th,  we  resumed  our  march  at  8  a.  m.,  and  marching  through  Jef- 
ferson, we  halted  for  the  night  near  Middletown,  Md.  On  the  28th,  we 
marched  through  Middletown  and  Frederick  City,  halting  for  the  night  a  mile 
or  so  beyond  the  city.  In  the  evening  we  learned  that  General  Hooker  had 
been  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  army,  and  had  been  succeeded  by 
General  Geo.  G.  Meade.  On  the  29th,  we  moved  one  mile  beyond  Taneytown, 
and  encamped  for  the  night  in  a  pleasant  grove.  On  the  30th,  we  moved  to 
Bridgeport  near  Emmit.sburg,  Md. 

On  July  1,  we  left  Emmitsburg  about  1  p.  m.,  and  after  a  hard  march 
through  the  mud,  we  arrived  after  dark  at  a  point  about  two  miles  south  of 
Gettysburg.  We  bivouacked  for  the  night  in  a  field  to  the  right  and  in  rear 
of  the  Trostle  house. 

The  Sixty-third  Pennsylvania  of  our  brigade  was  sent  on  picket,  and  early 
in  the  morning  of  the  2d,  they  began  skirmishing  with  the  enemy. 

The  Sixty-third  was  occupying  the  Peach  Orchard  and  the  ground  about  the 
Sherfy  house  and  barn. 

About  three  o'clock  our  brigade  moved  out  and  was  posted  on  the  east  side 
of,  and  within  a  few  rods  of  the  Emmitsburg  road.  The  regiments  of  the 
brigade  were  posted  from  right  to  left  in  the  following  order.  The  One  hun- 
dred and  fifth  on  the  right  of  the  Sherfy  house,  the  Fifty-seventh  opposite  the 
house,  next  the  One  hundred  and  fourteenth.  Sixty -eighth  and  One  hundred 
and  forty-first.  The  latter  was  in  the  peach  orchard.  From  the  peach  orchard 
the  line  of  our  division  (Birney's)  curved  around  to  the  Devil's  Den  at  the  foot, 
of  Round  Top,  where  Ward's  brigade  was  stationed. 

Hood's  division  of  Longstreet's  Corps,  was  opposed  to  our  left,  and  McLaws' 
division  of  the  same  corps,  was  o])posite  out  right,  Bark.sdal«;'s  brigade  of  the 
latter  division  being  opposeti  to  our  brigade. 


330  Pennsylvania  at  Getty.shiirif. 

For  about  two  houi-s  after  we  took  positioti  near  the  road,  we  were  exposed 
to  one  of  the  hottest  artillery  tires  we  ever  en<oiintered.  The  enemy's  batteries 
south  of  the  orchard,  and  west  of  the  road,  poured  a  regular  .stream  of  shells 
towards  us.  but  fortunately  most  of  them  exploded  after  passing  over  us. 

When  this  lire  slackened,  the  enemy's  infantry  advanced  towards  us  through 
the  fields  west  of  Sherfy's  house.  The  Fifty-seventh  and  One  hundred  and 
fourteenth  were  then  ordered  to  (iross  the  road  to  meet  the  enemy.  The  Fit'ty- 
.seventh  took  advantage  of  the  cover  afforded  by  the  house  and  adjoining  out- 
buiklings,  and  opened  fire  with  good  effect. 

No  doubt  the  regiments  stationed  at  this  point  could  have  beaten  back  the 
enemy,  but  we  lia<l  not  been  long  engaged,  when  we  learned  that  the  enemy  had 
broken  through  Xhv  angle  at  the  peach  orchard,  and  were  swarming  up  the  road 
in  our  rear.  It  was  evident  that  if  we  remained  at  the  house,  we  would  all  be 
captured,  so  we  were  obliged  to  fall  back.  We  tried  to  warn  our  comrades, 
who  had  sought  the  cover  of  the  house,  anil  were  firing  from  its  doors  and  win- 
dows, but  could  not  make  them  understand  the  situation,  and  all  were  captured- 

During  all  this  time  the  battle  was  raging  fiercely  at  the  Round  Tops,  Devil's 
Den  and  the  Wheatfield.  The  Excelsior  Brigade  of  our  Second  Division,  and 
troops  of  the  Second  Corps  were  sent  to  our  assistance,  and  the  battle  raged 
until  dark  in  the  fields  between  Pham  Kun  and  the  Emmitsburg  road.  Birney's 
division  at  the  opening  of  the  battle  occupied  a  very  exposed  position,  and  in 
trying  to  hold  it.  h.ad  met  with  such  .severe  losses  that  it  was  not  again  act- 
ively engaged  during  the  battle.  The  Fifty -seventh  entered  the  fight  with  a 
total  of  two  hundred  and  nine  officers  and  men.  It  lost,  officers,  two  killed,  nine 
wounded  and  lour  captured.  Enlisted  men,  twelve  killed,  thirty  four  wounded 
and  fifty -five  captured,  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen,  being  over  half  the 
number  that  entered  the  battle. 

Lieutenant  Henry  Mitchell  of  Company  E,  and  Lieutenant  John  F.  Cox  of 
Company  I  were  killed.  Among  the  wounded  were  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sides. 
Acting  Adjutant  Nelson  and  Captain  Houser.  Major  Neeper  was  captured  and 
remained  a  i)ri.soner  for  aboiit  a  year  when  he  was  exchanged.  Lieutenant 
Crossley.  after  one  ineffi^ctual  attempt  to  escape  in  November,  1864,  succeeded 
on  a  second  trial  and  escaped  from  pri.son  at  Columbia,  S.  ('.,  and  entered  the 
Union  lines  December  20,  18B4,  after  his  terni  of  service  had  expired. 

Lieutenant  Hinds  was  one  of  the  one  hundred  and  ninety  officers  who  escaped 
from  the  famous  tunnel  at  Libby  Prison  in  February,  1864,  but  he  had  the 
misfortune  to  V)e  recaptured,  and  remained  a  prisoner  until  .shortly  before  the 
war  closed,  and  was  honorably  discharged  in  May,  186"). 

Lieutenant  Burns  remained  a  prisoner  until  after  his  lerni  of  .service  expired 
and  was  honorably  discharged  in  March.  186."). 

Of  the  fifty-five  enlisted  men  who,  on  the 'id  of  .luly  ut-ic  (•a|>tu red  at  Get- 
tysburg, forty-foiu-  died  in  .southern  prisons. 

On  the  niornmg  of  .July  :J,  our  brigade  was  jjosied  ir.  a  small  grove,  about 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  in  rear  and  to  the  right  of  the  Sherfy  house.  Here  we 
enjoyed  a  good  rest  under  the  shade  of  the  trees,  until  about  2  p.  m.,  when  the 
tremendous  cannon:ule  that  preceded  Pickett's  charge  began.  Soon  after  we 
were  ordered  into  line,  and  facing  to  the  right  we  took  the  double-(iuick  step, 
and  on  reaching  th<^  open  field,  we  formed  line  in  rear  of  our  artillery,  which 
was  busily  engaged  in  replying  to  the  enemy's  jiuns. 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty sfmrg.  331 

Imlnt'Il^sl'  c'lic-oriiig  was  soon  after  hoard  on  tlie  right,  aiul  then  we  Icarneti 
that  tht;  last  attempt  on  our  lin«;s  liad  laih'<l. 

At  night  the  regiment  went  to  the  front  on  picket,  l)eing  posted  on  ground 
that  was  thickly  strewn  witli  dead  men  and  horses  ;  and  as  some  of  these  ha<i 
been  dead  for  twenty -four  hours,  tlie  stench  was  sickening.  At  daylight  we 
rejoined  the  brigade,  the  enemy  in  the  meantime  having  begun  their  retreat. 

We  remained  at  (Jettysburg  until  July  7.  wlien  our  corps  moved  oft',  pa.ssing 
through  Emmitsburg  to  Mechanicat«wn,  Md.  On  the  8th,  we  passed  through 
Frederick  City  and  encamped  two  miles  )»eyond  the  town.  On  the  9th,  we 
started  from  near  Middletown  and  marched  to  South  Mountain. 

About  this  time  the  division  of  (ieneral  W.  H.  French  was  assignetl  to  the 
t»rps,  and  was  designated  as  the  Third  Division.  (Jenera!  French  took  com- 
mand of  the  corps,  succeeding  General  Sickles,  who  lost  a  leg  at  Gettysburg. 
(Lionel  Madill  of  the  One  hundred  and  forty-first  commanded  the  brigade. 
General  Graham  being  made  a  prisoner  in  the  late  battle. 

On  July  10,  we  marched  from  South  Mountain  to  about  five  miles  beyond 
Keadysville,  Md. 

On  the  11th,  we  marched  to  near  Falling  Waters.  On  the  I'Jtli,  wi;  were 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  aud  expected  to  make  an  attack  on  the  entrench- 
ments of  the  enemy,  but  we  were"  not  ordered  forward.  The  enemy  having 
recrossed  the  river  into  Virginia,  we  left  our  camps  on  the  1.5th  and  alter  pass- 
ing over  the  old  Autietam  battleground,  we  halted  about  two  miles  beyond 
Sharpsburg.  On  the  16th,  we  passed  through  Brownsville  and  Rohrersville, 
and  encamped  near  Harper's  Ferry.  On  the  17th,  we  crossed  the  Potomac  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  aud  were  once  more  in  Virginia.  We  resumed  the  march  on 
the  18th  and  19th,  and  on  the  20th,  we  leached  Upperville.  On  the  2od,  we 
were  near  Manassas  Gap,  where  it  was  e.vpected  we  would  strike  the  enemy's 
column,  that  was  moving  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  We  moved  t()  the  top 
of  a  high  hill,  where  we  luul  a  tiue  view  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  also 
witnessed  a  battle  between  a  small  force  of  the  enemy  and  the  Excelsior  brig- 
ade. The  Fifty -seventh  was  only  slightly  engageil  and  had  a  few  men  wounded. 
The  enemy  having  disappeared  during  the  night,  we  nuirched  next  day  .some 
miles  beyond  Piedmont  on  the  Manassas  Gap  railroad. 

The  greater  part  of  our  march  was  over  the  torn  np  railroad  track,  aud  as 
the  weather  was  excessively  hot,  we  were  a  tired  lot  of  men  when  we  en- 
camped that  night.  On  the  '25th,  we  marched  to  within  six  miles  of  Warren- 
ton,  and  on  the  26th,  we  moved  to  Sulphur  Springs  about  four  miles  west  of 
Warrenton.  At  this  place  we  encamped  for  about  six  weeks,  during  which 
time  Colonel  Sides,  and  some  of  the  oflicers  and  men  that  had  been  wounded  at 
Chancellorsville  and  Gettysburg,  returned  for  duty.  We  had  a  line  <anij),  with 
good  fa(dlities  for  bathing  in  Hedgeman's  river,  a  branch  of  the  Kappaliannock. 
For  exercise  we  had  frequent  brigade  and  regimental  drills,  with  o(;casional 
picket  duty. 

We  broke  camp  on  September  16,  and  crossed  the  Rappahannock  ut  Free- 
man's Ford  near  which  we  bivouacked  for  the  night,  and  the  next  day  we  moved 
on  and  encamped  near  Culpeper. 

Here  we  remained  until  October  11,  when  it  was  found  that  General  Lee  was 
trying  to  turn  our  right,  aud  get  in  our  rear  as  he  hud  done  the  year  before. 
This  made  a  retrograde  movement  of  our  army  a  necessity.  On  the  afternoon 
of  the  11th  we  moved  to   the  rear,  recrossed  the  river,  and  about  dark  camped 


332  Pennsylvania  at  Gettj/shnn/. 

a  lew  miles  south  of  .Sulphur  Springs.  We  coutinufd  <ivir  move  to  the  rear  and 
on  the  llith.  about  1  p.  ni..  we  encountered  the  enemy's  cavalry  at  Aulmm 
Creek.  Our  brigade  held  the  advance  of  the  column  on  that  day,  and  the  Fifty- 
seventh  was  the  leading  regiment.  Companies  A  and  K  acted  as  advance 
guard.  These  companies  deployed  on  either  side  of  the  road,  and  opened  fire 
on  tlie  enemy's  cavalry,  who  were  dismounted  and  were  advancing  through  the 
woods  and  o|>en  fields.  Our  firing  soon  brought  uji  the  rest  of  our  brigade  and 
a  batt€ry.  A  few  shells  thrown  toward  the  enemy  sufficed  to  drive  them  off: 
when  we  moved  on  and  at  night  halted  at  the  village  of  Greenwich. 

On  the  11th,  we  marched  to  Centerville,  via  Uristoe  and  Manassas  Junc- 
tion. On  the  15th,  we  moved  to  Fairfax  Station,  where  we  remained  until 
the  19th. 

The  enemy  having  declined  to  attack  us  in  position  at  Centerville,  they  re- 
treated, closely  followed  by  our  army.  On  the  19th,  we  again  moved  forward 
and  encamped  near  Bristoe  Station.  On  the  20th,  we  marched  through  Green- 
wich and  encamped  alx)ut  two  miles  beyond  the  town.  On  the  21st,  we  passed 
through  Auburn,  and  over  the  ground  where  Hays'  Division  of  the  Second  Corjjs 
had  engaged  the  enemy  a  few  days  before.  At  night  we  encamped  near  Cat- 
lett'S  Station  on  the  O.  &  A.  H.  K. 

From  this  date  until  November  7,  we  moved  to  various  points  along  the  line 
of  the  railroad,  which  having  been  'destroyed  by  the  enemy,  made  it  necessjiry 
for  us  to  rebuild  it ;  consequently  our  advance  was  slow. 

At  f)  a.  m.,  November  7,  we  broke  camp  and  moved  to  Kelly's  Ford  on  the 
liappabannock.  Here  the  enemy  disputed  our  crossing  and  a  brisk  .skirmish  en- 
suetl.  They  finally  relinquished  their  attempts  to  hold  the  fonl,  when  we  crossed 
over  and  encamped.  In  this  skirmish,  while  Captain  T.  L.  Maynard,  our 
brigade  in-spector,  was  giving  a  drink  of  water  to  a  wounded  rel>el.  be  was 
mortally  wounded  and  died  next  morning. 

On  the  8th.  Ave  moved  to  lirandy  Station,  and  after  a  few  days  we  moved 
into  the  woods  clo.se  by,  and  occupied  a  lot  of  huts  that  liad  lately  been  con- 
structed bj'  the  rebels,  to  be  used  as  winter  quarters,  but  they  had  now  fallen 
l)apck  beyond  the  river  Rapidan.  We  remained  in  thi.s  camp  for  a  few  weeks, 
when  we  were  once  more  on  the  move,  to  take  part  in  what  is  called  the  "Mine 
Kun  Campaign." 

On  the  morning  of  November  26,  we  moved  out  of  camp,  and  in  the  evening 
cros.sed  the  Rapidan  at  Jacobs'  Ford,  without  interruption  by  the  enemy.  The 
a<lvance  was  resumed  next  morning,  and  about  t  j>.  m.  our  division  was  hurried 
to  the  front  to  lelieve  the  Third  division  which  had  become  engaged  with 
Johnson's  Division  of  Ewell's  Corjjs.  We  got  into  a  brisk  little  fight  in  whicli 
the  Fifty -seventh  had  seven  men  wounded.  This  action  occurred  at  Locust 
Grove.  It  appears  that  our  corps  commander,  (General  French,  got  on  the  wrong 
road,  and  instead  of  getting  between  the  corps  of  Hill  and  Ewell,  who  were 
miles  apart,  we  ran  against  Ewell,  and  that  brought  on  the  engagement. 

The  enemy  retreated  during  the  night,  and  the  next  morning  their  army  vas 
concentrate<l,  which  our  movements  the  day  betbre  were  int(>n(led  to  prevent. 
On  the  2Rth.  we  started  again  and  after  nuirching  all  day  in  the  rain  wc  came 
up  with  the  enemy,  who  were  occupying  a  strong  position  along  the  banks  of 
Mine  Run.  The  next  day  we  laid  in  a  field  in  support  of  a  battery,  and  at 
night  were  ordered  on  picket.  The  weather  had  grown  very  cold,  and  as  no 
fires  were  allowed  we  were  nearly  frozen. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshurg.  333 

After  several  days  spent  in  mancoavriug,  it  was  decided  that  the  enemy's 
pf).sition  ^vas  too  strong  to  be  successfully  attacked,  therefore  a  retreat  wa*» 
ordered.  On  the  night  of  December  1,  during  a  severe  snovr  storm,  we  moved 
to  the  rear,  and  recrossed  the  liapidan  at  Culpeper  Mine  Ford,  about  daylight 
un  the  2d.  About  !)  o'clock  the  march  to  the  rear  was  resumed,  the  Fifty- 
.seventh  and  Sixty-third  Pennsylvania  acting  as  guard  to  our  wagon  train. 
Having  run  out  of  rations  we  were  very  hungry,  but  we  managed  to  procure 
stimething  to  eat  before  niglit. 

The  next  day  we  reached  our  old  camp  and  as  we  found  our  huts  all  in  good 
condition,  we  soon  had  them  rtwfed  Avith  our  .shelter  tents,  and  were  once  more 
aimfortably  housed. 

For  some  weeks  after  the  Mine  Run  exjjedition  the  question  of  re-enlisting 
formed  the  chief  topic  of  conversation  among  the  men  of  the  Fifty-seventh. 
The  War  Department  had  is.sued  General  Order  191,  which  allowed  a  bounty 
of  $40(1,  and  a  furlough  of  thirty  days  to  each  man  who  re-enlisted.  Where 
three-lburths  of  the  men  present  in  any  regiment  re-enlisted,  the  regiment  was 
allowed  to  go  in  a  body  to  the  place  of  organization,  and  from  thence  the  men 
could  go  to  their  homes  on  furlough. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  the  regiment  v/as  formed  in  a  hollow  square  in  front 
of  headquarters,  and  then  briefly  addressed  by  Chaplain  McAdam,  on  the  pro- 
priety of  re-enlisting.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  Chaplain's  remarks.  Colonel 
.Sides  requested  those  who  were  willing  to  re-enlist  te  step  three  paces  to  Uj,e 
front.  Over  three-fourths  of  the  men  stepped  forward,  and  after  giving  three 
cheers  for  the  Union,  were  dismissed. 

Then  for  several  days  the  officers  and  tirst  sergeants  were  busily  making  out 
muster  rolls,  furloughs,  and  re-enlistment  papers,  etc. 

Among  the  men  the  furloxigh  was  the  all  absorbing  theme.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  a  bounty  of  $1,000  without  the  furlough  would  have  secured  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  men.  But  the  assurance  of  being  allowed  to  spend  thirty  days 
at  home,  was  the  great  inducement  to  re-enlisting. 

The  following  named  officers  re-signed  or  were  honorably  discharged  during 
the  year  1863  : 

-Major  Simonton,  Major  Strohecker  i  resigned  as  Captain),  Assistant-Surgeon 
Leet;  Captain  Gillespie  and  Lieutenant  CoUomore,  Company  B;  Captain  Eber- 
man,  Company  E;  Captain  Maxwell,  Captain  Clark  and  Lieuteiuxnt  Cameron, 
Company  F;  Lieutenant  Edmiston,  Company  H. 

Promotions. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Sides  to  Colonel;  Captain  Neeper  to  Major;  Second  Lieu- 
tenant Hinds  to  First  Lieutenant  and  Sergeant  Green  to  Second  Lieutenant, 
Company  A.  Sergeant  Burns  to  Second  Lieutenant  Company  B.  First  Lieu- 
tenant Hill  to  Captam,  Sergeant  Major  McCartney  to  First  Lieutenant  and  Ser- 
geant Houser  to  Second  Lieutenant  Company  C.  First  Lieutenant  Kice  of  Com- 
pany A,  to  Captain  Company  E.  Color  Bearer  Williams  to  First  Lieutenant 
and  to  Captain  Company  E.  Second  Lieutenant  Mitchell  to  First  Lieutenant 
and  Sergeant  Parks  to  Second  Lieutenant  Company  E.  Second  Lieutenant  Nel- 
son to  First  Lieutenant  and  to  Captain,  Sergeant  Ruger  to  First  Lieutenant,  and 
Sergeant  Cameron  to  Second  Lieutenant  Company  F.  First  Lieutenant  Dar- 
ling to  Captain.  Sergeant  Shaw  to  First  Lieutenant  and  Sergeant  Gore  to  Sec- 


334  Pt  iiiiKi/fi-anid  <if  (reffj/shnrg. 

ond  Lienienant  Company  H.     First  Lieutenant    I'.iinipiis  to  Captain  and  Ser- 
geant Bowei-s  to  First  Lieutenant  Company  L 

January  8,  18M,  was  the  time  app<nnle*l  for  Ihe  regiment  to  leave  for  the 
north,  and  long  before  daylight  the  men  were  up  and  getting  ready  for  their 
ilepartnre.  About  7  a.  m..  we  boarded  the  cars  at  Brandy  Station  and  were  soon 
under  way  for  Washington,  where  we  remained  for  a  day  and  a  night  and  then 
started  lor  Hairi.sburg.  Pa.  Here  we  deposited  our  arms  in  the  arsenal,  and 
then  the  men  departed  b\'  various  routes  for  their  homes.  Before  we  left 
Brand V  Station,  each  man  who  re-enlisted  had  received  the  pay  due  him;  the 
old  l>ounty  of  $100,  one  month's  pay  in  advance,  and  the  first  instalment  ($50) 
of  the  new  bounty.  Therefore  the  men  were  well  fixed  financially,  to  enjoy 
what  is  known  as  the  "  Veteran  Furlough." 

When  the  men  had  been  at  home  for  some  time  many  of  their  former  com- 
})anions  and  friends  were  eager  to  enlist  and  return  with  our  boys  to  the  army. 
On  jKcount  of  our  success  in  obtaining  recruits  the  furlough  of  the  men  was  ex- 
tended. When  we  left  the  front  the  regiment  numbered  barely  200  enlisted 
men.  After  an  alisence  of  about  forty-five  days  it  returned  with  at  least  ."iOO 
men  in  its  ranks. 

Our  old  Hag.  w  Inch  had  been  torn  by  the  bullets  of  many  battles,  was  left  at 
Harrisburg  when  we  came  home;  and  on  our  return  to  the  front  we  received  a 
new  one  from  the  hands  of  Governor  Curtin.  On  the  25th  of  February,  we  re- 
joined the  brigade  near  Culpeper,  Va..  and  on  the  27th,  we  went  with  the 
brigade  on  a  reconnaissance  in  the  direction  of  Madison  Court  House.  We  were 
gone  two  (lays  during  which  time  nothing  of  imjiortance  occurred. 

General  (irant  having  been  appointed  Lieutenant-General  and  placed  in  com- 
mand of  all  our  armies,  made  his  headquarters  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
s<»m«;  time  in  March.  1864. 

About  the  Ifith  of  the  .same  mouth,  that  army  was  reorganized.  The  Fir.st 
and  Third  Army  Corps  were  disbanded  and  the  divisions  a.ssigned  to  other 
<-orps.  The  First  and  Second  divisions  ol' the  Third  Corps  (the  old  divisions  of 
Kearny  and  Hooker)  were  a.ssigned  to  the  Second  Corps  and  were  commanded 
by  Generals  Birney  and  Mott  respectively.  General  Hancock  commanded  the 
Corps.    Our  division  was  now  designated  the  Third  Division  of  the  Second  Corps. 

Our  brigade  (now  the  Second)  was  commanded  by  (General  Alexander  Hays, 
who  was  formerly  Colonel  of  the  Sixty-tliird  Penn.sylvania  Volunteers. 

Our  Third  division  was  assigned  to  the  Sixth  Corps.  The  men  having  a  great 
pride  in  their  former  organizations,  and  proud  of  the  1)adge  which  designated 
them,  were  allowed  to  wear  the  badge  of  the  old  Corjis  to  which  they  had  lx>en 
alta<h«Hl. 

The  great  campaign  of  IHOl  began  soon  after  midnight  on  the  M  of  May. 
The  Second  Corps  with  a  strong  Ibrce  of  cavalry  moved  out  and  about  daylight 
crossed  the  Kapidan  river  at  Ely's  Ford.  On  the  night  of  the  4th,  we  bivouacked 
on  the  old  Chancellorsville  battlefield  on  the  ground  where  we  had  tbught  one 
yejir  and  a  day  before. 

On  the  morning  of  the  .')tli,  we  moved  down  the  plank  road  t(»wards  Fredericks- 
burg, then  turned  to  the  right  and  took  a  road  leading  southwesterly  towards 
Todd's  Tavern,  near  which  we  halted  at  ii(K)h.  Alunit  2  ji.  m.,  we  renewed 
our  march,  passing  over  the  Brock  K'oad.  and  soon  altei-  lormed  line  in  the 
woods  on  the  left  of  the  road.  Here  we  were  movwl  about  from  place  to  place 
for  some  linn-,  and  finally  move»l  baik  into  the  road,  and  then  faced  to  the  right 


Pcnnsf/Ivania  of  (ji'ifi/shnrtj.  335 

and  orderec!  forwaiil  in  donblc-qnick  limo.  until  we  reached  the  erossing  of  the 
Orange  Phiuk  road.  When  the  left  of  the  regiment  liad  crossed  the  road,  we 
were  taced  to  the  left  and  advance<l  in  line  of  battle  through  the  dense  woods 
known  as  the  Wilderness.  Brisk  tiring  was  going  on  in  our  front  and  we  had 
not  gone  far  when  we  met  the  enemy.  The  left  of  the  Fifty -seventli  rested  on 
the  plank  road  and  on  the  ojjposite  side  of  the  road  was  the  Seventeenth 
Maine.  Our  line  was  quite  cIo.se  to  the  enemy,  but  the  density  of  the  under- 
bru.sh  made  it  almost  impossible  to  see  them,  so  taking  direct  aim  was  out  of  the 
question.  Never  before  were  such  volleys  of  musketry  heard  as  those  which 
rolled  through  that  gloomy  wilderness  on  May  .">,  18()4. 

The  old  regiment  fought  nobly,  meeting  with  fearful  los.s.  but  they  stood 
their  ground  until  relieved  in  the  evening,  and  then  went  back  to  the  Krock 
Road.  The  next  morning  we  moved  out  beyond  the  ]X)sition  where  we  had 
fought  the  evening  before.  We  .soon  came  against  the  enemy,  drove  him  back 
nearly  a  mile  but  they  were  soon  re-entbrced  and  then  it  was  our  turn  to  fall 
back.  We  ha<l  been  lighting  the  troops  of  A.  P.  Hill's  (rorps  and  had  them 
about  whipped,  when  Longstreet  came  on  the  tield  with  his  fresh  cori)s.  After 
some  grand  l)ushwhacking,  our  line  fell  back  to  the  V)nastworks  along  the 
Brock  Road. 

The  casualties  in  the  Fifty-seventh  (which  were  principally  incurred  on  the 
5th),  were  four  officers  wounded;  enlisted  men,  twenty -two  killed,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  wounded  and  three  missing.  Colonel  Sides  was  badly 
wounded  in  this  battle  and  did  not  again  return  to  the  regimerit  iVw  duty.  We 
also  had  to  mourn  the  loss  of  that  l»rave  soldier  and  hero,  (ieneral  .Mexander 
Hays,  who  fell  at  the  head  of  the  brigade  on  the  evening  of  May  o. 

At  about  the  same  hour  on  May  7,  the  two  armies  l)egaii  to  move  on  paiallel 
roads  toward  Spotsylvania.  The  regiment  now  commanded  by  Captain  A.  H. 
Nelson  of  Company  K.  had  a  slight  brush  with  the  enemy  at  Ny  river  on  May  8. 

At  Spotsylvania  on  May  1:2,  Birney's  and  Barlow's  divisions  formed  the 
first  line  in  Hancock's  great  charge  on  the  enemy's  works,  when  we  captured 
from  thirty  to  forty  guns  and  several  thousand  prisoners. 

From  May  11  to  May  18,  the  casualties  in  the  Fifty-seventh  were  one  otticer 
killed  and  wounded;  enlisted  men.  six  killed,  seventeen  wo\uided  and  three 
mi.ssing.  Lieutenant  Green  of  Comjjany  A.  was  killed  May  12,  Lieutenant 
Bowers  of  Company  I,  died  May  22,  and  Captain  Williams  of  Company  E,  May 
28,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 

In  a  charge  at  the  battle  of  North  .\nna  river,  the  regiment  had  one  man 
killed  and  three  officers  wounded.  At  Totopotomoy  river  on  May  HI,  and  at 
Cold  Harbor  on  June  3,  the  regiment  was  engaged  losing  in  ea<;h  action,  one 
man  wounded  and  three  missing. 

On  June  .3,  the  colors  of  the  Fifty-seventh  were  furled  around  the  staff,  which 
was  stuck  in  the  breastworks,  when  it  was  struck  by  a  piece  of  shell  and  cut  in 
two.  On  .Tune  12,  our  army  left  Cold  Harbor  and  started  for  Petersburg,  our 
Corps  cro.ssing  the  James  river  at  Wilcox's  wharf  on  .Tune  14.  From  .Tune  1(! 
to  18,  the  regiment  was  in  several  charges  which  were  made  on  the  enemy's 
works  at  Petersburg:  losing  Adjutant  Clark  M.  I^yons.  and  four  enlisted  men 
killed,  and  twelve  men  wounded;  T.,ieutenant  Henry  M.  .\dams.  while  standing 
on  our  works,  was  killed  by  a  rebel  sharp.shooter,  .Tune  15. 

Major  Neeper  who  had  been  captured  at  (Jettysburg,  had  been  exchanged, 


336  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

and  promoted  to  LieuteiKnil-Colont'l,  rt'turned  to  the  regiment  :il)oiit  tliis  time 
and  assumed  command. 

In  au  engagement  on  .June  J'J,  tlie  Fifty -seventh  hud  one  otlicer  and  four  en- 
listed men  wounded.  Lieutenant  James  F.  Ruger  and  nine  enlisted  men  were 
a^ptured. 

The  regiment  wivsalso  under  fire  at  Deep  Hottom  on  July  'Jti,  and  during  the 
'•  Burnside  Mine  "  alTair  on  July  30. 

During  a  second  expedition  to  Deep  Bottom  August  12  to  18,  the  Fifty- 
seventh  lost  one  otiicer  (Captain  Lyons)  and  Hfteen  men  wounded  and  four 
missing.     In  the  tight  at  Poplar  (irove,  October  2,  three  men  were  wounded. 

Our  next  engagement  was  on  the  Boyd  ton  Plank  Road  on  October  27.  Our 
division  (now  commanded  by  General  Mott)  and  Egan's  division  of  the  same 
corps,  had  moved  to  the  left  with  the  cavalry,  to  attempt  to  capture  the  South 
Side  railroad.  While  these  two  divisions  were  in  a  large  field  surrounded  by 
woods,  near  Burgess'  Tavern,  waiting  lor  General  Warren's  (Fifth)  Corps  U> 
join  us  on  the  right,  the  enemy  discovered  the  gap  between  the  two  corps, 
through  which  Mahone's  rebel  division  charged,  and  came  suddenly  upon  us. 
For  a  short  time  there  was  considerable  confusion  but  order  was  soon  restored, 
and  the  enemy  driven  back,  leaving  with  us  many  of  their  men  as  prisoners. 
This  affair  is  generally  known  as  the  "  Bull  Pen  Fight."  Our  effort  to  sur- 
prise the  enemy  had  failed,  so  we  moved  back  to  camp  during  the  night. 

On  December  9,  an  expedition  under  General  Warren,  consisting  of  his  own 
Corps,  Mott's  Division  of  the  Second  Coi-ps,  and  a  brigade  of  cjivalry,  started 
out  for  the  purpose  of  further  destroying  the  Weldon  railroad. 

We  struck  the  railroad  near  Jarratt's  Station,  and  efl"ectually  destroyed  it 
for  twenty  miles,  to  a]X)int  near  the  North  Carolina  line.  A  very  disi^reeable 
feature  of  this  expedition  was  the  snow  storm  through  which  we  marched  back 
to  our  old  camp  near  Petersburg.  Several  hundred  recruits,  substitutes  and 
drafted  men  joined  the  regiment  during  the  autumn  months  of  1864 

The  term  of  service  of  a  number  of  officers  and  men  expired  in  the  month  of 
November,  1864,  for  which  reason  they  were  honorably  discharged  and  mus- 
tered out. 

The  following  changes  occurred  among  the  officers  during  the  year.  Those 
killed  or  died  have  already  been  mentionetl. 

Colonel  Sides  discharged  (m  account  of  wounds  November  28.  The  following 
were  discharged  on  account  of  expinition  of  term  in  the  month  of  November: 
Lieutenant-Colonel  W^.  P..  Neeper.  Quartermaster  Israel  Garrettson.  Captain 
Hill  and  Lieutenant  McCartney  of  Company  C,  Captain  U.  If.  N<ls<m.  Com- 
pany F  and  A.  H.  Nelson,  Company  K, 

Surgeon  Lyman  was  mu.stered  out  September  16,  to  accept  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonelcy  of  the  Two  hundred  and  third  Pennsylvania  Volunteers;  while  serv- 
ing with  that  regiment,  he  was  killed  at  Fort  Fisher.  N.  C,  January  15,  1865. 
Captain  J.  R.  Lyons  discharged  for  wounds;  Captain  Darling  and  Lieutenant 
J.  M.  Robison  for  physic;il  disability. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1865,  th»;  Fifty-seventh  and  lOighty-fourth  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers  were  con.solidated,  the  Fifty-stjventh  retaining  its  numeri- 
cal designation.  Since  Sei)tember  25,  1862,  the  Fifty -seventh  had  consisted  of 
but  eight  companies.  By  Special  Order  No.  8,  War  Department,  January  6, 
1865,  the  Fifty -seventh  was  consolidated  int^)  six  companies.     Companies  A  and 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  337 

E  were  brokea  up  aud  the  nieii  (lisliil)ut('(i  with  tlie  reinuiiiing  six  companies 
so  as  to  equalize  them  in  strength. 

By  the  same  order  the  Eiglity-tourth  was  consolidated  into  a  Ijatalliou  of  four 
companies,  and  these  were  then  united  with  the  Fifty -seventh,  forming  a  regi- 
ment of  ten  com])auies.  averaging  fifty  men  present  to  each  comiiany. 

The  Eiglity-fourth  liad  a  splendid  record.  Its  fust  fighting  was  at  Winches- 
ter, Va.,  March  23,  386:2,  where  it  lost  many  gallant  ofiicers  and  men.  Since 
August  of  the  same  year  it  had  been  connected  with  the  Army  of  tlie  Potomac, 
Avhere  it  nobly  sustained  its  ohl  reputation. 

The  consolidation  made  it  necessary  to  change  the  lelti-rs  of  some  of  the  com- 
panies of  the  old  Fifty-seventh  although  the  organization  of  the  companies 
whose  letters  were  changed  was  not  disturbed. 

Per  Special  Order,  Xo.  4,  Headquarters  Fifth-seventh  Pennsylvania  Veteran 
Volunteers,  January  16,  1865,  tlie  Ibllowing  alterations  in  the  lettering  of  the 
companies  of  tlu;  old  Fifty-seventh  was  ordered: 

Company  H,  to  be  designated  Company  A;  Company  I,  l^)  be  designated 
Company  D;  Company  K.  to  be  designated  Company  E;  Com])anies  1!,  C  and 
F,  to  retain  their  letters. 

The  companies  of  that  part  which  comprised  the  old  Eighty-fourth  were 
lettered  G,  H,  I  and  K.  Lieutenant -Colonel  Bumpus  who  commanded  the 
regiment  from  Xovember,  1864,  until  tlie  consolidation,  was  mustered  out  as  a 
supernumerary,  as  were  also  the  non-commissioned  officers  of  tlie  disbanded 
companies. 

For  about  two  m<inths  after  consolidation  the  regiment  w:is  commanded  by 
Major  Bryan.  Colonel  Zinn,  who  was  absent  on  account  of  wounds,  returned 
and  took  command  on  March  18.  Aliout  the  same  time  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Perkins,  who  had  been  serving  on  (reneral  Mott's  staff" as  Captain,  returned  for 
duty  with  the  regiment. 

On  February  5,  another  move  was  made  beyond  Hatcher's  Kuu  for  the  pur- 
pose of  extending  our  lines,  and  if  a  favorable  opportunity  offered,  of  taking  the 
coveted  South  Side  railroad.  We  moved  by  the  Vaughan  road,  and  having 
.crossed  the  run  threw  up  a  line  of  works.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  regiment 
(e.xcepting  Company  E,  Avhicli  was  on  picket  on  another  part  of  the  line)  had  a 
brisk  fight  with  the  enemy,  in  which  two  of  our  men  were  wounded .  We  were 
out  on  the  expedition  until  the  10th  and  as  usual  were  caught  in  a  snow  storm. 

Nothing  <jf  importance  occurred  on  our  part  of  the  line  until  March  25. 
Early  on  that  morning  the  enemy  tried  to  break  through  our  lines  at  Fort 
Stedman  some  miles  to  our  right.  A  few  hours  later  the  picket  line  of  our 
brigade  was  ordered  to  advance.  We  had  not  gone  far  when  the  enemy's 
pickets  opened  on  us.  Several  of  the  Fifty-seventh  were  wounded,  among  whom 
was  Lieutenant  E.  I.  Campbell  who  was  hit  on  the  hand.  The  line  was  ordered 
back  again  to  the  entrenched  position  in  the  rear,  where  it  remained  until  re- 
lieved at  9  a.  m. 

Aljout  ?>  p.  m.  the  whole  division  was  ordered  to  the  front  where  we  threw 
up  a  line  of  works  near  the  house  of  Mrs.  Watkins.  About  dark  the  enemy 
made  a  heavy  attack,  but  we  had  the  strongest  force  on  the  ground,  and  but  few 
of  them  got  back  to  their  works.  The  Fifty-seventh  captured  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  prisoners,  among  which  were  six  officers.  The  regiment  had  five  men 
wounded,  one  of  Companj-  E.  mortally. 

On  the  morning  of  March  29,  was  inaugurated  what  proved  to  be  the  last 
22 


338  Prnnfiylvania  at   (iciiyshnrg. 

ciimpai^iM  <>1"  the  Armv  of  llio  ]\)tomiU'.  On  that  nioining  wo  moved  alxmt  three 
miles  to  the  left,  and  began  lo  throw  up  a  line  of  works.  The  Cavalry  and  the 
Fiftli  Corps,  under  General  Sheridan,  and  the  Seeond  Cori)s  under  Ceiural 
Humphreys  were  operating  on  this  Hank.  For  .several  days  there  was  more  or 
less  fighting,  but  our  Itrigade  had  not  become  seriously  engaged. 

On  the  evening  of  April  1.  Sheridan  gained  his  great  victory  at  Five  Forks. 
.M)me  four  miles  to  our  l«?fl. 

On  the  same  uight  a  large  detail  ot  the  Filty-.sevtiith  was  sent  on  picket  on 
an  entrenched  line  which  ran  acro.s.s  the  field  where  occurred  the  "  Bull  Pen  " 
light  on  the  '27th  of  October  previous.  This  line  was  hotly  shelle<l  by  the 
enemy  on  the  morning  of  April  'I,  during  which  time  several  of  our  men  were 
wounded. 

Far  otT'on  our  right  the  .splendid  charges  of  the  Sixth  and  Ninth  C«rp.s  had 
made  the  fall  of  Petersburg  a  certainty. 

AlK)ut  9  a.  r\\.  our  division  started  for  I'etersburg  via  the  Boydton  I'lank 
road.  Arriving  near  the  city  we  moved  about  from  one  point  to  another  until 
late  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  were  formed  in  line  a  few  rotis  from  the  house 
that  had  been  the  headquarters  of  the  rebel  General  Mahone.  Here  while  we 
were  constructing  a  temporary  line  ol  works,  we  were  subjected  to  a  severe 
shelling  which  wounded  several  of  our  men. 

During  the  following  night  the  enemy  evacuated  Petersburg  and  retreated 
westward;  our  army  tollowing  on  parallel  roads,  and  al.so  pressing  their  rear. 

On  the  afternoon  of  April  ♦;.  at  Sailor's  Creek,  our  division  and  Miles'  divi- 
sion, had  a  brisk  fight  with  the  rear  guard  of  the  enemy  which  resulted  in  our 
•capturing  a  wagon  train  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  wagons,  and  also  the 
teams  belonging  to  the  .same.  In  the  wagons  Avere  many  trunks  containing 
officers'  clothing,  and  many  were  packed  with  lerainine  apparel.  These  were 
appropriated  by  the  men;  and  we  had  (iuit«>  a  masquerade  around  our  camp- 
fires  that  night.  In  this  engagement  Lieutenant-Colonel  Perkins  and  some  of 
our  men  were  wounded. 

(Jn  the  7th,  we  again  encountered  the  enemy,  near  High  Bridge  or  Cumber- 
land Church.  In  front  of  the  Fifty-seventh,  the  enemy  held  a  strong  position 
along  a  high  ridge  within  cannon  shot  of  our  position.  We  suttered  some  from 
their  artillery  fire  but  did  not  attack.  Part  o(  our  corj>s  on  our  right  attacked 
and  turned  their  jMjsition  causing  them  to  retreat  once  more. 

On  the  8th,  the  regiment  acted  as  flankers  to  the  main  column,  marching  in 
this  manner  for  al>out  six  miles. 

Rumors  were  flying  about  that  (J rant  antl  l>«',e  were  corresponding  relative  to 
the  surrender  of  the  rebel  army,  cau.sing  our  men  to  be  in  hiirh  .spirits. 

About  noon  on  April  i).  when  we  were  resting  near  Ai)i>omattox  Court  Hou.se, 
we  received  the  welcome  tidings  that  the  old  enemy  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
ha<l  surrendered. 

During  its  active  service  which  Itegan  in  .\pril,  18ti2,  and  ended  in  April, 
iKCo,  tlu;  Fifty -seventh  had  be<Mi  engaged  in  twenty-.seven  battles,  and  eight 
minor  engagements  or  skirmishes.  Its  casualties  during  the  .same  period  were: 
officers,  eleven  killed,  thirty-two  wounded  and  five  (laptured;  enlisted  men. 
ninety-lour  killed,  four  hundred  and  seventy-two  wounded  and  one  hundred 
and  ninety-four  captured,  making  a  total  of  eight  hundred  and  eight. 

The;  total  enlistments  in  the  regiment  were  seventeen  hundred  and  eleven, 
but   in   this   iiuinbe-  arcf   included   about   two  hundred  men  who  re-enlisted  in 


•iFTCIi«IIUC)«r»UUS., 

eucitBTiEnastawTuiuiiori^ 

UD  KOVEOTO  Sdmn  «  BmCIO; 
'ICCVFIEl  7IR  •OHIWI  IHt  MWU 

orjoLyaaiiimaiisitrunu. 


PHOTO.    By   W.  M.  TIPTOH,   GETTYSBURG. 


PRINT:    THE   F.  GUTCKUNST  CO., 


Penn.siilcania  at  Getty sbiirg.  339 

December,  ]8(!.';,  which  arc;  counted  a.s  lu-w  <-tili.stiuent.s,  ami  about  two  hundred 
and  titty  men  who  joined  the  regiment  in  May.  iHf!."),  alter  its  ligbting  was ovei. 

(Mtlie  one  lumdred  and  ninety-four  men  captured,  it  is  sale  to  say  that  at, 
least  two-tiiirds  died  in  southern  prisons.  It  has  In^en  iniiM)ssib]e  to  ascertain 
tbe  number  who  died  of  disease  in  tield  and  general  liospitals,  but  as  a  rule  the 
number  who  died  of  disease  is  greater  than  the  number  killed  in  battle. 

After  the  surrender  of  Lee,  the  regiment  marched  to  Burkeville,  Va.,  and 
from  thence  to  Richmond,  Va.  From  here  it  moved  by  land  to  Alexandria,  Va. 
On  May '2o,  it  took  jjart  in  the  (irand  Keview  of  the  .\rmy  ot  the  Potomac  at 
Wiishington,  D.  C. 

On  the  afternotm  of  June  29,  near  liailey's  Cross  I\oads,  Va.,  it  was  mustered 
out  of  service.  The  next  morning  it  proceedeti  to  Harrisburg,  Ta..  where  the 
oflScers  and  men  received  their  tinal  j)ay  and  di.scharges.  on  July  tl.  18(15. 


DEDICATION  OK  MONUMENT 

6P"^  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

Jll.Y   24,    1S8S 

ADDRK.SS  or  COLONEL  ROBERT  L.  ORR 

CAOMKADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  Twenty-live  years  ago,  after  the  historic 
march  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  of  forty  miles  in  seventeen  hours  without  an 
'  organized  halt,  our  regiment  went  into  line  near  this  place.  On  the 
night  of  the  "id  or  the  morning  of  the  M.  we  were  moved  to  this  spot, 
on  the  extreme  right  of  the  infantry  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Our  skir- 
mishers were  deployed  at  once  and  went  to  work  to  dislodge  the  enemy's 
sharpshooters  concealed  in  yonder  house.  It  was  on  this  field,  now  known  as 
one  of  the  greatest  battlefields  in  the  world  (iettysburg,  famous  in  storv  and 
.song — that  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  the  two  great  armies  of  this  nation,  en- 
gaged in  a  war  for  which  history  has  no  parallel,  a  war  which  shook  this  coimtry 
to  its  very  center,  met  face  to  face,  and  challenged  one  another  to  battle.  Lee 
flushed  with  recent  victory  and  resting  on  the  prestige  which  continued  prai.se 
and  devotion  for  military  triumph,  at  home  and  abroad,  had  given  him  re- 
.solved  to  enter  Pennsylvania,  and  strike  the  last  effectual  blow  at  the  L'nion 
army.  This  army  under  Meade,  blood-stained  and  worn  blunt  and  strong  bv 
campaigns  which  had  been  both  disastrous  and  glorious,  here  gathered  itself 
with  grim  resolution,  though  wearied  by  hardship,  march  and  engagement,  to 
await  the  onslaught.  And  these  two  mighty  armies  closed  in  a  contest,  the 
result  of  which  was  to  prove  that  the  North  was  not  ready  to  surrender  the 
bulwarks  which  our  fathers  had  built  around  our  liberties.  And  here,  on  this 
very  spot,  and  all  around  here,  within  the  sound  of  my  voice,  stood  the  gallant 
Sixty-first,  to  the  end,  enfeebled  by  forced  marches,  but  not  discouraged ;  broken 
by  severe  losses,  but  not  dismayed,  covered  with  dust  and  smoke  and  blood 
but  still  sturdy  and  brave  and  true.  We  had  known  no  defeat  on  the  plains 
of  Virginia,  our  banner  was  the  banner  of  victory,  and  it  was  here  unfurled  10 
the  breeze  when  cannonading  shook  the  earth  and  .strong  men  went  down  to 
death.  AVhere  danger  was,  the  veteran  Sixty-first  went  and  our  tattered  and 
stained  colors  never  trailed  in  the  dust.     And  here,  where  our  brave  comrades 


340  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

fought  and  fell,  where  ihey  surrendered  to  death,  but  not  to  rebellion,  where 
they  laid  their  lives  on  their  country's  altar,  here  where  they  strove  that  "  Li- 
berty and  the  liiion  "'  might  live,  here,  where  to-day  sleep  under  the  blue 
vault  of  Heaven,  the  loyal  son.s  of  scores  of  battles,  we,  the  surviving  members 
of  the  Sixty-first  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  dedicate  this  monument 
to  their  memories.  It  is  right  that  we  should  raise  this  shaft  and  inscribe 
ujwn  it  in  enduring  characters  the  praise  which  history  oflfers  to  brave  war- 
riors, for  by  doing  this  we  honor  the  memories  of  the  men  who  as  volunteers, 
left  fireside,  home  and  position,  to  give  their  services  to  the  preservation  and 
prosperity  of  the  Union.  And  they  were  daring  men,  who  had  the  courage  to 
meet  armed  treason  on  many  a  field  and  challenge  it  to  mortal  combat.  The 
dead  of  our  gallant  Sixty-first  sleep  to-day  on  every  field  where  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  and  the  Sixth  Corps  fought.  It  won  oflicial  recognition  and  high 
praise  from  everj-  officer  who  commandetl  them  in  battle,  and  no  other  where 
than  here  at  Gettysburg,  did  the  men  of  our  regiment  exhibit  more  endurance 
and  courage,  or  seal  with  braver  blood  their  fidelity  to  the  cause  for  which  they 
fought.  When  Lee,  bent  upon  the  total  annihilation  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
suddenly  transferred  the  seat  of  war  across  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  to  the 
north,  and  penetrated  the  peaceful  valleys  of  southern  Pennsylvania,  when  he 
turned  back  the  page  of  history,  and  read  on  it  the  record  of  successes  and  de- 
feats of  two  eventful  years  of  bloody  strife,  when  he  saw  that  the  advantages 
of  war  were  only  gained  by  exercising  superior  strategy,  by  summoning  cour- 
age and  by  constant  and  incessant  attrition  of  opposing  forces,  when  he  oeheld 
the  flower  of  the  Confederacy  massed  in  his  presence,  still  strong  in  the  con- 
fidence of  its  own  ability  to  wrest  victory  from  defeat,  and  when  with  the 
mathematical  precision  which  characterizes  the  evolutions  of  a  trained  soldier, 
he  weighed  the  responsibilities  with  which  the  South  had  entrusted  him  and 
how  these  responsibilities  would  fare  did  he  wrestle  with  the  Army  of  tlie  Poto- 
mac, on  the  hills  of  Getty.sburg.  and  when  he  finally  determined  to  hurl  him- 
self like  a  thunderbolt  at  an  army  waiting  on  its  native  .soil,  the  entire  world 
stood  aghast,  and  watched  these  two  mighty  contending  forces,  concentrating 
themselves  for  the  final  contest.  And  when  after  three  days  of  smoke,  din, 
carnage,  blood  and  death,  the  terrors  of  war  had  written  themselves  in  the 
clouds,  and  the  sun,  long  concealed  behind  the  black  curtain  of  gloom,  burst 
forth  through  the  mist  of  the  battle,  and  the  roar  of  the  last  sullen  wave  of 
strife  had  died  beyond  the  hill  tops,  Lee,  the  proud  champion  of  the  Confeder- 
acy, his  array  helpless  and  bleeding,  hastened  away  from  a  field  of  irretrievable 
disaster,  looked  back  to  behold  the  .scene,  had  nothing  but  dismay  and  ruin  to 
his  hope  and  cause  and  country,  saw  high  up  in  the  heavens  of  midsummer, 
wreathed  upon  a  scroll  of  immaculate  white,  "  Victory  for  the  rnion,"  and  yet 
higher  upon  the  very  last  and  highest  scroll  of  fleecy  whiteness  '•  Liberty  and 
Freedom  Forever." 


ORATION  OF  .SERGEANT  A.  T.  BREWER 

We  meet  to-day  in  a  treble  capacity.  As  citizens  of  our  great  republic;  now 
imperial  in  power  as  well  as  extent.  As  representatives  of  the  historic  Com- 
monwealth of  Penn.sylvania,  .so  abounding  in  the  unsearchable  riches  of  patriot- 
ism, and  as  survivors  ot  a  conflict  to  maintain  the  one  and  shield  the  other. 


Pennsylvavid  <if   dcftyslnirg.  Bil 

The  American  nation,  twenty- live  years  ago,  spontaneously  and  ollieially, 
recognized  this  jihice  as  one  destined  to  an  lionored  immortality.  Hither  came 
the  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate,  and,  inspired  hy  th«!  association,  uttered  ex- 
alted sentiments,  with  a  splendor  of  language  unequaled  in  oratory.  These 
blood-stained  hills  and  valleys,  battle-scarred  rocks  and  trees,  were  sacredly 
dedicated  to  the  patriotic  valor  displayed  by  the  dead  and  the  living.  Here 
nature,  rugged,  grand,  diversified,  as  it  is,  has  yet  been  enriched  by  what  art 
could  do  in  marble,  bronze,  granite  and  landscape  decoration,  and  the  sixty- 
live  million  people  of  our  restored  Union  have  charged  themselves  with  the 
l)erpetual  and  reverent  care  of  this  consecrated  ground.  And  outside  of  our 
own  country,  the  world  over,  for  all  time,  the  fame  of  Gettysburg  will  live. 
The  human  sympathy  in  great  struggles  for  li})erty,  which  has  preserved  Mara- 
thon twenty-three  centuries,  will  secure  this  field  to  the  remotest  age. 

But  as  representatives  of  the  sovereign  state  on  whose  soil  the  contlict  oc- 
curred, we  have  an  interest  more  personal  than  historic.  All  other  states  con- 
cede to  Pennsylvania  a  peculiar  relation  to  Gettysburg,  it  was  her  territory 
Avhicli  was  moistened  by  so  much  precious  blood.  It  was  the  only  battle  fought 
on  free  soil  during  the  war,  and  the  only  great  battle  ever  fought  within  the 
bounds  of  tlie  Keystone  state.  It  was  the  only  meeting  of  hostile  armies  within 
her  limits  since  AVashington,  in  1777,  led  his  heroic  ]>and  against  the  English 
at  Germantown.  On  the  part  of  Pennsylvania,  it  was  a  conflict  to  protect, 
from  immediate  capture,  her  proud  cajiital,  sitting  like  a  queen  on  the  rippling 
Su.squehanna,  and  her  renowned  metropolis,  where  Independence  was  first  pro- 
claimed. It  was  natural  that  Pennsylvania.  Avith  peerless  colonial  history, 
and  acknowledged  pre-eminence  in  the  Revolution,  should  resist  with  death- 
less valor,  any  foe  that  dared  cross  her  border.  And  it  was  a  piece  of  good 
fortune  for  Pennsylvania,  attributable  to  a  favoring  Providence,  that  the  Na- 
tional Army  at  Gettysburg  was  composed  so  largely  of  her  troops,  aifording 
them  the  privilege  of  defending  their  own  state.  Her  regiments  of  infantry, 
cavalry  and  artillery  were  here  to  the  number  of  nearly  one  hundred,  and  they 
were  on  all  parts  of  the  field,  from  the  magnificent  resistance  of  Buford's 
cavalry  and  the  First  Corps,  July  1,  to  the  repulse  of  Pickett.  July  ?>.  That 
they  did  their  whole  duty  is  abundantly  attested  by  the  long  roll  of  dead  and 
wounded,  and  the  eflfective  work  aecompli-shed.  The  most  distinguished  officer 
killed,  the  much  loved  and  lamented  Maj  or-General  John  F.  Reynolds,  was 
from  Pennsylvania.  Right  grandly  did  he  defend  his  native  state  in  the  early 
and  discouraging  part  of  the  liattle.  Then  came  the  incomparable  Hancock 
and  the  Commander-in-Chief  General  Meade,  Itoth  from  the  same  state. 

The  people  of  Pennsylvania,  therefore,  have  reasons  for  their  determination 
to  exhibit  to  the  world  the  high  esteem  in  which  they  hold  the  services  of  their 
own  forces  on  this  memorable  field.  While  fully  approving  all  the  nation  has 
done,  the  state  adds  yet  other  honors  to  perpetuate  the  deeds  of  her  own  sons. 
The  monument  to-day  dedicated,  is  the  gift  of  the  State,  under  a  law  passed 
no  longer  ago  than  June  15,  1887,  twenty-four  years  after  the  battle.  How 
significant  was  the  passage  of  this  law  by  the  men  then  composing  the  legisla- 
ture. Some  were  born  after  the  battle.  Many  others  were  school  boys  when 
the  thundering  cannonade  at  Gettysburg  was  heard  over  half  the  State.  The 
pure  stream  of  patriotism  flowing  out  from  here  has  spread  its  benign  influence 
all  over  the  State  and  opened  the  heart  and  the  purse  of  a  new  generation. 

Yet  we  sustain  another  and  still  more  intimate  relation  to  this  battle-field. 


342  Pennsylvania  at  GeMysburg. 

To  us  tliis  alm<>sj)luTf  is  jMrriinifd  with  i<Moilt;ctioiis  of  July  2  and  ?,.  l-<(jr>,  Imt 
how  fliaiige<l  tlio  seem-.  Tlu>  same  sua,  indeed,  shines  in  the  heavens,  some  of 
the  same  trees  spread  their  green  foliajjeoverus,  the  same  brook  rolls  its  gentle 
flood  at  our  feet,  the  same  rocks,  hills,  valleys,  ravines,  greet  our  vision;  the 
same  Baltimore  pike  stretches  its  white  length  before  us,  and  the  same  Taney- 
lown  and  Emmitsburg  roads  wind  through  the  same  fertile  farms  and  cragged 
glens.  .Still,  tlit;  scene  is  different.  Instead  of  the  deafening  roar  and  din 
of  a  mighty  conflict,  all  is  pea'jc  and  good  will.  But  our  minds  and  hearts  are 
stirred  no  less  than  they  were  twenty-live  years  ago.  Indescribable  emotions 
agitate  and  thrill  us  as  we  look  abroad  over  this  field  to-day,  and  especially  as 
we  behold  the  sjwt  where  we  now  are. 

There  is,  liowever,  one  feeling  which  can  be  expressed.  We  are  thankful  to 
realize  that  no  sacrifice  was  made  in  vain.  Not  alone  did  the  cause  triumph 
for  which  we  contended,  but  the  Nation,  taking  new  life,  has  had  unparalleled 
growth  and  pro.sperity.  From  something  ovei  thirty  million,  it  has  increased 
to  sixty-five  million  of  happy,  free  i>eople,  devoted  to  the  I'nion  and  teadiing 
their  children  to  love  liberty  and  reveres  the  memory  of  those  who  saved  the 
Nation  in  the  great  civil  war. 

IJeturning  in  1865  to  peaceful  pursuits  with  our  fellow-countrymen,  most  of 
us  still  young,  we  lune  waged  the  battle  of  life  for  five-sixths  of  a  generation, 
and  yet  our  average  age  now  is  not  over  fifty  years.  At  the  same  time  we  are 
as  old  as  the  majority  of  tho.se  who  served  as  volunteers  in  the  late  war.  How 
young  then,  must  have  been  the  lives  liere  laid  on  the  altar  o(  lilierty  and  na- 
tional imity  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago?  While  the  loss  was  great,  can  any 
one  say  the  gain  was  not  commensurate?  Dare  any  one  say  the  sacrifice  was 
tfK)  great,  beholding  at  the  same  time  the  splendid  republic,  washed  by  two 
oceans,  bound  together  by  iron  rails,  with  teeming  millions  of  contented  i)eople, 
knowing  but  one  flag,  and  that  the  stars  and  stripes?  It  is  true,  the  noble 
young  men  Avho  fell  here  at  the  average  age  of  twenty-two,  gave  great  promise 
of  di.stinguished  usefulne.ss  in  all  walks  of  life;  but  without  the  government, 
they  and  their  comrades  fought  to  save,  what  would  life  be  worth?  No  one 
would  want  to  live  amidst  the  dissevered  fragments  of  the  Union,  and  no  one 
could  then  look  even  njwn  a  picture  of  the  old  flag  without  pangs  of  remorse 
and  bitter  humiliation. 

We  are  not  liere,  therefore,  to  bewail  the  falb-ii  as  tho.se  who  fell  in  vain,  nor 
to  l)emoan  the  sacrifices  of  those  who  yet  live,  but  rather  to  honor  the  .services 
of  both  on  this  and  other  fields  of  the  war. 

.Vs  the  organization,  wbos<»,  moniiment  is  lo-day  dedicated,  beloiig«'(i  lo  the 
Army  of  the  I'otomac,  and  shared  its  exj)erienct'  for  four  years,  wi-  will  con- 
templat*  for  a  while  that  celebrated  army. 

Considering  its  history  from  first  to  bust,  no  army  of  which  we  have  any  record, 
can  l)e  compared  to  it.  It  exhibited  a  peculiarity  never  before  witnessed  in  a 
va.st  army,  and  that  was  the  indestructible  pi^rsonality  and  .spirit  of  thesoldiers. 
As  a  whole,  in  its  formative  p<>riod  at  least,  it  was  a  i)olitical  foot^ball  and  vic- 
tim of  part  v  intrigue,  advt^r.sely  ciiticised  by  the  press,  sneered  at  by  the  other 
armies,  and  covertly  <ensnred  by  government  oflicials.  Yet  the  .soldiers,  with 
unsurpassed  intelligence,  keeping  constantly  in  mind  the  objetit  for  which  they 
eiili.st<-d.  bore  tlu'mselves  like  senators,  preserving  a  dignity  and  self-re.spect 
which  no  disaster  could  aftect.  No  army  of  men  in  the  world's  history  ever 
Hulfcrcd  so  many  defeats  and  ilisa|i])oi!it  mt-iits  without  losing  its  martial  spirit 


Pe.niisylvanio  at   (reffyshurfj.  343 

and  iM^cominj^  worthless  as  an  <>ij^anizati(n\.  In  ancient  times  one  defeat  in  a 
general  battle  practically  ended  an  army,  leaving  the  survivors  utterly  discour- 
aged. The  famous  Roman  armies  sent  against  Hannibal  were  each  ruiiu^d  in 
a  single  battle,  though  only  a  small  j)ro])ortion  were  killed.  Each  of  the  three 
Austrian  armies  .sent  against  Napoleon  in  Italy,  were  destroyed  in  a  single 
battle,  yet  not  over  ten  per  cent,  were  killed  or  .wounded.  So  it  has  ever  been 
with  armies  in  all  countries.  The  military  prestige  is  all  gone  after  one  or  two 
defeats.  This  being  true,  what  will  the  historian  of  the  future  .say  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  ?  Look  at  its  battles — r»ull  Run,  Ball's  Bluff,  march  against 
the  wooden  guns  at  Manassas  .Junction  in  the  spring  of  ]8Ci'2]  Yorktown,  a 
month  in  the  mud;  Williamsburg,  an  obviously  unnece.s.sary  .sacrifice;  Fair 
Oaks,  a  great  battle,  only  to  be  lollowed  by  a  month  in  the  Chickahominy 
swamps,  and  the  seven  days  retreat  engagements  ending  with  Malvern  Hill. 
Second  Bull  Run,  Chantilly:  Antietara,  a  bloody,  but  indecisive  victory,  with 
nothing  to  encourage  soldiers;  Fredericksburg,  a  sacrifice  «»f  fourteen  thou- 
sand men  in  a  movement  known  to  be  foolish  by  half  the  private  soldiers  in 
the  army;  Chancellorsville  and  second  Fredericksburg,  costing  over  sixteen 
thousand  more,  with  no  advantage. 

Up  to  July  1,  1863,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  its  thirteen  principal  en- 
gagements, had  lost  92,494  men  in  battle,  of  whom  10,r)34  were  killed,  being 
over  seventeen  per  cent,  of  all  men  killed  in  the  entire  war.  This  is  not  count- 
ing those  who  fell  in  minor  affairs  and  skirmishes,  nor  those  who  died  of  dis- 
ease, and  leaves  out  entirely  the  losses  sustained  in  the  ill-starred  (iampaign  of 
General  Pope,  and  the  fruitless  Shenandoah  movements.  Behold  then  an  army 
that  had  fought  thirteen  pitched  battles,  losing  in  the  aggregate  as  many  effec- 
tive men  in  actual  contest  as  it  ever  had  at  any  one  time,  marched  and  counter- 
marched through  three  states,  always  facing  the  enemy,  never  achieving  any 
substantial  success;  and  yet  its  ardt>r  was  unimpaired.  This  army  was  now 
called  to  meet  the  best  and  largest  force  ever  mu.stered  by  the  Confederacy,  not 
in  the  enemy's  country,  but  far  in  the  interior  of  Penn.sylvania.  But  this  is 
not  all.  The  rebels  were  flushed  with  a  recent  victory,  and  two  years'  expe- 
rience had  convinced  that  armv  it  was  unconquerable.  Nor  can  we  stop  here. 
The  concentrated  ambiticm  and  hate  of  a  century  was  in  the  rebel  army.  It 
was  determined  to  go  to  Harrisburg,  Baltimore,  cut  off  Washington  and  dictate 
terms  of  peace  from  the  steps  of  Independence  Hall  at  Philadelphia.  It  had 
boundless  confidence  in  its  leaders  and  in  the  efficiency  of  its  organization. 

On  the  contrary,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  scarcely  knew  who  its  commander 
•was,  for  no  order  had  been  read  to  the  troops  relieving  Hooker,  or  appointing 
Meade.  McDowell,  McClellan,  Burnside,  Hooker,  had  all  lailed  and  no  one 
expected  anything  great  from  Meade.  If  the  troops  had  been  consulted  they 
would  have  appointed  Hancock,  the  very  man  whom  Meade  himself  considered 
the  great  general  of  the  army,  and  selected  to  direct  the  battle.  According  to 
all  teaching  of  military  history,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  doomed  to  cer- 
tain defeat  at  Gettysburg.  The  chances  appeared  to  be  a  hundred  to  one 
against  it.  If  anything  was  needed  to  make  its  defeat  beyond  a  perad  venture 
it  was  furnished  by  the  government  in  the  change  of  commanders,  three  days 
before  the  battle,  when  the  armies  were  actively  feeling  for  each  other.  The 
removal  half  severed  the  hair  suspending  the  sword  of  Damocles.  But  history 
will  have  to  reconstruct  its  theories.  It  will  be  compelled  to  record  that  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  presented  features  hitherto  unheard  of  in  martial  orjjaniza- 


344  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

lions.  The  liistorian  will  lind  the  exphuuition  in  tlie  cliaracter  of  the  private 
soldiers  and  subordinate  officers  of  the  line.  These  men  had  not  taken  up  arms 
for  notliing,  nor  had  lliey  been  following  a  great,  dazzling  leader,  as  willing 
instruments  in  his  hands.  They  had  the  conviction  which  moves  the  patriot 
as  well  as  the  dauntle.ss  courage  of  the  tried  soldier.  The  desperate  forces  of 
treason  surged  and  dashed  against  them  in  vain.  They  stood  their  ground, 
and  the  proud  foe  retreated  never  again  to  set  foot  on  free  .soil. 

It  is  not  possible  to  give  a  history  of  the  battle,  but  justice  to  the  Arm}-  of 
the  Potomac  requires  a  few  statements.  On  the  first  day  our  forces  were  greatly 
out-numbered  by  the  enemy.  Then  Reynolds,  the  commander,  was  killed  in 
the  Ibrenoon  and  by  the  time  Doubleday,  who  succeeded  him,  got  his  forces 
well  in  hand,  and  Avas  doing  good  work  as  mortal  man  ever  did  under  like  dif- 
liculties,  he,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Howard,  in  virtue  of  seniority.  How- 
ard, Avith  iradequate  knowledge  ol  tlie  situation,  made  some  movements,  but 
he  was  soon  relieved  by  Hancock,  Avho  came  on  the  Held,  representing  General 
Meade.  In  the  face  of  so  many  changes,  the  marvel  is  that  the  army  was  not 
completely  crushed . 

On  the  second  day  the  enemy  had  the  advantage  in  numbers  and  the  enthu- 
siasm arising  from  victory,  as  thousands  of  Union  pri-soners  had  been  captured 
and  marched  to  the  rear  through  the  Confederate  lines. 

By  a  mistake,  the  Third  Corps,  under  Sickles,  was  placed  in  an  advanced 
and  untenable  position  at  the  famous  Peach  Orchard,  which  the  enemy  at- 
tacked, carried,  and  was  only  prevented  from  driving  the  lett  of  the  arm.v  >llt' 
thelield  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the  Sixth  Corps.  During  the  thii'd  day  the 
battle  raged,  at  different  points,  all  day  except  a  short  time  prior  to  the  great 
charge,  say  from  12  m.  to  1  p.  m.  Then  ensued  the  most  stupendous  cannon- 
ade ever  heard  in  the  new  world;  a  roar  which  shook  the  earth,  and  was  heard 
nearly  two  hundred  miles  to  the  west  and  northwest.  After  the  cannonade, 
when  the  enemy  supposed  the  Union  lines  were  shattered,  came  the  fierce  as- 
sault on  our  left  center,  l)y  about  20,000  of  the  best  troops  in  the  Confederate 
army. 

The  charge,  though  conducted  Avith  uncommon  bravery,  Avas  met  by  the 
dauntless  blue  lines  and  repulsed  Avith  such  terrible  loss  to  the  enemy  that  he 
gave  up  and  abandoned  the  field.  This  great  chaige,  its  n-pulse  and  the  fight- 
ing which  then  occurred,  showed  the  very  acme  of  human  courage  on  both 
.sides.  Intrepidity  could  do  no  more.  The  division  of  Pickett,  leading  the 
assault,  Avas  practically  annihilated. 

In  the  entire  battle  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  exhibited  a  steadiness  in  move- 
ments, a  firmness  in  maintaining  positions,  and  a  gallantry  in  actual  contact 
with  the  enemy,  never  surj)as.sed  by  an  army,  and  this  is  the  testimony  of  all 
.Xmerican  as  well  as  foreign  Avriters  on  the  subject.  If  that  army  liad  fought 
no  other  l»attl(',  its  fame  woidd  have  been  secure.  Put  after  Gettysburg  it 
fought  thirty-eight  battles,  losing  on  the  field  no  less  than  280,65(j,  of  Avhom 
:i:>,(;!)l  were  killed. 

According  to  official  statistical  record,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  first  to 
last,  in  its  fifty-one  battles,  lost  32,268  killed,  256,880  Avounded  and  69,597 
prisoners,  a  grand  total  ol  367,295.  By  disease  it  lost,  on  the  usual  estimate, 
at  least  62,000  more,  avIio  actually  died  in  tin;  service,  making  the  total  num- 
ber of  deaths  91,000.  and  aggregate  loss,  so  far  as  .shown  by  accessible  records, 
of '129.295.      I'liil   to  t  liis  iiumlKM    should    be  added    those  who  were  discharged 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  345 

for  disability,  ari.siufi  iVoiu  disease  contracted  in  tlie  service.  Of  such  there 
must  have  been  enough  to  swell  the  total  loss  to  half  a  million,  not  (counting 
losses  in  small  affairs  and  skirmislies.  One  other  fact  should  he  mentioned, 
not  as  a  complaint,  but  as  an  incident,  relating  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

During  the  war.  Congress,  beginning  with  December  24,  1861,  and  ending 
with  March  3,  186"),  passed  fifteen  joint  resolutions,  expressing  thanks  of  the 
nation  to  various  officers  and  armies,  and  providing  special  honors  for  them. 
Yet  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  never  mentioned  except  once,  January  28, 
1864,  when  the  three  names,  selected  for  honor,  were  not  the  men  entitled 
thereto,  in  the  estimation  of  that  army,  and  therefore,  the  resolution  did  more 
harm  than  good. 

Here  then  was  an  ('xami)le  of  pure  patriotism.  An  army,  battling  with  the 
flower  of  the  Confederacy,  defending  the  national  capitol,  suffering  unpre- 
cedented losses  which  are  unavailing  through  various  causes,  ignored  by  Con- 
gress, whose  sessions  were  held  within  the  sound  of  its  cannon,  and  whose  laws 
derived  all  their  effect  from  its  power,  still  maintaining  the  conflict  until  the 
last  enemy  of  the  republic  was  killed  or  captured. 

The  fame  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  must  constantly  increase  as  its  services 
are  better  understood,  as  was  said  of  illustrious  heroes  of  old:  "Far  reaching, 
bright  shining,  through  ether,  to  heaven,  ascending.'' 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac,  like  other  Union  and  Confederate  armies,  was 
divided  into  corps.  But  so  many  changes  occurred,  from  time  to  time,  in  the 
troops  that  only  a  few  corps,  as  such,  acquired  special  honor  on  account  of 
fighting  qualities.  One  of  the  few,  having  a  special  and  distinct  fame,  was  the 
"old  Sixth,"  as  it  was  affectionately  called.  It  was  organized  under  an  order 
of  President  Lincoln,  dated  July  32,  1862.  and  remained  with  few  changes 
until  June  28,  186.5.  Included  in  that  corps,  from  first  to  last,  was  the  Sixty- 
first  Pennsylvania,  and  what  is  said  ot  the  corps  will  apply  also  to  the  regi- 
ment. The  Sixth  Corps,  besides  taking  a  most  conspicuous  part  in  every 
movement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  had  some  striking  and  dramatic  experi- 
ences of  its  own.  It  was  the  famous  Vermont  brigade  of  the  Sixth  Corps  that 
was  sent  to  New  York  to  quell  the  riots  in  1863,  and  it  was  the  commander  of 
that  fighting  brigade  who,  when  complaint  was  made  by  the  New  York  au- 
thorities that  his  men  fired  bullets  instead  of  blank  cartridges  at  riot  prisoners, 
on  attempting  to  escape,  replied,  "My  men  never  learned  how  to  fire  blank 
cartridges."  On  September  16.  1863,  at  Culpeper  Court  House,  the  Sixty-first 
Pennsylvania  turned  out  and  presented  arms  to  the  Vermonters  on  their  return 
from  New  York.  This  .shows  the  generous  spirit  always  a  feature  of  the  Sixth 
Corps.  It  was  the  Sixth  Corps  alone  that  fought  and  won  the  second  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  while  the  remainder  of  the  army  was  at  Chancellorsville;  that 
fought  the  battle  of  Salem  church,  losing  in  l>oth  battles  over  twenty  per  cent, 
of  its  entire  force. 

It  was  the  Second  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  that  fought  the  brilliant  and  bloody 
battle  at  Fort  Stevens,  July  12,  1864,  under  the  eye  of  President  Lincoln  and 
his  cabinet,  in  the  very  suburbs  of  Washington.  In  this  battle  the  Sixty-first 
Pennsylvania  was  one  of  the  six  regiments  making  the  successful  charge  on 
Early's  position,  and  its  commander,  Colonel  Cro.sby,  lost  an  arm.  In  fact 
every  regiment  in  that  charge  lost  its  commander.  The  Sixth  Corps  then  went 
to  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and  won  fadeless  renown  with  Sheridan.  At  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  while  Sheridan  was  making  his  immortal  ride  from  Win- 


346  Pennsylvamn  tit  (Tettyshurtj. 

clu'ster.  the  Sixlli  Corps  kept  up  llie  tight,  swinging  around  like  :i  giite  on  its 
hinges  to  meet  tile  enemy,  after  the  left  Hank  of  the  army  had  been  turned. 
It  was  on  the  nnconiiuerable  lines  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  then  redueed  to  ;i  mere 
handful  of  men.  that  Sheridan  rallied  his  shuttered  army,  and  it  was  a  charge 
from  the  Sixth  ('orps  and  Custer's  Cavalry  that  .started  the  enemy  on  the  run 
and  inaugurated  the  movements  ending  in  the  crnshing  defeat  of  the  rebel 
army.  General  Slieridau.  after  the  surrender  of  the  French  army,  at  Metz, 
being  on  the  ground,  paid  a  high  compliment  to  the  Sixth  Corps  by  remarking 
to  Prince  Frederick  (Jharles.  the  (rernian  commander,  that  he  (Sheridan)  could 
have  cut  his  way  out  of  Met/  with  <»ne  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps.  The 
French  had  172,(t0(l  men.  It  was  reserved  tor  the  Sixth  Corps,  under  the  im- 
mediate direction  of  Ceneral  (Jrant,  to  make  the  tinal  assault  at  Petersburg  and 
break  the  rebel  lines  on  April  'i.  1865,  starting  Lee's  army  lor  Appomattox. 
It  was  also  the  Second  Division  and  Third  Brigade  which  led  that  charge,  and 
the  Sixty-first  Penu.sylvania  was  in  the  center  and  hottest  part  of  the  battle, 
losing  its  colonel.  The  Sixth  Corps  did  most  of  the  lighting  at  Sailor'.s  Creek, 
the  last  hard  battle  of  the  war.  After  the  surrender  of  l.ee  tlie  Sixth  Corp.s 
was  immediately  started  to  join  Sherman  and  aid  in  finishing  .Johnston's  army, 
but  only  rea<!hed  Danville  before  .Johnston  capitulated. 

The  Sixth  Corps  was  not  present  at  the  grand  review  in  .May.  iMd.").  at  Wash- 
ington, but  had  a  .separate  review  by  the  President  afterwards,  and  ended  its 
existence  June  28.  186.").  Stevens,  the  hi.storian  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  says  "  it 
was  the  grandest  corps  that  ever  faced  a  foe."' 

The  regiment,  whose  .services  we  are  to-day  commemorating,  fitly  represents 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Sixth  Corps  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
More  than  any  other  regiment  it  presents  the  true  type  and  average  character 
of  the  Keystone  soldiers.  Avho  volunteered  for  three  years  in  1861.  This  is  true 
becau.se  it  was  raised  in  difi'erent  parts  of  the  State,  and  iTiclnded  all  classes  in 
its  ranks.  Company  A  was  recruited  in  the  northern  part  of  Indiana  county, 
on  the  skirts  of  the  AUeghenies.  from  hardy  farmers  and  bold  lumbermen  of 
that  locality.  Five  companies.  R.  (!,  F,  F  and  K,  were  raised  in  and  about 
Pittsburg,  from  the  enterprising  manufacturers,  merchants,  mechanics,  iron 
workers,  coal  operators.  Imatmen  and  other  brave  men  of  the  Union-loving 
region.  Company  D  was  raised  in  Luzerne  coimty,  the  neighborhood  of  hard 
coal,  where  the  beautiful  valley  of  Wyoming  recalls  sad  and  bloody  massacres 
by  English  and  Indians  a  century  ago.  The  company  was  composed  of  intel- 
ligent, stout  men  of  all  trades  and  callings.  The  other  three  companies,  G,  H 
and  I.  were  rai.sed  in  Philadelphia;  the  patriotic  city  of  brotherly  love,  of  wo- 
manly .sympathy,  ol"  cliivalrons  generosity,  whose  motto  of  "hot  cofi'ee  free  for 
viilunteers  "  was  known  and  read  of  all  men.  The  pride  of  every  Pennsyl- 
vanian,  the  inspiration  of  all  friends  of  liberty,  etiuality  and  Fnion.  the 
home  of  unpretentious  refinement  and  culture,  the  abode  and  patron  of  art,  the 
seat  of  unostentatious  wealth  and  diversified  industry,  the  paradise  for  every 
wounded  .soldier.  The.s«;  three  companies  were  in  all  things  worthy  of  the  city 
they  represented.  They  furnished  the  regiment  three  colonels  and  two  lieu- 
tenant-colonels in  less  than  three  years'  time. 

The  regiment.  ;ls  a  whole,  coniliined  every  element  of  iiiilitai\  slren^tli.  It 
c<mld  build  bridges,  lay  out  an<l  make  roads,  plan  and  construct  forts  as  well 
as  maki-  long  marches  and  fight  battles  by  day  and  night 

The  Sixty-lirsl   was  fortunate  in  having  lor  its  first  colonel  a  veteran   of  the 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettijf^hurg.  347 

Mexican  war,  who  had  also  btu'ii  in  the  thut-  months'  sfr\  icf.  .\.  patriot,  an 
orator,  a  model  soldier  was  Oliver  H.  Kipi)ey.  from  Pittsburg,  whose  eommis- 
sioQ  was  issued  twenty-seven  yeai-s  ago  to-day.  His  command,  the  Sixty-tirst, 
was  soon  organized  and  in  September,  1861,  moved  into  Virginia  near  Alexan- 
dria, joining  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  whose  t'ortunes  it  shared,  without  inter- 
ruption, to  the  end  of  the  war. 

If  it  is  true  that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  deserves  the  place  in  history  which 
has  been  indicated,  and  that  the  Sixth  t'orps  in  the  amount  and  variety  of  its 
services,  ranks  .so  high  in  that  army,  then,  indeed,  is  the  record  of  the  Sixty- 
first  Pennsylvania,  a  proud  one  tocontemphite.  Only  one  regiment  in  the  Sixth 
Corps  had  more  men  killed  in  action  during  the  war  than  the  Sixty-tirst,  and 
only  seven  regiments  in  the  five  hundred  or  more  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
had  more  men  killed  in  any  one  action.  But  the  Sixty-first  has  a  broader  re- 
putation than  the  army  or  the  corps  with  which  it  served.  Lieutenant-Colonel 
\Vm.  F.  Fox  has  been  examining  the  record  of  all  Union  regiments  and  gives 
the  result  in  an  interesting  article  in  the  May  Ceniur;/,  1888.  His  tables  show 
that  the  Sixty-first  Pennsylvania,  in  the  numVjer  of  officers  killed  in  action, 
stands  first  in  the  entire  Federal  army,  also  that  it  stands  eleventh  in  the  num- 
ber killed  in  any  one  action  in  the  Union  army,  and  fifteenth  in  the  total  nuni- 
l>er  killed  during  the  war. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  thai  the  fourteen  other  regiments  having  greater  total 
losses  than  the  Sixty-first,  every  one,  belonged  to  the  Array  of  the  Potomac.  It 
is  also  worthy  of  note  that  forty  out  of  the  forty-five  regiments  sustaining  the 
heaviest  losses  in  killed  during  the  war,  belonged  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
It  is  worthy  of  still  further  mention  that  out  of  the  torty-five  honored  regi- 
ments, eleven  belonged  to  Pennsylvania. 

The  aggregate  loss  in  the  Sixty-first  Penn.sylvania  Volunteers  is  frightful  for 
any  one  regiment.  It  had  nineteen  officers  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-five 
men  killed  in  battle,  twenty -seven  officers  and  six  hundred  and  ten  men 
wounded.  One  officer  and  one  hundred  and  seven  men  died  of  disease,  mak- 
ing total  killed,  wounded  and  died  of  disease  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine. 
In  the  whole  Federal  army,  on  an  average,  two  died  of  disease  for  every  one 
killed,  but  in  the  Sixty-first  nearly  an  average  of  three  were  killed  to  one  dying 
of  disease. 

It  is  not  possible  to  give  a  history  of  the  Sixty-first  in  less  than  a  volume, 
nor  is  it  necessary  in  order  to  appreciate  the  character  of  the  regiment.  Ky  ex- 
perienced military  men,  three  tests  are  applied  to  troops:  Firmness  in  remain- 
ing where  they  are  placed,  gallantry  in  a.s.sault  and  .steadiness  when  surprised. 
Let  these  tests  be  applied  to  the  Sixty-first,  in  three  actions,  each  furnishing  a 
fiiir  trial  of  its  firmness,  gallantry  and  steadiness. 

At  Fair  Oaks,  May  31,  1802,  a  large  Confederate  army  attacked  the  Fourth 
Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  with  a  view  of  capturing  or  destroying  it 
l)efore  General  McClellan  could  move  reinforcements  across  the  swollen  Chick- 
ahominy.  The  Sixty-first,  alter  standing  in  line  for  hours,  was  led  forward 
into  the  woods,  by  General  Couch  in  person,  to  meet  the  enemy,  advancing  in 
strong  force.  Directly  the  rebels  were  met  marching  by  the  flank.  When  the 
c-olumns  had  approached  near  each  other  the  rebels  went  "right  by  file  into 
line,"  and  the  Sixty -first  filed  right  and  moved  its  entire  length  parallel  to 
the  Confederate  line,  and  faced  to  the  front,  the  lines  beingabout  two  hundred 
feet  apart.     Then   at   the    word  of  command  from  the  colonel  the  regiment 


348  Pennsylvania  at  Geffyshurg. 

opened  a  point  l>lank  lire.  At  the  same  instant  the  enemy  opened  and  a  deadly 
struggle  hegau.  The  Sixty -lirst  had  no  support  on  its  right,  and  the  Union 
troops  on  the  left  were  soon  driven  hack,  leaving  one  regiment  to  contend 
against  a  line  of  hattle  out-flanking  it  on  either  side.  But  the  Sixty-lirst  did 
not  stop  to  calculate.  It  poured  in  a  continuous  fire.  The  rebel  line  was  re- 
inforced time  and  again  and  Anally  worked  around  on  the  right  and  left,  ojien- 
ing  an  enlilading  lire,  and  yet  the  Sixty-first  maintained  its  ground. 

The  brave  Colonel  Kippey  was  killed.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Spear  and  Major 
Smith  were  wounded.  Still  the  men  kept  \ip  the  light  until  an  order  was 
passed  along  the  lines  to  fall  back.  "When  the  order  was  given,  and  not  till 
then,  the  iininjured  men  started  back.  Tliey  found  the  rebels  on  their  right 
and  left  closing  rapidly  the  small  gap  left  for  escape.  Disregarding  all  de- 
mauds  for  surrender  they  rushed  past  and  through  the  rebel  lines  reaching  the 
second  Union  position  in  small  groups. 

On  moving  back  the  Sixtj^-first  left  on  its  line  ninet^'-one  killed,  including 
its  colonel,  and  over  two  hundred  Avounded,  including  Lieutenant-Colonel  Spear 
and  Major  Smith,  both  being  captured.  During  this  engagement  the  men  of 
the  Sixty-first  lired  thirty-seven  rounds  apiece.  Toward  the  clo.se  hot  muskets 
burned  the  soldiers'  hands  into  blisters.  After  retiring,  remnants  of  the  Sixty- 
lirst  without  field  officers,  part  under  command  of  Captain  Jacob  Creps  of  Com- 
pany A,  and  part  at  another  point  under  Captain  afterwards  Colonel  Robert  L. 
Orr,  joined  the  second  line  and  aided  in  the  final  repulse  of  the  Confederate 
army.  No  prisoners  were  taken  from  the  Sixty-first  except  the  wounded  who 
were  unable  to  leave  the  field. 

Passing  oyer  a  whole  year  of  hard  lighting  and  marching,  another  engage- 
ment will  be  noticed,  illustrating  gallantry.  On  Sunday  morning.  May  'A, 
18015,  as  beautiful  a  morning  as  ever  smiled  on  liumanity,  the  Sixty -first  headed 
a  charge  on  Marye's  Heights,  at  Fredericksburg,  across  the  canal  bridge  march- 
ing by  the  Hank  in  column  of  fours.  It  was  exactly  like  Napoleon's  famous 
charge  across  ].,odi  bridge.  The  Confederate  forts  were  on  the  heights  in  full 
view  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  with  lines  of  rifie  pits  in  front.  As  soon  as  the 
regiment  started  over  the  bridge  double  quick,  the  rebels  ran  cannon  out  into 
the  road  and  fired  directly  into  the  head  of  the  column,  the  grape  sweeping 
through  the  ranks  for  the  whole  length  of  the  Sixty-first,  and  even  into  the 
troops  behind  it.  At  the  same  time  artillery  opened  from  the  forts,  raining 
grape  and  canister  like  hail  upon  the  advancing  force,  and  the  rifle  })its  in  front. 
and  on  both  flanks  were  a  sheet  of  flame.  Just  as  the  line,  left  in  front, 
reached  the  Confederate  side  of  the  luidge  Colonel  Spear,  while  gallantly  lead- 
ing the  column,  was  killed.  Others,  familiar  Avith  the  movements  then  to  be 
made,  were  also  killed  or  disabled,  and  no  one  remained  to  give  any  command 
how  to  deploy  the  line  or  what  to  do.  It  being  impo.ssible  to  move  further  by 
the  flank,  some  of  the  men  went  to  the  right,  others  to  the  left,  and  in  a  few 
seconds  the  supporting  regiments  came  forward  and  the  works  Avere  (;arried. 
In  the  assault  all  the  confidence  of  the  commanding  general  shown  in  .select- 
ting  the  Sixty-first  to  lead  the  column  Avas  justified,  and  no  charge  during  the 
war  Avas  lictter  suited  to  test  the  gallantry  of  a  regiment. 

After  tlie  t(;rrible  experiences  of  the  Wilderness  and  night  marches  follow- 
ing, on  another  Sunday,  May  H,  1804,  the  Sixty-first  stood  in  line  of  battle  near 
the  far-famed  "  bloody  angle,'"  at  Spot.sylvania  Court  House.  About  sundown 
the  regiment  was  ordered  forwaid  tln-ough  the  Avoods.  but  cautioned  to  be  care- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  349 

lul,  as  lour  lines  of  Union  troops  were  ahead.  I'roceeding  slowly  so  as  to  keep 
the  alignment,  the  Sixty-tirst  descended  into  a  gloomy  and  thickly  wooded 
ravine,  crossed  a  small  brook  and  began  moving  up  on  the  other  side.  Twi- 
light was  rapidly  deepening  into  darkness  when  suddenly  a  rebel  line  of  battle 
appeared,  close  in  front,  as  if  dropped  from  the  clouds.  A  Confederate  oflicer 
seized  the  flag  of  the  Si.xtj^-lirst  and  demanded  instant  surrender;  the  color  ser- 
geant held  on  while  the  bold  rebel  was  caught  by  otKcers  of  the  Sixty-tirst  and 
made  a  prisoner.  Sergeant  Brady  of  Company  A  was  shot  dead  by  a  rebel, 
who  in  turn  was  shot  and  bayoneted  by  Jno.  E.  Allison  of  Company  A.  A 
battle  was  then  commenced  so  quickly  that  officers  had  no  time  to  give  com- 
mands. Every  man  in  the  regiment,  as  if  propelled  by  machinery,  went 
straight  for  the  rebels  in  front  of  him.  Officers  used  their  swords  and  revol- 
vers, while  the  men,  after  firing  one  .shot,  took  their  bayonets  or  used  their 
guns  as  clubs,  dispersing  the  enemy  as  police  scatter  a  mob.  When  the  tight 
ended  it  was  pitch  dark,  and  no  Union  troops  to  be  found  on  the  right  or  left. 
The  Sixty-first  put  out  its  pickets  and  lay  on  its  arms  imtil  daylight.  About 
midnight  Colonel  Smith  sent  Adjutant  ^Yilson  to  find  brigade  headquarters. 
The  Adjutant  proceeded  a  short  distance  to  the  rear  and  then  toward  the  right. 
While  groping  his  way  through  the  dark  woods  a  sentinel  challenged  him,  and 
almost  immediately  fired  instantly  killing  the  Adjutant.  Other  thrilling  in- 
cidents occurred,  but  the  Sixty-first  came  out  the  next  morning  with  little  loss 
and  with  undimished  intrepidity. 

That  day,  May  9,  1864,  the  regiment  with  the  army  and  the  Nation  was 
called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a  great  and  beloved  soldier,  Major-General 
John  Sedgwick,  commander  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  who  was  killed  on  the  front 
line  of  his  corps. 

These  three  severe  tests  demonstrate  that  the  Sixty-first  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteers had  all  the  high  qualities  which  distinguished  the  most  famous  sol- 
diers of  the  world,  the  firmness  of  Alexander's  phalanx,  the  steadiness  of 
Cicsar's  legion  and  the  gallantry  of  Napoleon's  battalion. 

It  only  remains  to  describe  the  part  taken  in  this  battle  by  the  Sixty-first 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  The  official  reports  are  meagre.  Many  maps  and 
diagrams  show  the  whole  Sixth  Corps  massed  in  rear  of  Little  Round  Top 
marked  "  reserve,"  a  position  the  corps  never  occupied  for  a  moment. 

In  order  to  a  full  appreciation  of  the  services  of  the  Sixty -first  here,  it  is  es- 
sential to  go  back  twenty-four  hours.  On  the  evening  of  July  1,  the  Sixth 
Corps  was  at  Manchester,  Maryland,  thirty-eight  miles  away,  to  the  south- 
east, on  the  extreme  right  of  the  army.  After  dark  the  corps  was  put  in  mo- 
tion for  Gettysburg.  But  over  fifteen  miles  of  trains  headed  toward  Baltimore 
blocked  the  way,  and  had  to  be  turned  in  the  opposite  direction.  All  night 
long  the  men  were  on  their  feet  marching  a  little  at  a  time  and  then  waiting 
while  the  obstructions  were  being  removed.  By  day-light,  July  2,  not  over 
half  a  dozen  miles  had  been  made,  yet  with  a  gun,  forty  rounds  of  cartridge  and 
other  necessary  equipage  to  carry  or  hold,  the  experience  had  been  enough  to 
weary  the  toughest  veterans.  The  sun  was  well  up  over  the  trees  before  the 
road  was  cleared.  After  stopping  ten  minutes  for  breakfast  began  the  great 
march,  which  has  so  justly  distinguished  the  Sixth  Corps. 

The  battle  was  raging  thirty-four  miles  away.  The  enemy  was  concentrated 
and  the  absorbing  question  was  whether  the  Sixth  Corps  could  arrive  in  time 
to  be  of  service.     Could  the  soldiers,  or  even  the  horses,  after  moving  all  night, 


350  Peimsylrnnia  at  (retfysbnrg. 

march  Ihirty-ibur  miles  more  along  a  du.stv  load.  rtmier  a  .sc!on;hiug  Juh  isnn, 
earrying  everything  that  must  accompany  an  army  to  make  it  elVective,  and  if 
the  marcli  could  ])ossibly  be  made  would  the  corps  ))e  in  a  condition  to  render 
any  aid  after  reaching  the  lield?  Tliese  were  questions  agitating  the  comman- 
der of  the  army,  and  tlie  l)rave  and   sturdy  leader  of  the  Sixth  Corps. 

Most  of  th«'  march  wa,s  to  be  along  the  old  Baltimore  pike,  paved  with  broken 
white  limestone,  Avhich  long  use  had  ground  into  powder.  The  road  ran  in  a 
stniight  direction,  up  hill  and  down,  through  a  beautiful  and  fertile  country; 
"sweet fields  arrayed  in  living  green  "'  were  beheld  on  every  hand.  The  sun, 
warm  at  the  beginning,  grew  hotter  and  more  piercing  every  hour  and  his  rays 
gathered  fresh  force  as  they  were  reflected  from  the  hard  road.  Toward  noon 
the  radiating  heat  could  l)e  observed  in  waves,  like  colorless  clouds,  floating 
from  the  earth  and  mingling  with  the  tine  dust  created  by  the  moving  column. 

The  Sixth  Corps  then  consisted  of  thirty-six  regiments  of  infantry,  eight  bat- 
teriesof  artillery,  and  two  companies  of  cavalry,  numbering  in  all  about  18,000 
men.  When  stretched  along  a  single  load,  exclusive  of  trains,  except  those 
«-arrying  ammunition,  the  corps  was  over  ten  miles  long,  and  was  in  itself  a 
larger  army  than  was  ever  marshaled  on  American  soil  prior  to  1861.  This 
<orps  was  then  the  largest  of  the  seven  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was 
equipped  to  tight  a  great  battle  alone,  as  it  had  done  two  months  before  at 
Fredericksburg  and  Salem  Church,  while  the  balance  of  the  army  wa.s  at  Chan- 
<ellorsville.  During  July  2,  while  this  famous  march  was  in  progress,  the  men 
knew  nothing  of  any  battle  having  been  fought  on  the  day  before,  but  each 
believed  something  of  va.st  moment  was  at  hand  in  which  the  Sixth  Corps 
would  probably  take  an  independent  part.  Yet  but  little  wa.s  said  as  the  blue 
line  moved  forward,  V>earing  the  (Jreck  cross  along  with  the  stars  and  stripes. 
No  halt,  no  dinner,  no  command,  no  in<lication  of  any  enemy,  nt)  roar  of  battle. 
!is  the  wind  carried  the  sound  in  other  direction.s. 

From^ven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  tlie 
march  was  one  steady  swing  and  tramp,  with  no  stimulation  or  event  of  any 
kind  to  awaken  special  enthusiasm.  P.ut  at  that  time,  miles  ahead  on  the  .side 
ot  the  mountain  which  had  long  bee?»  in  sight,  shells  were  seen  bursting  high 
in  the  air,  with  red  angry  flashes.  Soon  smoke  was  ob.served  curling  along 
above  the  trees  and  floating  away  to  the  n<trth,  and  yet  up  to  this  time  not  a 
cannon  had  been  heard.  .\ow  the  rapid  step  was  yet  quickened,  the  gun  was 
not  so  heavy,  the  cartridge  box  pulled  down  less  than  before,  the  end  was  at 
hand.  On  and  on  moved  the  column.  Directly  the  familiar  roar  of  battle  be- 
gan to  be  heard  indistinctly,  then  louder  and  more  continuous.  Amlnilances 
cam*'  in  long  white  proce.ssiou,  and  wounded  men  streaming  back  with  other 
immistakable  indications  of  a  bloody  conflict.  Still  the  Sixth  Corps  pres.sed 
on,  stopping  for  nothing  until  the  rear  of  liittle  ]\ound  Toj)  was  reached.  Here 
was  a  halt,  the  lirst  in  ten  hours. 

At  this  moment  the  roar  of  musketry  was  awful  })eyond  description,  and  the 
whole  valley  trembled  with  th«^  thunder  ol"  artillery.  Little  Round  Top  wa.s 
blazing,  smoking,  quaking  like  an  active  volcano.  The  arrival  of  the  Sixth 
Corps  so  .soon  w;is  a  surj)rise  to  l)oth  friend  and  foe.  .\n  incident  is  related  by 
Charles  Carlton  Coffin,  presenting  a  striking  .scene  at  General  Meade's  head- 
quarters JUS  the  Sixth  C<jrps  came  in  .sight.  The  movement  of  the  column  was 
HO  fa-st  that  it  wa.s  believed  to  be  cavalry.  'J'he  author  .says:  "  I  was  at  Meades 
hejMl<iuarteis:   the  roar  of  battle  was  louderand  grew  iieaier:    Hill  was  threaten- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  351 

ing  the  center;  a  cloud  of  dust  could  be  seen  down  the  Baltinaore  Piko.  Had 
Stuart  suddenly  gained  our  rear?  There  were  anxious  countenances  around 
the  cottage  where  the  Hag  ol'  th*;  commander-in-chief  was  Hying.  ( )fficers  gazed 
with  their  field  glasses.  "  It  is  not  cavalry,  but  infantry.'  said  one,  '  there  is 
the  flag,  it  is  the  Sixth  Corps."  AVe  could  see  the  advancing  bayonets  gleam- 
ing in  the  sunlight.  Faces  whicli  a  moment  before  were  grave  became  cheer- 
Ail.  It  Avas  an  inspiring  sight.  The  corps  crossed  Kock  Creek,  tiled  into  the 
field,  threw  themselves  >ipon  the  ground,  tossed  aside  their  knapsacks,  and 
wiped  the  sweat  from  their  sunburnt  cheeks." 

The  author,  after  describing  some  other  stirring  movements  then  in  pro- 
gre.s.s.  continues:  "At  the  same  time  an  officer  rode  down  to  the  Sixth  Corps. 
1  saw  the  tired  and  weary  men  rise' from  the  ground  and  fall  into  line.  They 
moved  ol!'  ujwn  the  run  towards  Weed's  Hill  (T.ittle  Round  Topi,  which  was 
all  aflame.  The  dark  lines  of  the  Sixth  Corps  became  lost  to  sight  as  they 
move<l  into  the  woods  cniwniug  the  hill.  There  were  quiciker  volleys,  a  light- 
ing up  of  the  sky  by  sudden  flashes,  followed  by  a  «;heer.  I.ongstreet  gave  up 
the  struggle  and  fell  back.'' 

Stevens,  the  Sixth  Corps  historian,  describes  the  .same  movement,  as  fol- 
lows: ''On  receiving  orders  as.signing  our  position,  and  the  information  that 
our  presence  was  actually  needed,  the  three  divisions  were  moved  simulta,ne- 
ously  at  double  quick,  in  parallel  lines,  and  arrived  on  the  line  of  battle  at  the 
critical  moment,  just  as  the  rebels,  flushed  with  victory,  were  penetrating  our 
lines  to  the  right  of  Round  Top.  Owing  to  the  direction  in  which  we  ap- 
proached, little  more  was  necessary  than  to  halt  the  lines  and  face  to  the  right 
to  bring  three  lines  of  battle  facing  the  enemy's  advance,  and  to  close  the  gap 
made  by  the  rebel  onslaught."'  "'The  volley  from  our  front  line,"'  .says  Gen- 
eral "Wright.  ■•  was  i>erliaps  the  heaviest  ]  have  ever  heard,  and  it  had  the  ef- 
fect not  only  of  checking  the  triumphant  advan«re.  but  of  throwing  his  ranks 
into  the  utmost  confusion." 

The  movements  of  the  Sixth  Corps  on  July  2,  18G3,  are  such  as  to  challenge 
the  admiration  of  mankind.  Its  maje.stic  tread  on  the  battle  field,  at  the 
supreme  moment,  after  such  a  memorable  march,  will  resound  through  the 
ages.  It  was  the  realization,  the  emlx>diment  of  the  sublimest  figure  of  inspired 
poetry,  "  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.'"  became  in  fact  "  a  terrible  army 
with  banners."  the  Greek  cross  floating  over  it,  and  the  Greek  fire  like  that 
which  could  not  be  extinguished  at  Salamis,  burning  within  it. 

The  Sixth  Corps,  after  aiding  in  tlie  repulse  at  Little  Round  Top,  was  sep- 
arated and  used  to  patch  up  weak  places  in  the  lines,  and  was  moved  from 
place  to  plat^e,  in  brigades,  regiments  and  even  battalions,  during  the  remain- 
der of  the  fight.  For  a  long  time,  during  July  :>.  one  brigade  of  the  Sixth 
Corps,  the  Vermonters,  held  the  extreme  left  of  the  army  at  Round  Top,  and 
another,  the  Third,  the  extreme  right  at  Wolf's  Hill. 

In  the  Third  brigade.  Second  division.  Sixth  Corps,  was  the  Sixty-first  Penn- 
sylvania, whose  movements  will  now  be  described.  The  regiment  was  then 
under  command  of  Major  George  W.  Dawson.  It  occupied  four  different  places 
in  the  lines.  First  in  the  evening  <tf  July  2.  to  the  right  of  Round  Top,  with 
the  corjis  in  its  first  movement  again.st  and  repulse  of  Longstreet;  second,  later 
the  .same  evening,  after  stopping  awhile  in  Hancock's  line  on  Cemetery  Ridge, 
took  position  in  the  woods  to  the  right  of  Gulp's  Hill;  third,  at  Wolfs  Hill,  on 
the  extreme  right  of  the  army   connecting  with  the  cavalry.      Here  four  com- 


352  PeMiai/ivania  at  Gettijf<bur<j. 

panics,  under  Captain  Creps,  were  on  the  picket  line  all  day  on  the  iJd,  con- 
tinually engaged  with  the  enemy,  the  balance  of  the  regiment  being  in  the 
front  line  on  the  northerly  slope  of  Wolf's  Hill;  fourth,  about  noon,  and  dur- 
ing the  lull  which  preceded  the  great  cannonade,  that  part  of  the  regiment  not 
on  the  picket  line  moved  to  Cemetery  Kidge  and  took  position  in  front  of 
Meade's  headquarters,  where  it  remained  until  about  six  o'clock.  Then  after 
the  repulse  of  Pickett,  and  termination  of  the  battle,  the  Sixty-first  marched 
back  again  to  WoU's  iiill  and  remained  there  until  the  morning  of  July  5. 

By  this  description  it  Avill  be  seen  that  the  Sixty -first  marched  four  to  six 
miles  after  reaching  the  battlefield  on  July  2,  which,  added  to  its  long  march 
made  nearly  forty  miles  for  the  day.  Besides,  a  part  of  the  regiment  remained 
on  duty  all  night  and  began  fighting  at  break  of  day,  July  3. 

It  is  not  possible  or  necessary  to  give  further  details,  though  the  speaker  can- 
not close  without  referring  to  the  scene  on  Cemetery  Ridge  during  the  artillery 
firing  and  the  assault  which  followed.  For  a  few  minutes  after  the  Sixty-first 
fovnied  its  line  all  was  silent.  Then  a  rebel  signal  gun  was  fired  to  the  north 
on  Seminary  Hill.  Instantly  the  whole  line  of  rebel  guns,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  iu  number,  joined  in  the  cannonade.  All  the  guns  northeast,  north 
and  northwest  concentrated  their  fii-e  on  Cemetery  Ridge.  Every  size  and  form 
of  missile  known  to  gunnery  crashed,  shrieked,  whirled,  moaned  and  whistled 
along  the  ridge,  splintering  trees,  bounding  from  rocks,  smashing  wagons,  dis- 
abling guns,  tearing  through  the  house  at  Aleade's  headquarters  and  plowing 
up  the  ground  in  all  directions.  It  is  said  they  came  six  in  a  second.  The 
roar  at  first  was  deafening,  but  became  awful  when  over  a  hundred  Union  guns 
replied  firing  from  all  the  hills  on  the  line.  The  earth  shook  and  it  seemed 
from  the  sulphureous  smoke  and  flame  and  thunder  that  the  last  day  had  ar- 
rived. At  this  moment  the  reserve  ai-tillery  of  the  Union  army,  eighty  guns, 
came  into  position  along  Cemetery  Ridge,  making  the  most  sublime  and  excit- 
ing spectacle  ever  witnessed  by  the  speaker.  Soon  the  firing  of  cannon  ceased 
on  the  enemy's  side,  and  on  came  their  bold  charge  accompanied  with  wild  yells 
extending  a  mile  or  more  along  their  serried  ranks.  The  moment  was  thril- 
ling. It  was  the  high  water  mark  of  Rebellion  and  made  an  epoch  iu  human 
destiny.     The  Union  lines  were  immovable,  the  as.sailauts  were  crushed. 

From  that  moment  the  Nation  was  saved  and  consecrated  anew  for  coming 
ages.     Americans  the  next  day  adopted  the  motto: 

"  All  honor  to  the  heroic  living:, 
All  gloi-y  to  the  jjallaut  dead." 

The  monument  this  day  dedicated  speaks  to  the  living  and  for  the  dead. 
When  the  living  shall  have  joined  their  comrades  in  the  deathless  world,  the 
memorial  will  proclaim  to  descendants  of  those  who  formed  the  Sixty-first 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  the  imperisliable  honor  here  and  elsewhere  achieved 
by  that  regiment,  and  when  its  monument  here  and  other  memorials  on  this 
most  renowned  battlefield  of  the  ages,  sliall  have  crumbled  to  atoms,  every 
lover  of  liberty  will  yet  crown  with  unfading  laurels  and  burnish  with  immor- 
tal luster  the  memory  ol  the  gallant  and  dauntless  men  who  won  freedom's 
battle  at  Gettvsbur<r. 


Pemisylranla  af  Gc/f//sJ)ur(/.  853 


OFFICIAL  RECORD  SIXTY-FIRST  PENNSYLVANIA  VOLUNTEERS. 

Oliver  H.  Kippey  was  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Sixly-lirst  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  July  24,  1861.  Companies  A,  from  Indiana  county,  B,  C,  K,  F 
and  K,  from  Allegheny  county,  were  recruited  and  started  for  the  front  within 
thirty  days  thereafter.  Subsequently  companies  13,  from  Luzerne  county,  and 
G,  H  and  I,  from  Philadelphia,  were  added,  making  a  full  regiment. 

The  Sixty-first  was  stationed  first  at  Camp  Advance,  south  of  the  Potonuut, 
where  it  helped  to  build  Fort  Lyon. 

The  regiment  was  commanded  at  different  times  during  its  four  years  of  ser- 
vice by  Colonels  Oliver  H.  Kippey,  George  C.  Spear,  George  F.  Smith  and 
Eobert  L.  Orr;  by  Lieutenant  Colonels  John  W.  Crosby  and  Charles  S.  Greene; 
Major  George  ^V.  Dawson  and  by  Captain  Jacob  C'reps.  and  others  I'or  short 
periods. 

The  regiment  served  in  the  brigades,  divisions  and  corps  following: 

Casey's  Provisional  Brigade,  Division  of  the  Potomac,  September-October, 
1861;  Third  brigade  Third  division,  Armyof  the  Potomac,  October,  1861-March, 
1862;  First  brigade.  First  division.  Fourth  Army  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
March  to  September,  1862;  First  brigade.  Third  division.  Sixth  Army  Corps, 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  September,  1862-February.  186.';;  Light  brigade.  Sixth 
Army  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  February  2-May  11,  1863;  Third  brigade, 
Second  division.  Sixth  Army  Corps,  Army  of  the  I'otomac,  May,  1863- June, 
1865. 

The  regiment,  besides  innumerable  skirmishes,  took  part  in  the  following 
battles:  Fair  Oaks,  Charles  City  Cross  Roads,  Turkey  Bend,  Malvern  Hill, 
Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Marye's  Heights,  (2d  Fredericksburg), Salem  Church, 
Gettysburg,  Rappahannock  Station,  Wilderness,  Spotsylvania,  North  AuTia, 
Cold  Harbor,  siege  and  battles  around  Petersburg,  Fort  Stevens  (at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C),  Winchester,  Opequou,  Fisher's  Hill,  Cedar  Creek  ("Sheridan's 
Ride"  battle.  In  this  battle  the  regiment  lost  all  its  commissioned  officers 
coming  out  with  only  eighty-six  men),  two  assaults  at  Petersburg,  breaking 
through  the  rebel  line  April  2,  1865,  and  finally  the  regiment  fired  its  last  shot 
at  Sailor's  Creek,  April  6,  and  was  mustered  out  June  28,  1865. 

The  regiment  lost  more  officers  killed  in  battle  than  any  other  regiment  in 
the  Union  army  during  the  nvar. 

It  lost  in  battle,  killed,  nineteen  officers,  two  hundred  and  thirty -five  men; 
wounded,  twenty -seven  officers  and  six  hundred  and  ten  men;  died  ofdisea.se, 
one  officer  and  one  hundred  and  seven  men;  total,  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  killed,  wounded,  and  died  of  disease;  besides  two  hundred  and  one  men 
were  discharged  on  account  of  disease  contracted  in  the  service,  making  a  grand 
total  of  twelve  hundred. 


23 


354  Pt-nnsyh-nnia  af   (Tctfy.shnrg. 

DKDK  ATION  OK  MONUMENT 

62°  REGIMENT    INFANTRY 

(SEPTEMBKK     II,    1SS9). 
AlJlJRKSS  OF  CAPTAIN  W.  J.  PATTKRSON 

COMRADES: — i^ettysbnry  takes  distinguished  rank  as  one  of  the  great 
battles  ill  the  liistoiy  of  warfare.  Tlie  vital  interests  that  hung  in  the 
lialanc-e.  the  gallantry  of  the,  opposing  armies,  the  number  of  men  en- 
gaged and  the  abilities  of  tin;  leaders,  all  combined  to  make  this  field 
one  of  the  grandest  that  was  ever  baptized  with  the  blood  of  valor.  To  under- 
stand its  importance  to  the  I'liion  cause  we  must  remember  that  the  darkest 
hour  of  the  war  was  uix)n  us.  The  Union  arms  hiid  signally  failed  almost  under 
the  .sliadow  of  the  nation's  capitol.  Tlie  disaster  of  Fredericksburg  had  been 
followed  by  the  defeat  of  Chancellorsville.  The  administration  was  discour- 
aged and  the  people  of  tlie  North  di.sheartened.  The  martial  spirit  of  the  young 
men  of  the  loyal  states  seemed  to  be  exhausted  and  the  unpopular  method  of 
the  draft  had  to  be  enlbrced  to  fill  up  our  ranks.  The  clouds  of  adversity  cast 
a  gloom  of  despondency' over  the  north  which  threatened  to  eclipse  the  light 
of  patriotism  in  our  fair  land.  The  South  was  correspondingly  elated.  The 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  the  hope  and  pride  of  secession.  The  supreme 
opportunity  of  the  struggling  cause  was  at  hand.  The  leaders  were  filled  with 
renewed  confidence  ;  "change  the  war  from  a  defensive  to  an  aggressive  one." 
they  exclaimed.  ""  Make  the  North  feel  the  crushing  eftects  of  its  iron  heel  on 
her  own  soil,  and  the  fiag  of  truce  would  soon  take  the  place  o(  the  relentless 
ensigns  of  Ijattle,  and  the  olive  brancli  of  peace?  would  eventually  float  over  a 
triumphant  confederacy. ' ' 

Tile  leaders  londly  hoped,  too,  if  invasion  proved  successful,  foreign  inter- 
vention would  step  in  to  their  assistance  and  victory  at  last  crown  their  eftbrts. 
The  vision  was  not  an  unreasonable  one  and  th(;  plans  were  well  laid.  General 
Lee,  at  the  head  of  the  flower  of  the  South,  the  veterans  of  the  Army  of  North- 
ern Virginia,  was  entrusted  with  this  weighty  movement.  He  promptly  turned 
his  columns  north  and  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Maryland.  His  advance  divi- 
.sions  penetrated  Pennsylvania  as  far  as  Wrightsville,  on  the  Susquehanna 
river.  But  the  leach'rs  ol"  the  South  had  yet  much  to  learn  of  northern  patriot- 
ism and  northern  bravery.  That  gallant  and  sjiirited  old  Army  of  the  Potomac 
wsus  to  cover  itsell  with  new  glory.  The  eycis  of  the  whole  country  were  uj)on 
it.  While  it  had  been  defeated  and  batllcil  ami  iiiismanaged.  it  never  lacked 
patrirjtism  and  l)ravery  of  the  highest  tyjK  .  It  always  had  its  face  to  the  foe. 
From  Yorktown  to  Appomattox  it  never  failed  logixebhnv  Ibrlilow.  No  army 
in  the  world  was  better  organized,  better  disitijilincd,  or  better  otficered  with 
skilful  leaders.  Its  morale  could  not  be  excelled.  Competent  authoi  it\  pro- 
nounced it  the  youngest  and  most  intelligent  ])ody  of  men  ever  gathered  loget  liir 
in  the  military  service.  Tlie  average  age  ol  its  members  at  the  close  of  the  ^^  ar 
was  under  twenty-live  jears.  Many  who  are  now  serving  on  the  bench,  in  the 
j)ulj)it  and  in  the  legislative  halls  of  the  state  and  nation,  marched  in  its  ranks 
a.s  private  soldiers.  (Jeneral  Lee's  movements  wer(>  closely  followed.  Thice 
days  before  the  battle  (ieneial  Meade  a.ssum«'d   command  of  th«;  Army  of  the 


PHOTO.    BY   W.  H.  TIPTON,   GtTTYSBU 


PHINT:   THE   F.  GUTEKUNST  CO.,PHILA. 


Pennsylvania  af  Gettysburg.  355 

Potomac.  The  Union  loni's  jmslied  I'orwanl  iiilo  IViiii.sN ivaiiia,  and  early  on 
the  morning  of  July  1,  the  enemy-.s  skirmishers  were  encountered  al  Marsli 
Creek,  near  the  Chambersburg  ])ikc,  on  wliich  tJeneral  Hill's  corps  was  mov- 
ing east.  A  severe  battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  Union  troops  were  over- 
powered and  driven  back  at  all  ])oints  in  considerable  disorder.  About  4  o'clock 
General  Hancock  arrived  on  the  Held  and  directed  the  movements  for  the  final 
stiind  that  was  made  on  East  Cemetery  Hill.  On  the  report  of  General  Han- 
cock, General  Meade  decided  to  order  up  the  remainder  of  the  army  for  a  gen- 
eral battle  al  G('ttysl)urg.  Orders  were  sent  out  hurrying  forward  all  the 
troops.  The  Fifth  Corps,  after  a  long  and  wearisom(;  march,  leached  Hanover 
about  5  o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  this  point  news  of  the  battle  reached  us, 
and  we  were  asked  t«  press  forward  to  the  a.ssi.stance  of  our  comrades  at  the 
front.  The  march  was  continued  and  after  midnight,  the  Second  brigade 
turned  into  a  grove,  about  five  miles  from  the  battlefield  for  a  short  rest.  An 
incident  occurred  while  on  this  night  march  that  illustrated  the  strong  attach- 
ment and  abiding  confidence  the  troojis  still  had  for  their  first  commander. 
Word  was  passed  along  the  line  that  General  McClellan  was  again  in  command 
and  awaited  the  arrival  of  his  old  battalions  at  Gettysburg.  This  annoui;ce- 
ment  caused  unbounded  enthusiasm,  and  to  that  e.xteut  contributed  the  victory 
that  followed.  With  the  first  flush  of  day  the  brigade  was  again  in  motion,  and 
reached  the  battlefield  about  7  o'clock.  The  division  was  massed  iu  a  field  not 
far  from  Woirs  Hill,  on  the  right  of  our  line.  We  then  moved  some  distance 
to  the  left,  crossed  Kock  Creek  to  the  front,  and  massed  in  the  orchard  just 
above  the  .stone  bridge  on  the  Baltimore  pike.  There  was  nothing  to  indicate 
the  terrible  contest  soon  to  shake  the  earth.  Everything  was  quiet  until  the 
middle  of  the  afternoou.  But  it  was  the  calm  before  a  .storm.  About  four 
o'clock  the  battle  opened  with  unabated  fury  on  the  left.  The  lines  of  the 
Third  Corps,  (ieneral  Sickles  commanding,  extended  from  the  Cordori  house  on 
the  right  along  the  Emmitsburg  pike  to  the  Peach  Orchard,  then  bending  back 
were  continued  to  the  base  of  Pound  Top.  Tlie  engagement  commenced  witli 
a  determined  efibrt  to  turn  the  Union  left  at  Devil's  Den.  Hootl's  and  McLaws' 
divisions  advanced  to  the  attack,  and  the  action  rapidly  extended  along  the 
line  until  the  entire  position  of  the  Third  Corps  was  furiously  as.sailed.  Re-en- 
forcements were  called  for.  General  Barnes'  division  of  the  Fifth  Corps  was 
the  first  to  respond,  and  moved  over  the  field,  left  iu  front,  in  the  direction  of 
the  woods  near  where  General  Zook's  monument  now  stands.  When  the  head 
of  the  column  came  across  the  Taneytowu  road.  General  Warren  met  it  and  by 
permission  of  General  Barn«,s  detached  the  Third  brigade  and  conducted  it  to 
Little  Round  Top,  where  it  had  a  terrific  struggle  with  a  portion  of  Hood's  divi- 
sion for  the  master}-.  In  this  conflict  the  gallant  Vincent  fell,  but  his  brigade 
held  the  ground.  The  rest  of  the  division  proceeded  to  the  '"Loop, "  Colonel 
Sweitzer's  brigade  in  advance.  The  tliree  regiments  formed  in  line  of  battle 
the  Thirty-second  Massachusetts  on  the  left  in  the  position  indicated  by  its  tent- 
shaped  monument,  the  Sixty-second  in  the  center  and  the  Fourth  Michigan  on 
the  right.  i^The  Ninth  Massachusetts  was  absent  on  jjicket  duty.)  The  First 
brigade  formed  in  the  woods  further  to  the  right.  The  enemy  w^as  discovered 
advancing  over  the  low  ground  on  our  left  to  attack  the  Thirty-second  Jlassa- 
(•husetts,  the  other  two  regiments  were  wheeled  partially  to  the  left  and  rear 
to  strengthen  that  position,  thus  forming  three  separate  lines  facing  the  same 
way  and  supporting  each  other.     The  firing  became  rapid  and  severe,  but  the 


336  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

brigade  maintained  its  jxisition.  ISIany  of  our  officers  and  men  -were  struck 
down.  Major  Wni.  G.  Lowry  fell,  instantly  killed.  In  his  death  the  service 
lost  as  brave  a  soldier  and  as  faithful  an  officer  as  any  that  fell  that  day  in  de- 
fense of  this  country.  The  First  brigade  fell  back  and  no  other  troops  taking 
their  place  on  the  right  left  our  brigade  in  a  critical  condition.  We  were  di- 
rected to  fall  back,  which  was  done  deliberately  and  in  good  order,  the  regi- 
ments halting  and  firing  until  well  into  the  woods.  We  then  moved  by  the 
left  flank,  struck  the  Avheatfield,  and  passed  along  its  border  to  the  Peach  Or- 
chard road  where  we  took  position  parallel  to  it,  lacing  this  field.  The  First 
division  of  the  Second  Corps  had  moved  forward  and  was  engaged  in  these 
Avoods  on  our  front.  General  Zook  liad  just  been  carried  from  the  field  mor- 
tally wounded.  While  we  moved  along  the  edge  of  the  woods  before  reaching 
the  Peach  Orchard  road,  several  of  our  men  were  struck  by  stray  shots,  and 
when  in  line  on  that  road  the  command  was  ordered  to  lie  down  to  avoid  the 
flying  bullets.  Lieutenant  Scott  McDowell  was  killed  and  several  more 
Avounded  while  the  regiment  occupied  that  position.  After  remaining  on  the 
clay  road  about  twenty  minutes.  General  Caldwell  requested  Colonel  Sweitzer 
to  take  the  brigade  to  his  assistance  in  the  woods  beyond.  Before  starting  a 
straggling  line  came  back  through  our  ranks.  We  then  moved  forward  across 
the  Avheatfield  in  splendid  style.  When  this  point  Avas  reached  the  brigade 
became  hotly  engaged  Avith  the  enemy  in  front,  the  Sixty-second  in  the  posi- 
tiou  indicated  by  this  monument  and  these  markers,  the  Fourth  Michigan  on 
the  right  and  the  Thirty-second  Massachusetts  on  the  left.  About  the  time  we 
moved  forward  across  this  field  Graham's  division  had  been  driven  from  the 
Peach  Orchard,  and  Humphreys'  division  being  threatened  in  reverse,  changed 
front  and  moved  further  to  the  rear.  These  operations  made  a  large  opening 
in  the  line,  through  Avhich  the  Confederates  hastened  to  enter  Avith  a  strong 
force.  We  had  not  been  long  in  this  advanced  position  when  .shots  Avere  noticed 
striking  our  lines  from  the  Avoods  to  our  right  and  rear.  General  Wofford's 
brigade  of  Georgia  troops  held  the  Peach' Orchard  road  and  the  elevation  at 
Zook's  monument  and  Avas  firing  into  our  command.  Colonel  Boyd  McKeen, 
in  his  report  of  the  First  brigade.  First  division.  Second  Corps,  says:  "They 
were  relieved  by  a  brigade  (SAveitzer's)  of  Barnes'  division,  Fifth  Corps.  Pass- 
ing the  relieving  brigade  by  file  they  were  enfiladed  by  a  galling  fire,"  thus 
shoAving  that  the  enemy  made  his  appearance  on  our  flank  and  rear  almost  im- 
mediately after  Ave  moved  from  the  Peach  Orchard  road.  The  Fourth  Mich- 
igan and  Sixty-second  changed  front  to  the  right  to  meet  our  enemies  in  that 
direction.  The  brigade  Avas  noAV  nearly  surrounded  and  in  a  very  perilous  posi- 
tion. Attacked  in  front,  right  and  rear  its  chances  of  extricating  itself  Avere 
anything  but  good.  General  Barnes  exclaimed,  "There  goes  the  Second  l)ri- 
gade.  Ave  may  as  well  bid  it  good-bye."  But  it  Avas  not  the  first  time  the  Sec- 
ond brigade  had  been  in  critical  positions,  and  by  good  judgment  and  indomit- 
able pluck  come  out  all  right.  The  command  Avas  terribly  exposed  in  the  open 
field,  while  our  enemies  had  the  cover  of  the  woods.  The  men's  blood  Avas  up 
and  they  fought  Avith  desperate  resolution.  The  brigade  fell  back  diagonally 
across  the  field,  fighting  every  inch  of  the  Avay,  the  command  frequently  halt- 
ing and  firing  as  it  retired.  Tiic  Fourth  Michigan  and  Sixty-second  ])ecame 
mixed  up  with  the  enemy  and  many  hand  to  haiul  conflicts  ensued.  Colonel 
.Teflbrds,  of  the  Fourth  Michigan,  Avas  run  through  Avith  a  bayonet  while  gal- 
lantly defending  the  colors  of  his  regiment.     When  Ave  Avere  engaged  at  the 


Pennsylvania  al  Gettyshm-g.  357 

stone  fence  a  large  scjuad  of  prisouers  liad  been  taken  and  sent  to  the  rear,  and 
when  the  regiment  became  entangled  with  the  enemy  the  opposing  fonx'.s  could 
not  at  times  fire  into  each  other  for  the  unarmed  captives  between  the  lines. 
When  we  emerged  from  the  toils  of  impending  capture,  broken  and  cut  to 
pieces,  General  Crawford  led  Colonel  JlcCandless'  brigade  of  Pennsylvania  l^e- 
serves  in  a  sweeping  charge,  which  again  cleared  the  wheatlield.  Our  brigade 
took  position  in  support  of  a  battery  on  the  line  just  to  the  right  of  Little  liound 
Top  extension,  where  it  remained  until  the  army  moved  in  pursuit  of  Lee. 
The  Sixty-second  lost  heavily  during  the  afternoon  of  the  2d,  particularly  in 
its  passage  across  the  wheatlield.  The  story  of  its  casualties  is  chiseled  on 
this  marble  shaft.  It  marched  to  the  "  Loop  "  with  twenty-six  officers  and  four 
hundred  enlisted  men  in  line  and  emerged  from  the  Avheatfield  with  twelve 
officers  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  men.  Four  officers  and  twenty-four 
men  had  been  killed,  ten  officers  and  ninety-seven  men  wounded  and  forty  men 
taken  prisoners,  a  loss  ratio  of  fifty-four  per  cent,  of  the  officers  and  forty  per 
cent,  of  the  men.  Two  of  the  wounded  officers  died  in  a  few  days  afterward, 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  not  less  than  fifteen  men  died  from  the  effects  of  tlieir 
wounds.  The  figures  given  on  this  monument  are  taken  from  the  official  re- 
cords of  the  War  Department,  and  show  a  percentage  of  casualties  greater  than 
the  famous  Light  brigade  suffered  in  its  charge  at  Balaklava.  Lord  Cardigan 
took  into  action  six  hundred  and  seventy-three  officers  and  men,  and  lost  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  killed  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  wounded,  total 
two  hundred  and  forty-seven,  or  SG^'^  per  cent.  Of  those  who  passed  through 
the  fight  unhurt  General  Sweitzer  had  several  close  calls.  His  horse  was  shot 
under  him,  and  the  crown  of  his  hat  was  laid  oi)en  by  a  minie  ball.  Colonel 
Hull's  tall  form  was  conspicuous  in  the  engagement,  moving  alx)ut  with  his 
accustomed  coolness,  directing  the  maneuvers  of  the  regiment.  He  passed  the 
ordeal  of  the  wheatlield  unharmed,  to  meet  his  fate  like  a  gallant  soldier  in 
the  Wilderness.  Lieutenant  Seitz  ran  into  the  enemy's  lines  at  the  Peach 
Orchard  road  while  trying  to  communicate  with  General  Barnes.  He  had  his 
horse  .shot,  and  barely  escaped  capture.  But  I  cannot  go  into  particulars.  The 
officers  and  men  did  their  w  hole  duty,  and  the  regiment  added  still  another 
laurel  to  its  wreath  of  heroic  deeds.  No  point  in  the  extensive  lines  of  Gettys- 
burg saw  fiercer  or  more  continuous  fighting  than  here.  This  field  had  been 
taken  and  retaken,  the  lines  swaying  l)ack  and  forth  repeatedly,  during  tlie 
progress  of  the  contest  that  afternoon.  It  has  been  fitly  styled  the  Avhirlpool 
of  the  battle.  AVhen  the  action  opened  it  was  covered  with  the  plumage  of 
waving  grain,  ready  for  the  harvest,  and  when  twilight  gathered  over  its  sur- 
face the  ripening  stalks  were  tramjjled  into  the  earth  and  dyed  with  the  blood 
of  the  blue  and  the  gray,  and  when  the  light  of  the  moon  cast  its  gentle  rays 
over  this  gory  plain  it  revealed  scores  of  the  pale,  upturned  faces  of  friends  and 
foes,  whose  only  heritage  in  the  glory  of  the  battle  was  soldiers'  graves.  Hun- 
dreds of  papers  have  been  written  on  this  famous  battle,  yet  the  one-thousandth 
part  has  not  and  never  will  be  told.  Wereud  of  the  gallant  Meade,  justly  named 
the  hero  of  Gettysburg;  how  ably  he  marshaled  his  army  and  guarded  every 
point  on  the  line,  until  victory  perched  on  our  banners.  We  read  of  the  death 
of  Reynolds;  of  the  wounds  of  Hancock  while  leading  his  trusty  veterans  against 
the  terrible  charge  of  Pickett's  division.  We  read  of  Warren,  who,  with  the 
intelligent  and  practiced  eyed  of  a  soldier,  saw  at  a  glance  the  importance  of 
Little  Hound  Top,  and  with  the  instinct  of  a  cbieftain  pronii)tly  took  steps  to 


358  Poiustjlrainci.  nf   (i!ffhfs/)iu-(j. 

hold  it.  W'e  re;ui  ol'scDres  of  other  brave  and  fikill'iil  otlicers  whoaideil  in  driv- 
ing the  invincible  \  eterans  of  the  South,  under  the  so-called  ablest  general  of 
the  age.  from  our  state  in  hasty  retreat,  never  again  to  return.  While  a  great 
deal  is  due  to  the  brain.s  and  valor  of  the  officers,  yet  the  glory  of  victor}-  .should 
not  l)e  ascribed  to  them  alone.  The  j)art  the  rank  and  file  ])layed  in  the  great 
drama  of  war  is  recorded  and  eulogized.  But  who  among  the  private  soldiers 
is  named?  Have  the  dead  been  mentioned  except  in  numbers?  Have  the 
cripples  been  referred  to  except  in  the  aggregate?  Yet  it  was  the  rank  and 
til(!  that  stood  the  shock  of  battle  and  that  g:a\  e  blow  for  blow.  It  was  the 
columns  of  soldiers  that  charged  the  enemy  or  stood  like  a  rock  against  fierce 
assaults.  Does  history  do  more  with  the  nameof  the  private  soldier  than  bundle 
it  up  with  a  thousand  others  and  call  the  combination  a  regiment?  The  only 
glory  the  rank  and  file  have  is  in  the  honor  and  reputation  of  their  own  organ- 
ization. The  spirit  of  generous  emulation  that  ran  through  all  organizations 
in  the  army  was  the  outgrowth  of  enlightened  valor,  and  is  the  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  the  American  soldier.  Every  man  took  pride  in  his  own  reg- 
iment and  helieved  it  the  best  and  bravest  in  the  army.  No  .soldier  who  wore 
the  blue  and  was  singed  with  the  fire  of  battle  would  ever  change  his  regiment 
for  any  other  in  the  service.  The  associations  and  memories  and  friendship  and 
hard-earned  glory  could  not  be  transferred.  Every  organization  has  its  own 
peculiar  history,  which  it  would  not  exchange  for  that  of  any  other.  This  pride 
of  organization  calls  us  together  to-day.  We  meet  to  honor  and  he  honored  by 
th<'  name  and  fame  of  our  gallant  regiment.  Among  the  many  valiant  organ- 
izations that  participated  in  this  battle,  none  can  show  a  prouder  lecord  than 
the  Sixty-second  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  The  career  of  the  regiment 
throughout  its  three  years'  service  was  continuall}'  marked  with  devotion  t^) 
lionor  and  duty.  The  history  outlined  on  this  monument  is  an  elnquenttribute 
to  its  bravery.  The  li.'*t  of  killed  and  wounded  shows  the  deadly  chasms  it  had 
to  lill.  The  blood  of  its  slain  is  sprinkled  all  the  way  from  Gettysburg  to  Kich- 
mond.  Entail  who  ])assed  through  this  fight  and  through  the  war  untouched 
by  the  hand  of  death  are  not  here  to-day.  Many  have  fallen  in  the  march  of 
peace  that  passed  unharmed  through  the  storms  of  battle.  Among  this  num- 
ber none  is  missed  more  or  held  in  <learer  remembrance  than  the  brave  and  ever 
faithful  <-olonel  of  the  regiment.  General  J.  B.  Sweitzer.  There  is  a  peculiar 
tinge  of  sadness  in  his  absence.  He  took  a  special  interest  in  the  erection  of 
this  monument.  Tlu^  Sixty-second  was  his  pride;  he  gloried  in  its  honor  and 
re))iita1ion.  and  if  living  his  voice  would  have  led  to-day  in  the  encomiums  of 
its  achievements.  We  mi.ss  many  manly  faces  from  th(»  ranks,  who.se  jiatriotLsm 
and  courage  were  not  excelled  by  tlie  higliest  in  ollicial  stations.  We  miss 
many  of  the  line  officers,  and  the  field  oflicers  arc;  all  gone  except  Assistant  Sur- 
geon Gardner.  As  we  turn  our  gaze  backward  iVom  this  field,  we  recall  the 
familiar  form  of  t  lie  gallant  Black,  who.se  name  is  inseparal)ly  a.ssociated  with 
the  Sixty-.seeond;  whose  a))ility  as  an  organizer  and  bravery  as  a  commander 
sj»eedily  brought  it  to  flu;  front  in  the  line  of  crack  legiments  in  the  .service. 
We  mi.ss  bis  knightly  l)earing  and  elo<[uent  \oice.  In  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of 
a  <;entury  many  liave  fallen  by  the  way.  and  this  remnant  of  a  gallantorganiza- 
tion,  once  full  in  numbers  and  strongin  youth,  comes  here  to  (celebrate  its  share 
in  the  victory  of  (Jettysburg.  W«!  cainf!  to  <l<'dicate  this  monument.  In  the 
name  of  justice;  in  tin-  name  uf  coMstii  iit  ioiial  liberty:  in  the  name  of  eliival- 
rous  devotion  to  duty;   in  the  name  of  ]inrity  in  j)ublic  alVaiis:   in   the  name  of 


'.^>«^nwrinw.ii II  !!■■(. 


"^ 


'/r?/l/-/-     1'.;       0\\4\;\CiX- 


^.^i^^Mr-^ 


rON,  CETTrSDUI.  j. 


Pennsylvania  at  Geitysburg.  359 

one  country,  with  luit  a  single  Hag.  for  which  the  blood  of  this  regiment  was 
shed,  we  dedicate  our  nionunient  and  consign  it  to  j)()sterity.  Coming  genera- 
tions may  read  t'rom  it  the  simple  story  of  the  devoted  patriotism  and  unflinch- 
ing courage  of  the  Sixty-second  Regiment  I'ennsylvania  Volunteers,  in  the  war 
for  the  Union. 


M~ 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

63°  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

Sf.i'tembkr   1 1,  1889. 

ADDRESS  I5V  COLONEL  JOHN  A.  DANKS 

comrades  of  the  Sixty-third  Kegiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  : — 
Very  few  people  (comparatively  speaking)  attach  as  much  importance 
to  the  battle  of  Getty.s))urg  as  really  belongs  to  it.  Very  few  think 
of  it  as  the  Calvary  of  American  Freedom.  But  such  it  is  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  United  States. 

When  we  think  of  humanity  as  being  crushed  by  .sin,  and  look  for  a  remedy, 
we  begin  at  the  Garden,  and  tind  the  conclusion  at  Calvary.  When  we  think 
and  speak  of  the  government  of  England  as  threatened  with  dismemberment 
and  ruin,  and  look  for  the  remedy,  we  find  it  at  Waterloo.  So,  wlw.n  we  think 
and  speak  of  oppression,  class  and  caste  in  America,  and  look  for  the  remedy, 
we  begin  at  Harper's  Ferrj',  with  old  John  Brown,  and  find  the  answer  in 
Pickett's  charge  at  Gettysburg.  So  we  say:  For  Humanity,  Calvary:  for  Eng- 
land, Waterloo;  for  America,  Gettysburg. 

'WTiat  a  thrilling  recollection  it  must  be  to  each  one  of  us,  that  we  formed  an 
important  part  of  the  army  that  rescued  and  saved  the  Nation.  Furthermore 
that  we  discharged  a  duty  on  this  line,  more  than  twenty-six  years  ago,  that 
has  been  increasing  in  interest  and  importance  as  the  years  go  by.  I  had  the 
honor  to  command  the  regiment  in  this  battle,  I,  therefore,  know  whereof  I 
speak,  and  deliberately  .say,  that  never  did  twenty  hours  witness,  or  one-fourth 
of  a  mile  measure,  more  earnest  devotion  to  the  Union,  than  you  rendered 
here  on  this  line  July  2,  1863. 

When  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  joined,  the  Third  Corps  in  wliich  we  were 
serving  was  near  Frederick,  Md.,  we  then  marched  to  Emmitsburg,  Md., 
stacked  arms  and  were  resting,  when  the  word  came — the  armies  are  fighting 
at  Gettysburg  and  General  Reynolds  is  killed — go  at  once  to  Gettysburg;  we 
started  at  douljle-quick,  we  came  in  liere  about  8  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the 
1st.  We  halted  for  supper  just  to  the  right  of  Little  Round  Top;  at  about  ten 
o'clock  that  night  we  were  ordered  and  led  here  on  this  line  to  do  picket  duty; 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  2d,  the  enemy  l>eing  in  front  fired  on  the  right  of 
our  line;  this  continued  at  intervals  until  about  nine.  When  a  Maine  regiment 
went  out  in  front  to  test  the  strength  of  the  enemy  at  this  point,  soon  they  and 
we  became  hotly  engaged  all  along  the  line.  But  soon  the  enemy  withdrew — 
four  times  that  day  did  the  enemy  come  out.  deploy  a  skirmish  line  as  though 
they  would  bring  on  a  general  engagement.  But  you  met  them  promptly 
and  each  time  they  retired.  Between  four  and  five  o'clock  p.  m.  I  was  in- 
formed by  the  company  commanders  that  our  ammunition  was  al)out  spent 


360  Pennsylvania  at  Gb^:,yshur(j. 

and  we  would  have  nothing  but  the  bayonet,  should  the  enemy  come  again. 
This  report  I  sent  by  an  orderly  to  General  D.  B.  Birney;  soon  a  regiment  wear- 
ing a  wliite  patch  came  up  to  relieve  us,  and  u  staff  officer  came  with  instruc- 
tions for  me  to  take  the  regiment  and  replenish  the  ammunition. 

"We  crossed  the  ridge  and  when  on  the  Taneytown  road  I  noticed  our  l)ri- 
gade  and  division  headquarter  flags  in  our  front.  We  moved  into  our  place, 
and  remained  there  that  night.  Next  morning  we  took  our  place  in  the  line 
just  to  the  right  of  Little  Ivound  Top,  there  we  remained  until  after  Pickett's 
charge,  when  we  were  taken  at  a  double-quick  down  the  line,  and  halted  in 
front  of  where  Pickett  had  been  repulsed.  We  remained  in  the  line  there 
until  the  morning  of  the  5th  when  the  army  went  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 

Keviewing  the  time  and  work,  I  am  prepared  to  say,  surely  no  man  or  nation 
could  ask  or  expect  an  organization  to  do  better  service  than  you  did  at  Get- 
tysburg in  1863. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  BY  R.  HOWARD  MILLER. 

^T^HL  movements  of  the  Fiist  Division,  Third  Army  Corps,  from  Falmouth, 

I         Va.,  and  ending  with  our  arrival  at  Gettysburg  will  be  found  for  all 

I  applicable  purjjoses  to  apply  to  the  movements  of  the  Sixty-third  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers. 

June  5,  1863.  Third  Army  Corps  (General  D.  B.  Birney  in  command  i  was 
posted  at  Boscobel  near  Falmouth. 

June  11.  Marched  from  Boscobel  to  Hartwood  Church. 

June  13.  Marched  from  Hartwood  Church  to  Bealton,  General  Humphreys' 
division  being  advanced  to  the  Rappahannock. 

June  14.  Marched  from  Bealton  to  Manassas  Junction. 

June  17.  Marched  from  Manassas  Junction  to  Centreville. 

June  19.  Marched  from  Centreville  to  Gum  Springs. 

June  25.  Marched  from  Gum  Springs  to  the  north  side  of  the  Potomac  at 
Edwards'  Ferry  and  mouth  of  the  Mouocacy. 

June  26.   Marched  from  the  Monocacy  to  Point  of  Rocks,  Md. 

June  "27.  ISIarched  from  Point  of  Rocks  ria  Jefferson  to  Middletown,  Md. 

June  28.  Marched  from  Middletown  to  near  Woodsboro,  General  Sickles 
assuming  command,  relieving  General  Birney. 

June  29.  Marched  from  Woodsboro  to  Taneytown  beyond  Pipe  Creek. 

June  30.  Marched  from  Taneytown  to  Bridgeport. 

July  1.  At  6  p.  m.  Graham  and  Ward's  brigades  were  posted  directly  across 
the  Taneytown  road  to  the  right  of  Little  Round  Top  and  in  the  rear  of  Geary's 
division,  Twelfth  Array  Corps.  About  dusk  of  the  same  evening  the  regiment 
was  placed  in  position  on  the  Emmitsburg  pike  with  headcjuarters  at  the 
Sherfy  House;  on  the  morning  of  the  2d,  about  5  o'clock,  the  enemy  commenced 
tiring  which  was  kept  up  during  the  day  and  at  three  different  times  deployed 
and  advanced  a  strong  .skirmish  line  as  if  they  intended  full  columns  to  follow, 
but  in  every  instance  were  driven  back  after  a  severe  skirmish.  At  5  p.  m.  we 
were  relieved  by  the  Second  division  and  ordered  to  replenish  ammunition, 
when  we  crossed  over  Cemetery  Ridge.  Our  division  and  brigade  colors  were 
on  the  Taneytown  road  where  we  remained  that  night.  On  the  morning  of  the 
:5d.  went  into  line  lo  the  right  of  Little  Round  Toj)  and  enjoyed  a  .-^hare  of  the 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  361 

preliminary  shelling  of  the  enemy  that  was  to  usher  in  the  rebel  charge  of 
Pickett's  division.  After  the  charge  had  failed  and  the  survivors  were  falling 
back  to  their  lines,  went  on  a  double-iiuick  down  the  line  and  were  halted  just 
in  front  of  Pickett's  dead  and  wounded  ;  there  we  remained  until  July  ~A\\. 

July  4.  Lee  drew  back  his  Hanks  and  in  the  evening  began  his  retreat  by 
two  routes — the  main  body  on  the  direct  road  to  Williamsport  through  the 
mountains,  the  other  in  the  direction  of  Chambersburg  including  his  train  of 
wounded  with  Gregg's  cavalry  in  pursuit. 

July  5.  At  Gettysburg.  July  6.  Marched  to  Mechanicstown.  July  7.  Marched 
to  near  Frederick  in  front  of  the  Monocacy.  July  8.  Marched  from  Frederick 
to  Downsville  beyond  Marsh  Creek. 

July  14.  General  Lee  crossed  on  the  night  of  the  14th  to  Virginia  side  of  the 
Potomac. 

July  17.  Regiment  crossed  into  Virginia  at  Harper's  Ferry  on  the  night  of 
Ihe  17th,  and  thus  ended  the  invasion  of  the  soil  of  our  native  state,  with  all 
existing  military  prestige  flushed  with  the  hope  of  a  victory  like  Chancellor- 
ville,  with  hope  of  foreign  recognition  if  successful — ^they  seemed  to  have  great 
reason  to  hope  for  success — but  it  was  of  paramount  interest  to  the  Confederates 
to  strike  a  decisive  blow  on  the  battlefield;  to  retreat  was  dishonor  to  their 
cause  already  weakened,  and  the  old  world  was  waiting  for  the  result;  strike 
they  did,  the  hour  was  ripe  for  history  and  the  monument  we  dedicate  to-day 
points  with  unerring  fingers  to  the  history  which  they  commemorate.  The  past 
is  secure,  the  field  attests  the  valor  of  the  soldiers  of  the  blue.  May  never  again 
the  storm  cloud  of  war  blur  the  horizon  of  our  country,  and  we  feel  in  going 
down  the  sober  afternoon  of  life  to  the  shades  from  whose  bourne  no  traveler 
returns  to  thank  God  in  the  fulness  of  our  hearts  that  we  have  been  permitted 
to  live  in  this  grand  and  glorious  age,  when  slavery  died,  when  freedom  to  all 
has  taken  a  new  lease  of  life  and  more  vigorous  growth,  when  the  old  flag  waves 
in  triumph  from  ocean  to  ocean,  from  the  lake  to  the  gulf.  In  parting  let  us 
renew  again  our  vows  to  the  old  flag  and  to  each  other,  keeping  up  the  touch 
to  the  right,  and  as  comratle  after  comrade  is  called  to  the  encamjiment  above 
by  the  Supreme  Commander,  close  up  closer  together  both  in  heart  and  hand, 
and  may  we  all  so  live  that  the  ])laudit  will  be.  Well  done  thou  good  and  faith- 
lul  servant. 


DEDICATORY  ADDRESS  OF  ANDREW  G.  WILLIAMS. 

COMRADES: — The  swiftly  speeding  days  of  more  than  twenty-six  years 
have  come  and  gone  since  first  the  Sixty-third  regiment  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers  stood  in  the  might  and  majesty  of  its  loyal  manhood  in  de- 
fense of  this  identical  portion  of  the  Union  line  of  battle,  and  to-day  we, 
the  survivors  of  that  gallant  old  regiment,  have  met  on  this  historic  field;  the 
field  which  marks  the  high  flood  tide  of  rebellion;  the  field  against  whose  every 
side  and  flank  the  impetuous  torrents  of  fratricidal  war  in  all  their  hellish  fury 
surged;  to  be  rolled  back  and  submerged  only  when  its  ridges  and  its  plains; 
its  orchards  and  its  glens;  its  rocky  round  tops  and  its  devil's  den  had  been 
drenched  and  ran  red  with  the  heroic  blood  of  twenty  thousand  of  your  com- 
rades, and  not  even  then  were  the  fierce  fires  of  secession  quenched  on  this  field 
until  three  thousand  more  brave  men  went  down  to  death  and  placed  their 


362  Pennsylvania,  at  Gettysburg. 

lives,  the  one  most  valuable  and  un measurable  offeriug  that  ever  was  or  can  be 
made  by  mortal  man  for  home  and  country,   upon  the  Nation's  altar. 

Standinsi  in  this  jiresence  to-day  we  all  fully  realize  how  changed  the  scene. 

'■  No  hostile  armies  g-atlier  now 
But  autumn  air  around 
Breathe  i)eace  and  joy  where  once  we  fought 
TTpon  this  very  ground. 

When  on  this  monument  we  gaze 

What  hallowed  memories  throng 
Our  cause — forever  it  was  right 

Our  foes— forever  wrong. 

Forever  wrong;  all  time  will  point 

To  Gettysburg  with  pride 
Here  freedom  triumphed  and  on  this  tield 

The  hopes  of  treason  died." 

Monuments  are  as  old  as  our  race  and  all  along  the  history  of  the  dim  and 
dusty  ages  of  the  past  down  to  the  bright  and  joyous  present  man  has  been 
])erpetuating  the  memory  of  heroic  men  and  deeds  in  monumental  pile  and 
storied  urn  and  this  inclination  comes  to  the  mind  of  our  (;ommon  humanity 
but  as  promptings  from  and  a  reflex  expression  of  the  great  divine  original  liim- 
self.     God  ever  was  and  still  continues  to  be  a  monument  builder. 

On  this  field  to-day  we  are  reminded  by  the  many  monuments,  all  of  which 
are  silently,  yet  eloquently,  proclaiming  that  aftection  for  and  appreciation  of 
heroic  patriotism  and  patriotic  heroism  still  survives.  We  have  met  again  on 
this  once  bloody  field,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years  of  peace  and  prosperity 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  and  render  our  faint  and  feeble  tribute  of  praise  to 
the  valor  of  Pennsj'lvania's  soldiers  and  especially  do  we  meet  on  this  historic 
spot — the  Peach  Orchard — to  dedicate  this  monument  to  the  memory  of  the 
services  of  our  loved  and  gallant  Sixty-third,  than  which  there  was  no  braver, 
whose  long  lists  of  glorious  achievements  have  never  yet  been  enumerated  and 
the  history  of  which  when  written  will  be  the  histor}-  of  the  Army  of  the  F'oto- 
mac.  And  yet  it's  true  on  c^very  hand  we  are  reminded  that  here  the  brave 
men  of  eighteen  sister  states  stood  elbow  to  elbow  and  side  by  side  most  nobly 
fought  and  fell. 

A  Grecian  philosopher  once  said  ''The  whole  earth  is  the  .sepulchre  of  illus- 
trious men"  and  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett  in  his  matchless  oration  at  the  ded- 
ication of  yonder  national  cemetery  added  "All  time  is  the  millenium  of 
their  glory." 

The  peaceful  gathering  here  to-day  of  you,  my  comrades,  but  evidence^^  the 
glorious  success  of  your  i)atrioti<;  service.  The  Union  and  all  that  word  im- 
plies; flag  and  all  the  privileges  and  rights  it  represents:  country  and  all  the 
hallowed  memories  and  illustrious  kindship  we  claim.  All  these  must  have 
inevitably  and  forever  been  engulfed  in  the  whirli)ool  of  rebellion,  but  for 
the  service  and  .sacrifice  made  by  you  bronzed  and  battle-browned  veterans  and 
your  comrades. 

And  now  my  comrades  there  remains  for  us  who  survive  our  fallen  comrades 
the  high,  the  holy  duty  of  here  and  now  resolving  that  these  our  dead  shall  not 
ha\e  died  in  vain,  but  that  the  cause  to  which  Ihey  yi<'lded  their  full  measure 
of  devotion  shall  forever  have  our  undying  feally.  This  ground  has  been  con- 
secrated bv  the  blood  and  deatii  of  our  comrades:  and  this  monument  we  now 


\ 


■mtt\ 

JK.  PiHWJlT  KAS  WiW-  WII'  T«  aviilW 

aKLLfTCCHIKE 

PRESENT  AT  GtTTySgUHC 

353  OFFICERS  AW  m»      ■ 

WILED  3  OFFICERS  AND  10  HEH 

WaUHUEB  30FF1CERS  AHB  Wl  MEl 

MPtL'RED  OR  MISS(!fe-lS  MEN  . 


fMOTO.     ev    W.     M.     TIPTON,     GETTvSBURG. 


THE    F.     GUTEKUNST    CO.,     PMIUA. 


Pennsylvania  at  (rettyshurg.  363 

most  solemnly  dedicate  to  their  memory  and  in  honor  of  your  service,  and  in 
its  ]iresence  with  uncovered  head  and  upraised  hand,  we  pledge  our  lives  in 
eternal  defense  of  the  jjrinciples  of  right  and  justice,  the  contest  for  whicli  has 
made  this  field  so  memorable.  We  have  all  reached  the  meridian  of  life  and 
many  with  halting  step  and  silvered  locks  are  far  down  on  the  shady  side  of 
the  mountain,  indeed  almost  in  the  glades  at  its  base  and  soon  must  lay  us 
down  at  "taps  "  and  bid  our  last  adieu  to  comrades  dear  and  the  loved  land 
we  helped  to  save;  let  us  see  to  it  then  that  we  .so  keep  step  to  the  music  of 
moral  heroism;  so  touch  elbow  to  elbow  in  the  march  of  humau  happine.ss;  so 
stand  in  the  rauks  of  valiant  manhood,  presenting  a  .solid  front  against  all  the 
enemies  of  our  race  ;  .so  to  put  on  the  entire  armor  of  christian  soldiers  and 
light  successfully  the  battles  of  this  ])resent  life. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

68"^"  REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

July  2,  18SS 
ADDRESS   BY    ALFRED  J.  CRAIOIIEAD 

COMRADES: — A  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed  away  since  you  and  1 
marched  up  that  road  yonder,  amid  the  echoes  and  passion  of  war, 
which  have  all  died.  Then  we  were  soldiers  in  defense  of  this  glorious 
Union,  and  here, upon  this  field,  we  fought,shoulder  to  shoulder  together^ 
and  upon  this  spot  our  gallant  old  regiment  stood  without  flinching,  subjected 
to  one  of  the  most  deadly  onslaughts  ever  known,  from  tliat  portion  of  the 
Contiederate  army  in  our  front  and  tlank.  This  spot  marks  the  left  of  our  regi- 
ment, the  right  extended  to  and  rested  north  of  this  point  to  where  you  will 
see  a  flank  stone  marker  standing.  About  this  hour  in  the  day,  twenty-five 
years  ago,  we  advanced  from  here  into  that  Peach  Orchard  beyond,  and  formed 
an  angle,  which  we  have  marked  by  a  white  marble  shatt;  in  that  orchard  we 
engaged  the  enemy  in  heavy  musketry  firing.  You  all  remember  that  afternoon, 
and  out  of  the  small  band  of  us  that  went  into  that  orchard  few  of  us  came 
safely  out,  but  you  did  your  duty  bravely  while  there. 

Comrades,  those  are  deeds  of  the  past  and  you  are  all  citizens  now,  and  I 
trust  you  all  are  as  good  citizens  as  you  were  soldiers.  ^Ye  are  here  to-day 
under  difierent  circumstances  and  have  invited  our  friends  to  assemble  with  us 
upon  this  sacred  and  memorial  spot  to  participate  with  us  in  the  ceremonies 
that  are  about  to  take  place  in  commemoration  of  the  event  of  our  first  appear- 
ance upon  this  field  years  ago.  Before  you  will  be  permitted  to  listen  to  the 
«loquent  remarks  of  deeds  of  valor  of  this  regiment  from  my  esteemed  and  il- 
lustrious friends,  who  have  kindh'  consented  to  come  here  and  address  you, 
you,  comrades,  have  selected  me  to  inform  our  friends  why  we  have  a.sserabled 
liere  to-day,  methinks  I  hear  them  say,  "  ^Yho  <>r  what  is  this  Sixty-eighth 
Regiment  Pennsylvania  Yolunteers  ?  "  Well,  I  will  tell  you,  my  friend.s.  all 
about  this  grand  old  regiment,  whose  officers,  exploits  and  achievements,  we 
all  who  fought  in  its  ranks  feel  proud  of. 

This  celebrated  regiment,  surnamed  Scott  Legion,  was  recruited  during  the 
summer  of  1862,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  except  Company  H,  which  was  re- 


364  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.' 

cruited  at  and  from  among  the  German  residents  of  I'ottstown,  Montgomery 
connty,  and  Company  I  from  Chester  county.  The  regiment  -was  completely 
organized  and  inustcrod  into  the  United  States  service  on  September  2,  1862, 
with  one  thousand  and  forty -nine  (1,049)  oiricers  and  men.  The  following  were 
the  field  ofticers  of  regiment:  Andrew  Hart  Tippin,  colonel;  Anthony  Hart 
Reynolds,  lientenaut-colonel,  and  Thomas  Hawksworth,  major.  At  that  time 
all  citizens  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

Colonel  Tippin  al.so  served  as  major  of  the  Twentieth  Regiment  Penn.syl- 
vania  Volunteer  Infantry  during  the  three-months'  service,  and  had  seen  ser- 
vice as  Lieutenant  in  the  Eleventh  United  States  Infantry  during  the  war 
with  Mexico  in  1846  and  1847,  and  fought  bravely  in  General  Scott's  army  ou 
several  bloody  fields.  Well,  we  remember  the  dispatch  from  headquarters  that 
told  how  Lieutenant  Tippin  was  the  lirst  man  to  mount  the  ramparts  of  the 
Mexican  works  at  the  battle  of  Molino-del-Rey,  King  Mills,  to  wave  his  sword 
and  lead  his  men  ou  to  victory  that  so  quickly  followed;  he  was  twice  breveted 
for  gallant  and  brave  conduct  in  the  battles  of  Contreras,  Cherubusco,  INIolino- 
del-Rey  and  other  battles  of  that  campaign  in  Mexico.  The  sword  carried  b}' 
this  gallant  defender  of  his  country's  cause  and  flag  during  the  campaign  in 
Mexico,  has  been  presented  by  his  widow  to  A.  H.  Tippin  Camp  No.  41,  Sons 
of  Veterans  of  Pottstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  it  bears  marks  of  battle,  a  jwr- 
tion  of  a  bullet  embedded  in  the  handle  which  struck  it  when  its  owner  sprang 
ujM)n  the  walls  of  the  fort  previously  mentioned.  The  Sons  of  Veterans  have 
placed  this  weapon  of  this  dead  hero  of  two  wars  among  their  archives  of 
relics,  and  they  prize  it  as  dear  to  them  as  was  the  sword  of  Bunker  Hill  to 
the  patriots  who  wielded  it  in  the  historic  contest  of  revolutionary  times. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Reynolds  who  was  wounded  and  permanently  disabled 
while  gallantly  leading  us  comrades  u^wu  this  bloody  and  memorable  field,  and 
since  deceased,  and  Major  Hawksworth  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Fred- 
erick.sburg,  Virginia,  December  13,  1862,  and  Captain  Robert  E.  Winslow, 
subsequently  lieutenant-colonel,  and  Captain  Michael  Fulmer,  subsequently 
major,  who  is  with  us  lo-day,  our  honored  president,  some  seventy  years  old. 
who  has  pa.ssed  the  meridian  of  life  threescore  and  ten,  full  of  vigor  and  man- 
hood, carrying  the  scars  of  battle,  all  saw  service  in  Mexico  and  displayed  their 
gallant  conduct  and  bravery  during  that  campaign.  Manj-  of  the  line  oflicers 
and  men,  of  whom  some  fell  upon  this  and  other  fields  of  battle  in  defense  of 
their  country  and  this  glorious  Union,  were  all  veterans  of  Mexico,  and  also 
served  during  the  three-months'  service. 

The  defeat  of  our  arms  in  Pope's  Campaign  of  Northern  Virginia,  conclud- 
ing with  Chantilly,  in  186:2,  caused  the  national  authorities  to  summons  per- 
emptorily troops  which  had  been  mu.stered.  The  Sixty-eighth,  our  regiment, 
was  at  that  time  lying  in  camp  at  Frankford,  a  suburb  of  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania ;  though  above  the  minimum,  its  ranks  were  not  up  to  the 
maximum  standard  and  the  men  were  only  partially  unilbrmed  and  equipped 
and  not  mustered  into  the  United  States  .service.  Colonel  Tippin  at  ouce  re- 
sponded i)romptly  to  the  order.  The  regiment  broke  camp  on  the  evening  of 
September  1,  1862,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  "Washington  city  where  it  was 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service.  The  army  was  just  falling  back  to 
the  heights  around  the  National  Capital,  the  regiment  was  immediately  ordered 
across  the  Potomac  river  and  went  into  camp  on  Arlington  Heights,  there  it 
was  armed  ami  fiiriiishcd  with  a  conipletc  outfit   for  an  active  camj)aign,  and 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  365 

was  assigned  to  Robinson's  Brigade,  Stonemaii's  Division,  Third  Armj-  Corps. 
Soon  after  tlie  battle  of  Antietani  the  regiment  moved  from  camp  and  passed 
through  Georgetown,  i)roceeded  to  Poolesville,  Maryland,  arriving  there  on  the 
loth  day  of  October,  the  day  on  which  the  rebel  Generals  Stuart  and  Wade 
Hampton  with  a  large  force  of  cavalry  made  their  famous  raid  on  Chambers- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  complete  circuit  of  the  Union  army;  intelligence  soon 
spread  of  the  daring  ride,  and  our  regiment  was  marched  rapidly  to  Conrad's 
Ferrj',  near  Poolesville,  Maryland,  in  expectation  that  the  bold  raiders  would 
attempt  to  cross  the  Potomac  river  at  that  point  on  their  return  into  Virginia, 
l)ut  they  made  for  a  ford  considerably  lower  down  the  stream  and  passed  over 
without  opposition.  After  the  regiment  remained  several  days  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  ferry  it  rejoined  the  brigade,  and  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia,  by 
f4irdiug  the  stream,  and  proceeded  southward  with  the  rest  of  the  army.  While 
on  the  march,  the  rebel  cavalry  under  Colonel  White  suddenly  dashed  in  upon 
the  wagon  train  moving  with  the  brigade,  and  captured  wagons  belonging  to 
the  Sixty -eighth,  containing  officers'  baggage,  1x>oks,  papers,  etc.,  and  camp  and 
garrison  equippage,  overpowering  and  making  prisoners  of  the  feeble  guard 
which  had  it  in  charge  :  about  forty  of  the  Sixty-eighth  were  taken  prisoners, 
sent  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  kept  in  confinement  several  months. 

On  the  12th  day  of  December,  1862,  the  regiment  was  lying  in  winter  quar- 
ters on  Falmouth  Heights  opposite  to  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  the  order  was 
given  to  break  camp,  and  the  regiment  with  the  division,  then  under  command 
of  General  David  B.  Birney,  moved  down  to  the  heights  overlooking  the  field 
where  the  Union  troops  had  taken  position  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock river  below  the  town,  and  remained  there  until  the  13th  instant.  It 
was  not  until  afternoon,  and  until  the  battle  was  in  progress  on  the  left,  that 
orders  were  given  to  cross  over  the  river,  when  the  regiment,  with  the  division 
led  by  the  fearless  Birney,  double-c^uicked  acro.ss  the  i)ontoon  bridge  and 
moved  up  into  line  of  battle  under  a  heavy  artillery  fire,  reaching  the  field  just 
as  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  under  tlie  gallant  IVIeade,  were  forced  from  the 
heights  of  Fredericksburg,  followed  closely  by  the  triumphant  foe.  Our 
regiment  was  ordered  to  support  Randolph's  Battery  E,  First  Rhode  Island 
Artillery,  which  at  this  critical  juncture  was  being  rapidly  served  and  doing 
fearful  execution.  The  regiment  remained  in  this  position,  exposed  to  the 
enemy's  answering  fire  and  defending  the  guns  from  infantry  attack,  until  the 
cannonading  ceased.  It  was  then  ordered  into  position  in  the  first  line  with  the 
brigade,  close  to  the  enemy's  front:  for  two  days  the  regiment  remained  in 
this  position,  but  beyond  occasional  picket  firing  was  not  further  engaged.  On 
the  night  of  the  1.5th  instant  the  brigade  was  relieved  bj'  the  Second  Brigade, 
which  had  been  in  the  rear,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  recrossed  the  river  and 
again  went  into  winter  quarters  on  Falmouth  Heights.  The  lo.ss  sustained  by 
the  regiment  was  forty  killed  and  wounded,  among  whom  were  Major  Hawks- 
worth,  and  Lieutenant  Joseph  E.  Davis  of  Company  F,  killed  ;  and  a  number 
taken  prisoners,  including  the  regimental  brass  band. 

The  regiment  remained  in  comparative  quiet  until  Januarj^  20,  1863,  when 
the  army  again  moved  under  General  Burnside,  who  purposed  to  proceed  up 
the  Rappahannock  river,  and  to  cross  the  river  and  a  second  time  offer  battle, 
which  proved  a  great  failure,  and  is  known  as  Burnside's  stuck  in  the  mud.  Fo% 
three  days  we  endured  unparalleled  suffering  from  the  inclement  weather  and 
exposure,  at  the  end  of  which  the  campaign  was  abandoned,  and  we  returned 


366  Pennsylvania  at  (rettyshurg. 

to  our  old  camp  below  Fredericksburg  iiud  again  went  into  winter  quarters  and 
remained  there  until  April  28.  except  at  times  when  the  regiment  was  sent  out 
to  do  occasional  i)icket  duty. 

In  the  movement  upon  ("hancellorsville.  the  Tiiird  Army  (lorps  was  at  first 
marihcd  down  the  Kajipahannock  river  to  the  point  where  they  cro.ssed  in  the 
Fredericksburg  cam])aign,  to  make  a  demonstration  as  if  to  cross  and  ofter 
battle  at  this  point,  while  General  Hooker,  with  the  main  body  of  his  army. 
cro.s.sed  and  eflected  a  permanent  lodgment  .some  miles  above.  When  this  had 
been  accomplished  General  Daniel  E.  Sickles,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Third  Corps,  marched  it  hastily  away  to  rejoin  the  army,  then  con- 
centrated at  Chancellorsville.  AVe  crossed  the  Rappahannock  river  on  the  1st 
day  of  May,  18fi:>.  having  left  camp  on  the  28th  day  of  April,  passing  the  in- 
termediate time  in  the  operations  below  Fredericksburg.  On  the  evening  of 
May  1,  \Ne  were  drawn  up  in  column,  with  the  brigade  supporting  a  battery 
which  had  opened  upon  the  enemy,  that  was  soon  replied  to  spiritedly  with 
shell.  One  of  our  regiment's  pioneers  was  wounded.  Here  we  remained  during 
the  night.  The  next  day  we  moved  into  various  positions,  covering  the  line  of 
skirmishers  in  the  operations  against  the  enemy  on  the  left.  At  evening  we 
retired  and  remained  in  position  with  the  brigade.  Before  the  men  were  fully 
prepared  the  iie.xt  morning  the  enemy  made  a  vigorous  attack  on  our  left  and 
front  and  the  position  of  our  regiment  was  changed  to  the  extreme  right,  so  as 
to  more  carefully  cover  the  battery  we  were  supporting,  now  firing  rapidly:  the 
onset,  however,  was  .so  rapid  and  determined  and  the  front  line  having  broken, 
and  fallen  back  in  some  confusion,  our  regiment  was  forced  to  retire  with 
the  brigade,  after  which  the  brigade  was  quicklj^  reformed  and  moved  again  to 
the  front  in  column  doubled  on  the  center,  deploying  at  the  edge  of  a  woods, 
to  the  right  of  our  first  position,  which  the  enemy  now  held.  We  entered  and 
.soon  engaged  him  in  his  rifle-pits,  which  we  charged,  and  after  a  sharj)  and 
.severe  contest  we  .succeeded  in  taken  them.  At  this  point  our  regiment  captured 
some  thirty-five  officers  and  men  of  the  Tenth  Virginia  Kegiment,  its  colors  and 
color  guard.  During  the  battle  the  regiment  was  always  placed  in  the  hottest 
part  of  the  line  and  subjected  to  the  .severest  kind  of  musketry  fire.  The  loss 
sustained  by  the  regiment  was  very  severe.  Captain  .Tohn  D.  Pawling  of  Com- 
pany 1,  and  Captain  James  Shields  of  Company  K,  were  l)otli  mortally  wounded. 

The  army  then  recro.s.sed  the  river  and  went  into  camp  at  Belle  Plain  near 
Aquia  Creek  were  we  remained  until  the  11th  day  of  June,  1863,  when  we 
broke  camp  to  enter  upon  the  Gettysburg  campaign;  the  march  was  a  long  and 
wearisome  one,  as  we  were  compelled  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 

At  the  opening  of  the  battle  of  Gettj'sburg.  July  1,  18(i3,  the  Third  Army 
Corps  was  at  Emmitsbnrg,  ^laryland.  moving  rapidly  forward,  reaching  th(^ 
field  hite  at  nighl.  .M'tcr  the  day's  con(li(tt  wasovt-ras  the  column  reached  this 
field  it  went  into  line  of  position  along  a  slight  ridge  extending  diagonally  across 
that  open  jtlain  l)etween  Cemetery  and  Seminary  ridges,  connecting  with  Han- 
cock's Second  Army  Corj  s  on  its  right  and  its  left  refused  at  this  Peach  Orchard, 
and  stretched  oblicjuely  back  thnuigh  that  woods  to  a  rocky  ravine  in  front  of 
Round  To)).  called  Devil's  Den.  The  brigadi .  then  commanded  by  General 
Charles  K.  (Jraham.  was  placed  iti  jiosition  on  that  ]>art  of  the  line  deflecting 
•  frtmi  the  I'minitsburg  pike,  it  stretclie<l  away  to  Round  Top.  The  angle  formed 
by  this  depaiiine  was  at  the  point  where  this  road  upon  which  you  now  stand 
leads  from   the  pike  to   Little   Kouud  'l"oi>.  and   in  this  angle,  near  the  house 


PrniiHijIcania  <i/   (ictli/.slnir(/.  367 

of. John  Waiitz,  which  was  one  ol'llie  most  exposed  i)arts  ol' the  field,  our  rej;i- 
meiit  was  placed,  open  to  a  tire  on  I'ront  and  Hank,  supporting  Clark's  Battery 
B,  First  New  Jerse\'  Artillery,  which  was  stationed  in  the  yard  in  the  lear  of 
the  Want/,  house,  just  in  our  front,  and  being  rapidly  served  and  dealing  out 
death  and  destruction  to  the  enemy  witli  the  shot  and  shell  they  were  throw- 
ing into  their  ranks.  Many  of  the  men  of  our  regiment  assisted  tlie  artillery- 
men to  serve  tlie  cannoneers  with  tlieir  ammunition. 

Standing  upon  this  spot,  which  is  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  tield,  hut  not 
sufficiently  so  to  be  of  any  advantage  in  defense,  it  was  a  conspicuous  mark 
for  artillery  for  long  range  around,  and  open  to  the  charge  of  in  fan  try.  Skirm- 
ishing commenced  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July  2,  and  gradually- 
increased  in  severity  until  the  battle  opened  in  earnest.  About  four  o'clock  in 
the  atternoon  tlie  enemy  opened  with  heavy  artillery  fire  and  followed  up  with 
infantry,  putting  in  ))rigade  after  l)riga(le  i en-echelon j,  commencing  on  his  ex- 
treme left  ;  it  was  sometime  before  the  infantry  attack  reached  this  Peach 
Orchard,  here  where  our  regiment  stood,  but  the  artillery  tire  hearing  ujKm  us 
was  terrific,  carrying  away  men  at  every  discharge.  As  this  was  the  key  to  the 
whole  position  it  was  necessary  to  hold  it  at  all  hazard,  and  the  ouly  alternative 
was  to  stand  and  be  shot  down  without  the  opportunity'  to  reply.  In  the  midst 
of  the  fight  General  Graham  was  wounded  aiul  borne  from  the  field  and  the 
command  of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  our  gallant  old  Colonel  Tippin.  We 
then  advanced  into  yonder  Peach  Orchard,  and  formed  an  angle  fronting  on 
the  pike  at  the  point  where  you  will  see  that  we  have  erected  a  white  marl)le 
shaft.  In  that  orchard  we  received  the  enemy's  heavy  charge  and  musketry 
fSre,  and  bravely  did  the  boys  of  our  regiment  return  that  fire  with  telling  ef- 
fect at  every  volley.  During  that  bloody  ordeal  our  brave  color  sergeant  was 
killed,  but  our  flag  was  not  permitted  to  fall,  as  the  young  and  brave  Color 
Corporal  McLarnon  received  the  flag  from  the  dead  sergeant's  hands  as  he  was 
falling,  and  held  it  high  at  the  same  time  waving  it  and  cheering  the  men  on 
to  renewed  vigor  ;  for  such  acts  of  bravery  he  was  subsequently  promoted  to 
color  sergeant  of  the  regiment,  and  faithfully  did  he  discharge  his  duty  and 
carry  the  flag  until  the  close  of  the  war,  and  he  is  now  present  with  us  to-day. 
It  was  a  terrible  afternoon  in  that  orchard,  and  we  all  were  anxious  for  rein- 
forcements to  come  up,  as  we  were  being  decimated  by  their  artillery.  In  that 
orchard  Lieutenant-Colonel  Reynolds  and  Major  Winslow  were  wounded  and 
ten  other  officers  of  our  regiment  were  killed  or  wounded,  leaving  but  four  of- 
ficers to  bring  the  regiment  out  of  the  fight,  having  had  in  all  but  seventeen 
officers  for  duty  at  the  commencement  of  the  battle.  Just  at  sunset  the  rebel 
infantry  charged  upon  the  position  held  by  our  regiment  with  great  impetu- 
osity, and  the  brigade,  greatly  weakened  by  its  losses,  and  exhausted  by  fre- 
quent manoeuvrings,  outflanked  and  vastly  outnumbered,  was  compelled  to 
yield,  but  not  in  disorder,  retiring  slowly  and  contesting  the  ground  inch  liy 
inch.  At  this  critical  juncture  a  portion  o(  the  Fifth  Army  Corps  came  to  our 
relief,  a  new  line  was  formed  and  the  enemy  repulsed  and  held  in  check  ;  near 
the  close  of  the  action  General  Graham,  having  returned  upon  the  field  at- 
tempted to  resume  command  and  rally  the  brigade,  but  being  weak  from  loss 
of  blood  and  unable  to  endure  the  trials  of  that  desperately  contested  field,  un- 
fortunately fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  was  taken  prisoner,  together 
with  a  number  of  our  regiment's  men.  On  this  field  upon  this  .same  afternoon 
the  brave  and  gallant  Sickles,  our  corps  commander,  lost  his  leg. 


368  Pemhsylimnia  at  Gettyshurr/. 

On  the  ;kl  day  of  July,  our  regiment  -witli  the  brigade,  under  command  of 
Colonel  Tippin,  was  held  in  reserve,  forming  part  of  a  second  line  of  battle  on 
the  left  center  in  the  rear  of  the  famous  Philadelphia  Brigade  of  the  Second 
Corps,  as  their  support  while  they  held  the  liloody  angle  against  Pickett's 
suicidal  charge;  the  position  held  by  the  regiment  at  that  point  was  upon  the 
lowest  part  of  the  entire  field.  Although  not  engaged  we  were  exposed  to  the 
terrible  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  and  lost  numbers  of  our  men.  Colonel 
Tippin's  horse  being  killed  under  him  at  that  point ;  the  loss  sustained  ])y  our 
regiment  was  about  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  number  engaged.  Captain 
George  W.  McLearn  and  Lieutenant  Andrew  Black,  both  of  Company  D,  and 
Lieutenant  John  Reynolds  of  Company  G,  were  among  those  killed,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Lewis  "NV.  Ealer  of  Company  F,  was  mortally  wounded. 

The  following  is  the  official  report  of  Colonel  Tippin.  viz: 

Headqtarteks  Sixty-Eighth  Regiment 
Pennsylvania  Yolt'Nteees,  August  4,  186;>. 

Lieutenant: — In  compliance  with  orders  from  headquarters  of  the  27th 
ultimo,  I  respectfully  submit  the  following  report  of  the  operations  of  my  regi- 
ment in  the  recent  engagement  at  and  near  Gettysburg. 

On  the  morning  of  Jul}'  2,  I  moved  my  regiment  with  the  brigade  to  the 
position  assigned  us  in  a  large  open  field  in  the  rear  of  our  line  of  skirmishers, 
then  engaged  with  the  enemy's  skirmishers  in  front.  The  brigade  was  deployed 
in  line  of  battle  by  battalions  doubled  on  the  center,  my  regiment  being  on 
the  left  of  the  line.  After  remaining  in  this  position  some  time,  the  brigade 
was  moved  farther  to  the  front,  immediately  in  rear  of  Clark's  Battery,  de- 
ployed in  line  of  battle,  and  ordered  to  lie  down.  We  remained  in  this  posi- 
tion nearly  two  hours,  suffering  severely  from  the  destructive  fire  of  the  enemy's 
batteries  posted  on  our  left  and  front.  I  was  then  ordered  to  move  my  regi- 
ment forward  into  a  peach  orchard,  and  fronting  a  road  running  parallel  with 
the  enemy's  front.  We  had  been  in  this  position  but  a  short  time  when  signifi- 
cant movements  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  made  it  evident  we  were  about  to 
be  attacked;  soon  he  advanced.  I  ordered  the  men  to  reserve  their  fire  until 
reaching  a  certain  point,  when  a  destructive  fire  was  opened,  the  enemy  halted 
and  dropping  behind  a  fence,  receiving  reinforcements,  and  heavy  masses  of 
his  infantry  coming  down  on  our  right,  I  ordered  my  command  to  fall  back  to 
the  position  in  the  rear  of  the  batteries,  which  was  done  in  good  order.  Here 
I  met  General  Graham  who  ordered  me  to  at  once  engage  the  enemy  coming 
down  on  our  right  fiank,  which  was  promptly  done  under  his  directions.  Here 
too  tlie  gallant  general  was  severely  wounded  and  subsequently  made  prisoner. 
He  declined  any  assistance,  and  directed  me  to  take  command  and  fight  on. 
I  supposed  him  able  to  get  to  the  rear,  as  after  dismounting,  he  walked  a\  ith 
apparently  little  difficulty. 

We  held  the  position  as  long  as  it  was  possible  to  hold  it.  The  artillery  hav- 
ing retired  and  the  ranks  very  much  decimated  by  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  who 
was  i)u.shing  forward  in  heavy  masses,  I  ordered  the  command  to  retire  in 
order,  whldi  was  done.  I  reported  to  General  Ward,  now  in  command  of  the 
division,  who  assigned  me  a  position,  with  directions  to  bivouac  for  the  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  'id,  I  was  ordered  with  the  brigade  to  proceed  with 
the  division  to  a  field  a  short  distance  from  the  i)la(e  where  we  bivouacked 
and  stacked  arms;  remaining  but  a  short  time,  I  was  ordered  to  move  with  the 


Pennsylvania  at  GeUyshurg.  369 

division  to  the  left  wIkmo  we  formed  line  of  battle  in  tlie  rear  supporting  apart 
of  the  Fifth  Array  Corps.  In  the  afternoon  the  brigade  again  moved  with  the 
division  to  tlie  rear  of  the  center  and  in  support  of  a  battery;  we  remained  here 
until  evening  when  I  was  relieved  of  the  command.  I  regret  the  loss  of  a  great 
many  gallant  officers  and  men  of  ray  regiment.  The  brave  Captain  McLearn 
and  the  no  less  conspicious  Lieutenants  Black  and  Reynolds  all  fell  close  to  the 
enemy  while  cheering  on  their  men.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Reynolds,  Major 
Winslow,  Captains  Funston,  Young  and  Fulmer,  and  Lieutenants  (John  J.) 
Fenlin,  Jr.,  Ealer,  Guest,  Porter  and  Heston,  all  wounded,  bear  evidence  of 
their  good  conduct  and  gallant  behavior.  I  can  also  bear  testimony  to  the  gal- 
lantry of  the  other  officers  of  the  command. 

Of  the  non-commi.ssioned  officers  and  privates  of  the  regiment  I  cannot  speak 
with  too  much  praise.  Their  obedience  to  command  and  the  determined  stand 
made  against  overwhelming  odds,  their  thinned  ranks  fully  prove;  animated 
by  the  glorious  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged,  each  vied  with  the  obher  in 
deeds  of  gallant  daring. 

A  list  of  the  casualties  has  already  been  forwarded.     A  tabular  statement  of 
killed,  wounded  and  missing  is  herewith  appended. 
Very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Andrew  H.  Tippin, 
Colonel  Sixty-eighth  Begiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 

Aft«r  the  return  of  the  army  into  Virginia,  the  regiment  participated  with  it 
in  the  fall  campaign,  and  was  actively  engaged  at  Wapping  Heights,  on  the  23d 
day  of  August,  and  at  Auburn,  on  the  14th  day  of  October,  and  sustained  the 
loss  of  a  number  of  men. 

In  the  sharp  turn  taken  by  General  Meade,  at  Centerville,  Virginia,  Colonel 
Tippin  was  taken  prisoner  and  was  confined  in  Libby  prison,  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  where  he  remained  for  nearJy  nine  months.  In  the  subsequent  ad- 
vance of  the  army  the  regiment,  now  under  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Robert  E.  Winslow,  was  actively  engaged  at  Kelly's  Ford,  on  the  7th  day  of 
November,  and  at  Locust  Grove,  on  the  27th  day  of  November,  suffering  se- 
verely. Captain  Milton  S.  Davis,  of  Company  F,  being  among  those  killed,  and 
at  Mine  Run,  on  the  28t.h  day  of  November,  1863. 

In  the  entire  campaign  our  regiment  was  given  little  rest,  being  almost  con- 
stantly on  the  move  and  suffered  considerable  loss  by  sickness  and  battle.  The 
regiment  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Brandy  Station  near  Culpeper,  Virginia, 
where  the  regiment  received  a  nnmber  of  recruits.  In  March,  1864,  the  Third 
Army  Corps  was  bi'oken  up  and  the  Sixty -eighth,  together  with  other  regiments, 
was  assigned  to  the  Second  Army  Corps. 

On  the  18th  day  of  April,  1864,  the  regiment  still  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Winslow  (Colonel  Tippin  being  still  in  confinement  at  Libby 
prison),  was  ordered  to  headquarters  of  General  Meade,  where  it  was  placed 
under  the  immediate  command  of  Brigadier-General  Patrick,  the  Provost  Mar- 
shal-General of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  employed  in  doing  guard  duty; 
in  this  position  it  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war  (the  duties  were  onerous 
and  severe)  with  other  regiments  in  the  same  line  of  duty  and  formed  into  a 
Provisional  Brigade  which  was  subject  to  duty  on  the  battle-field  when  emer- 
gencies required,  and  in  several  instances,  at  the  critical  moment  of  the  battle, 
when  the  scale  was  so  evenly  poised  as  to  be  doubtful  which  way  it  would  turn, 
24 


370  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

this  Provisional  Brigade  w:i.s  sent  to  the  support  olthe  wavering  line  and  ma<ie 
victory  secure.  When  inlantry  was  required  lor  duty  with  the  cavalry  in  toil- 
some and  fatiguing  raids,  tliis  brigade,  with  our  regiment,  was  ordered  to  ac- 
company the  cavalry,  or  when  regiments  were  taken  from  the  entrenchment, 
this  brigade  was  obliged  to  take  their  places  in  the  works.  While  in  front  of 
Petersburg,  Virginia,  one-half  of  our  regiment  was  on  duty  at  Meade's  head- 
quarters, and  the  other  half  on  duty  at  City  Point,  Virginia.  In  the  oiiicial 
report  of  General  Patrick,  dated  the  10th  day  of  August,  1864,  he  says  the 
Sixt^'-eighth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  has  been  employed  as  pri.son 
guard  at  these  headijuarters.  by  no  means  a  light  duty,  and  lias  given  very  gen- 
eral satisfaction  in  their  performance  of  it.  In  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness  and 
the  skirmish  at  Guinea  Station,  May  ;21,  they  acted  with  a  gi-eat  deal  of  dash 
and  bi-avery.  On  the  3r)thday  of  June,  18(54,  Colonel  Tippin  was  released  from 
Libby  prison  and  exchanged,  and  resumed  command  of  the  regiment.  In  the 
last  charge  upon  the  enemy's  lines  at  Petersburg,  before  the  final  move,  our 
regiment  was  one  of  the  storming  party.  In  the  sharp  conflict  which  ensued, 
Major  John  C.  Gallagher  of  our  regiment  was  mortally  wounded,  and  a  number 
of  our  ofhcers  and  men  were  killed  and  wounded  ;  among  those  wouuded  were 
Captain  Michael  Fulmer  of  Company  K,  who  was  badly  wounded  in  the  head. 
After  the  capture  of  Lieutenant-General  Ewell  and  his  forces  at  Sailor's 
Creek,  Virginia,  the  Sixty-eighth  Regiment,  in  conjunction  with  other  regiments 
of  the  Provisional  Brigade  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Tippin,  was  detailed 
to  guard  the  prisoners  and  proceed  with  them  to  City  Point,  Virginia.  The 
order  was  faithfully  executed  without  the  lo.ss  of  a  man  ;  among  the  prisoners 
were  Lieutenant-General  Ewell,  Major-Generals  Custis  Lee  and  Kershaw,  and 
other  prominent  generals  of  the  rebel  army,  and  alx)ut  six  hundred  officers  of 
a  lesser  grade.  This  duty  done,  the  regiment  returned  to  the  headquarters 
of  the  army  near  Appomattox,  having  in  charge  about  6,000  recruits  that  had 
accumulated  at  City  Point.  It  had  been  but  a  short  time  with  the  moving 
column,  when  General  Lee  surrendered  ;  then  General  Jleadt;  ordered  the  regi- 
ment, in  company  with  the  One  hundred  and  forty-third  Regiment  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers,  to  proceed  to  Hart's  Island  near  the  city  of  New  York,  to  take 
charge  of  rebel  prisoners  confined  there.  We  proceeded  by  cars  to  City  Point 
and  from  City  Point  to  Fortress  Monroe  by  boat ;  ujjon  our  arrival  at  the  Fort- 
ress, we  were  transferred  to  and  on  board  of  a  large  government  transjiort  steamer 
and  conveyed  to  Hart's  Island  :  we  remained  upon  llie  Island  until  the  9tli  day 
of  June  IHG."),  when  we  were  mustered  out  of  service  with  four  hundred  and 
thirty-two  officers  and  men  upon  the  regimental  rolls,  and  returned  home  lo 
Philadelj.hi;!.  .hiiie  10.  iHOf). 


ADDRFS.S  OF  HON.   IIKKRV   K.   BOYKR. 

SURVIVORS  of  the,  Sixly-eiglUh  regiment  :-- You  and  your  friends  are  as- 
semljled  liere  to  do  honor  to  your  fallen  brethren  ;  and  in  the  bright  sun- 
light of  tlie  anniversary  of  a  glorious  day,  you  have  unveiled  to  the  world 
an  everlasting  monument  tx>  the  memory  of  brave  men  and  heroic  dee<ls. 
And  not  to  the  memory  of  the  brave  and  the  heroic  simply,  for  we  stand  with 
lieads  un<M)vercd  and  bow  in  silent  homage  to  a  bravery  hallowed  by  a  love  of 
country,  and  a  heroism  inspired  by  a  devoted  sen.^^e  ofdut y  to  her. 


Pennsiflrmiid  ai   GctfysJturq.  371 

And  here,  after  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  centurv,  anion};  the  fair  hills  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  upon  these  consecrated  grounds  where  a  nation's  dead  lie 
buried,  you  have  erected  this  beautiful  monument,  which  for  all  time  will  stand 
to  mark  the  spot  where  valor  bled  and  ''red  battle  stamped  his  foot  "  among 
the  roar  of  cannon,  the  flash  of  musketry,  the  groans  oftlie  dying,  the  huzzas 
of  the  victors  and  all  the  fierce  music  of  war. 

Here  upon  this  historic  spot  will  this  monument  stand,  down  through  the 
(•easeless  march  of  time,  whih;  the  music  of  tlie  past  will  i'all  fainter  and  fixinter 
upon  the  ear  of  the  living  present.  This  giand  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylva- 
nia now  teeming  with  the  varied  industries  of  man,  and  the  busy  marts  of  trade, 
will  have  become  one  vast  workshop  and  emporium,  situated  in  a  lovely  and 
cultivated  garden  ;  and  our  glorious  countr\',  then  of  thirty  millions,  now  of 
sixty,  will  have  become  oneof  hundreds  of  millions  of  souls,  rich  in  peace,  rich 
in  prosperity,  rich  in  contentment,  rich  in  all  that  constitutes  life  happy  and 
benutiful  :  but  this  monument  throughout  the  succession  of  generations,  and 
when  you  and  I  shall  belong  to  time  no  longer,  will  stand  firm  as  its  native  rock, 
as  a  lasting  memento  to  the  honor  of  the  Scott  Legion,  its  steadfast  services,  its 
bloody  fights,  its  glorious  victories. 

The  recollections  of  years  of  hard  and  constant  service  will  not  fade  from  your 
minds  during  life;  they  will  be  ever  present  while  living  and  will  crowd  upon 
you  in  the  hour  of  death.  Three  years  of  camp  and  march  and  field!  Wbat 
hardships,  toils  and  dangers  are  comprehended  in  this  thought  ;  only  you  who 
have  served  your  country  can  know.  Can  you  forget  your  two  days  in  the  first 
line  with  your  brigade  at  Fredericksburg  where,  among  many  others,  your  gal- 
lant Major  Hawksworth  and  Lieutenant  Davis  fell  ?  Or  your  charge  and  cap- 
ture of  the  rifle  pits  at  Chancellorsville?  Or  the  la.st  charge  upon  the  enemy's 
lines  at  Petersburg?  You  will  not  forget  them,  nor  Kelly's  Ford,  nor  Locast 
Grove,  nor  ]Mine  Run,  nor  your  toilsome  and  fatiguing  reserve  duty.  Nor  has 
history  forgotten  to  record  your  <-onstant  and  loyal  service,  your  learless  and 
stubborn  courage. 

We,  your  friends,  who  meet  with  you  to-day,  cannot  feel  as  you  feel,  however 
vivid  our  recollections,  however  loyal  our  sympathies.  We  were  but  readers 
of  the  blood }•  drama  in  which  you  were  the  actors.  Your  toils  and  hardships 
t^mched  our  hearts  with  sympathetic  grief.and  your  shouts  of  victory  were  echoed 
again  and  again,  from  every  hill  and  valley,  every  town  and  city  in  the  North. 
Your  triumphs  cheered  us,  your  defeats  depressed  us,  your  trials  saddened  u.s, 
and  words  of  cheer  and  blessing  from  friends  and  kindred  came  to  you  to  nerve 
your  arm  and  strengthen  your  spirit  :  but  the  joj-  of  victory  and  the  sorrow  of 
defeat  could  not  .stir  our  souls  as  they  did  yours,  for  pain,  and  death,  and  victory 
were  ever  present,  ever  around  you,  glorious,  dreadful  realities. 

Veterans,  I  cannot  tell  the  thoughts  that  sweep  across  your  minds  like  waves 
spread  o'er  a  troubled  sea,  upon  this  anniversary  of  that  red  day  of  fire  and 
blood  and  roar  and  smoke,  when,  twentj'-five  yeaas  ago — aye,  twenty -five  vear.s 
ago  this  very  hour — you  st<x)d  in  yonder  angle,  high  in  the  f  eld,  in  regimental 
line  of  battle,  exposed  to  charge  of  infantry  and  fire  of  artillery  in  front  and 
flank.  Death  rode  upon  the  smoke  of  battle  into  the  ranks  of  the  Sixty-eighth 
Regiment  on  that  day,  and  made  that  bloody  field  the  dying  conch  of  many  of 
your  comrades.  Here  your  Lieutenant-Colonel  Reynolds  fell  mortally  wounded, 
and  at  the  close  of  that  never-to-be-forgotten  day.  you  were  not  half  a  regiment. 
Where  was  the  mess  that  did  not  mourn  a  killed  or  wounded  mate?     Where 


372  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

were  Captain  McLearn  and  Lieutenants  Black  and  Reynolds  and  Ealer,  and 
Privates  McGregor,  and  Evans,  and  Richards  and  Grau,  and  Sergeant  Ililt  and 
hosts  of  others  ?  They  sleep  their  everlasting  sleep  upon  the  field  they  had 
helped  to  win,  and  this  monument  erected  with  the  aid  of  a  grateful  people, 
stands  to  their  glory  and  yours.  Great  was  the  Sixty-eighth  Regiment  on  that 
dav  in  the  Peach  Orchard.  Great  was  the  First  Brigade,  great  was  the  First 
Division,  great  was  the  Third  Corps  ! 

The  pages  of  history  are  filled  with  the  records  of  heroic  achievements  and 
dauntless  valor,  and  the  world  has  not  yet  ceased  to  admire  the  stubborn  courage 
with  which  the  British  squares  resisted  the  terrific  onset  of  the  hosts  of  Na- 
poleon at  Waterloo  ;  but  the  magnificent  bravery  of  the  Army  ot  the  Potomac 
at  Gettysburg  rivals  all  the  glories  of  the  past,  and  challenges  the  admiration 
of  mankind. 

Survivors  ot  the  Sixty-eighth  Regiment,  twenty-six  years  have  rolled  by 
since  that  September  evening  when  you  broke  camp  at  Frankford  and  responded 
to  your  country's  call.  Workshop  and  office  and  farm  were  abandoned,  home 
and  friends  and  family  left  behind,  by  many  never  on  this  earth  to  be  seen 
again.  Sickness  and  battle  thinned  your  ranks  in  war,  and  since  the  return  of 
peace,  those  whom  God  had  spared  have  become  a  scattered  band.  And  now 
a  gallant  few,  fast  becoming  veterans  in  years,  you  meet  in  this  grand  reunion 
of  the  old  Army  of  the  Potomac,  as  patriotic  and  enthusiastic  as  when  the  shock 
of  battle  made  the  hills  of  Gett/sburg  tremble,  to  shake  your  surviving  comrades 
bj"  the  hand,  renew  the  scenes  of  camp  fire  and  field,  and  dedicate  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  gallant  armies  that  saved  your  homes  from  fire  and  sword,  the.se 
monuments  to  the  American  soldier's  valor.  Your  presence  here  and  these 
monuments  that  dot  the  hills  and  plains  around  us,  awaken  thoughts  that  make 
our  bosoms  swell  with  pride  and  rivet  tighter  the  bands  that  bind  us  as  a  com- 
mon brotherhood.  Two  thousand  years  ago  the  Roman's  proudest  boast  was  to 
say  that  "  I  am  a  Roman  citizen."  To-day  no  prouder  title  can  be  claimed 
than  that  of  American  citizen-ship,  and  no  more  glorious  epitaph  can  adorn  the 
tomb  than  "'He  was  a  true  American." 

From  the  days  of  Washington  at  Fort  Duquesne  to  the  days  of  Meade  at  Getty.s- 
turg,  the  American  .soldier  has  })een  distinguished  for  his  patience,  fidelity  and 
bravery.  Called,  in  the  most  sudden  emergencies,  from  private  life,  to  defend 
his  country's  honor  or  assert  his  country's  rights,  without  previous  military 
training,  he  has  relied  upon  his  native  intelligence,  perseverance  and  patriot- 
ism. Most  rare  indeed  have  been  the  occasions  when  he  has  not  acquitted  him- 
self with  credit,  and  numberless  are  the  times  when  the  lowest  in  the  ranks 
have  developed  into  prodigies  of  valor.  Sanguine  in  temper  and  prone  to  rash- 
ness, in  trying  moments  when  bayonet  has  flashed  before  bayonet,  he  has  dis- 
played the  coolness  of  a  Marlborough,  tlic  stubborness  of  a  MucDonald.  Zeal- 
ous of  lionor  and  promotion,  he  has  risen  rank  by  rank  to  high  commands,  and 
developed  the  highest  qualities  of  generalship  to  his  country's  good  and  his 
own  renown.  The  volunteer  soldier  of  A  merica  stands  liigh  in  the  rolls  of  fame, 
and  his  name  shines  brightly  on  the  pages  of  his  country's  history. 

The  country  is  proud  of  its  soldiers  for  they  are  proud  of  it.  Its  institutions 
are  the  foundations  of  his  worth;  for  he  is  a  sovereign  citizen  with  rights  be- 
fore the  law  surpassed  by  none,  equalled  by  every  one.  He  is  a  partaker  in 
his  country  benefits.  He  is  a  sharer  in  her  glory.  He  is  the  keeper  of  his 
country's  honor!     No  man  can  say  to  him,  stand  aside!     I  inherited  a  higher 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  373 

rank  thau  you!  And  when  labor  and  merit  bring  their  just  reward  of  wealth 
and  recognition,  no  envious  thoughts  disturb  his  peace.  He  struggles  upward 
for  himself.  His  country  educates  him,  shares  the  blessings  with  him  and  calls 
upon  him  in  her  hours  of  need;  and  he  responds,  without  money  and  without 
price.  He  follows  her  starry  flag  wherever  it  may  flutter  in  the  breeze,  and 
never  fails  to  bring  it  home  victorious.  Such  men  are  invincible!  They  light 
not  for  hire,  but  for  their  cause,  because  it  is  their  country's! 

Friends,  the  war  has  long  since  passed.  The  din  of  battle  has  ceased. 
The  swallow  builds  her  nest  within  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  the  songs  of  labor 
and  contentment — the  busy  hum  of  trade,  are  wafted  on  the  air  from  shore  to 
shore.     Peace  broods  o'er  the  land  like  a  gentle  spirit. 

Fair  in  her  white  robes  as  the  day. 

When  first  she  spreads  her  wings. 
Sweet  as  the  flowers  that  early  May, 

To  verdant  meadows  brings. 

Foes  in  war,  brothers  in  peace,  meet  to-day  upon  this  hallowed  ground,  to 
clasp  hands  and  join  in  summer's  prayer — "  Let  the  bugles  sound  the  truce  of 
God  to  the  whole  world  forever!  " 

In  the  battles  of  life  we  all  are  .soldiers.  For  the  victories  of  peace  we  can 
all  contend.  For  our  country's  honor  we  can  all  be  champions  in  peace,  as  in 
war.  In  that  grandest  of  armies,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  we  serve  in  the  ranks 
in  which  God  has  placed  us.  Let  us  in  our  several  stations  and  callings  display 
the  obedience  to  duty  and  hei'oism  of  our  soldiers  in  the  field,  and  each  do  his 
part  in  the  building  up  and  .strengthening  of  a  nation,  to  the  honor  and  gloiy 
of  which  the  mightiest  empires  of  the  past  will  be  but  as  shadows — above  all 
let  us  keep  warm  within  our  breasts  that  patriotism  and  love  of  country  which 
are  the  foundations  of  our  nation's  honor,  the  strong  towers  of  her  protection. 
In  this  spirit,  and  to  this  end,  let  us  honor  our  soldiers  living  and  dead,  to 
whose  glory  these  monuments  around  us  are  erected.  They  battled  in  your 
cause  and  in  mine.  They  fought  to  conquer  a  peace.  They  died  that  the  na- 
tion might  live.     Honor  to  the  heroic  dead. 


ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  THOMAS  H.  LEABOURNE. 

COMRADES: — Another  year  has  passed  away  and  gone  and  this  beautiful 
summer's  day  finds  us  standing  on  this  sacred  spot,  commemorating  the 
memory  of  ctur  fallen  comrades.  The  hai'vest  is  ripening  with  the  sum- 
mer's sun. 
The  Alleghenies  tower  lofty  above  us;  and  our  comrades  to  whom  we  dedi- 
cate this  monument,  lie  buried  at  our  teet;  with  what  solemnity  I  approach 
this  spot.  When  I  look  back,  back  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  remember  this 
grand  old  regiment  left  my  native  city  with  over  one  thousand  men,  the 
flower  and  youth  of  that  city,  and  when  I  remember  that  only  four  hundred 
and  thirty-two  of  them  returned  and  were  mustered  out,  is  it  any  wonder 
that  I  say  I  approach  this  spot  with  a  feeling  of  solemnity.  The  faces  before  me 
look  from  the  hills  of  middle  life  down  into  the  valley  of  declining  years,  and  the 
heads  are  sprinkled  with  silver  sand  dropped  from  the  hourglass  of  flying  time. 
Are  these  the  same  young  men  who  laid  their  schemes  of  life  aside,  abandoned 
their  career,  and  with  the  spirit  of  patriots  and  the  devotion  of  martyrs  offered 


:174  Pennsylvania  af  Gettyshnrg. 

themselves  a  willing  sacrilict?  to  that  coiiulry  whose  startlwi  hills  were  echoing 
to  the  guns  of  Sumter.  This  is  not  the  tune  nor  is  it  the  place  to  dwell  \iiK)n 
the  tender  memories  that  connect  themselves  with  this  association,  or  the  higher 
or  nobler  inspirations  tliat  come  from  this  scene. 

I  Ciinnot  make  my.self  believe  that  twenty-five  years  ago  yon  who  stand  at 
my  front  were  in  the  midst  of  actual  war.  and  the  whole  world  leaning  for- 
ward breathless  to  hear  the  latest  news  from  the  scarred  and  bleeding  front. 
I  dose  my  eyes  and  the  whole  bloody  panorama  is  unrolled  before  me.  I  catch 
the  roll  of  the  drum,  and  the  shrill  music  of  tlie  fife;  I  see  the  marching 
columns  stretched  at-ross  sea  to  lake;  I  hear  the  bullets  whistle  at  the  picket 
line;  I  catch  the  .sentry's  call;  a  line  of  camp  fires  .stretches otf  across  a  contin- 
ent; swords  blaze:  bayonets  bristle,  and  a  million  men  are  under  arms. 

The  Army  of  the  Totomac  flings  itself  again  and  again  against  the  enemy, 
night  turns  into  day  in  the  blaze  of  the  cannonade,  and  up  from,  the  field  of 
blood  comes  the  moans  of  wounded  and  dying.  1  hear  the  voice  of  a  hundred 
thousand  bleeding  lives  and  broken  homes,  whence  the  Avail  of  agony  arises; 
the  vision  pa.sses.  I  open  my  eyes  upon  a  new  life,  new  people,  a  new  nation, 
disenthralled,  regenerated,  this  by  the  goodness  of  Providence  and  the  curing 
force  of  time.  All  the  old  scars  are  healed.  The  guns  are  silent  and  moss 
covered.  Well  for  us  and  tor  all  of  us,  and  all  who  come  after  us,  that  you  and 
such  as  you  fought.  And  1  say  that  I  count  it  my  highest  honor  to  be  con- 
nected with  those  who  played  such  parts  in  such  an  army.  Peace  has  been  greater 
than  war,  the  skilful  hand  of  science  has  brought  into  use  unknown  powers 
of  the  air,  and  mysterious  forces  of  the  earth,  and  the  lovely  hands  of  art  are 
crowning  our  country  with  beauty.  The  numbers  and  wealth  of  our  people 
have  doubled,  so  has  our  territory,  for  the  condemned  deserts  of  the  west  turn 
out  to  be  granaries  ol'  bread,  and  pastures  of  meat,  for  the  world,  the  forbid- 
den rocks  of  silver  and  gold,  and  under  their  frowning  peaks  are  found  the 
sublime  glories  of  luiture,  the  pleasure  grounds  of  mankind.  The  genius  of 
Amenca  has  united  our  distant  coasts  with  bands  of  steel,  and  planted  her  feet 
upon  those  blue  precipices  which  old  explorers  used  to  call  the  land  of  the 
shining  mountains  beyond  the  western  plains. 

But,  comrades,  I  am  reminded  that  I  am  getting  away  from  my  duty.  'J'he 
oraticm  of  the  day  has  already  been  delivered  by  my  distinguished  friend.  I 
have  a  plain  duty  to  perform,  a  duty  that  might  have  been  ])laced  in  abler 
hands,  but  as  I  have  assumed  the  responsibility,  nothing  remains  but  the  ]>er- 
formance  of  that  duty. 

Comrade  Craighead:  Your  committee  has  designated  me  to  present  this 
monument  to  the  Gettysburg  Battle-field  Memorial  Association.  And.  com- 
rades and  friends,  this  grand  old  regiment,  with  its  Avar-worn  ollicers  who  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  more  than  one  war,  whose  deeds  of  valor  and  whose 
bravery  Avill  be  handed  down  to  posterity,  will  live  forever.  Colonel  Tip- 
pin  was  a  born  soldier,  beloved  by  his  otlicers  and  men  ;  he  died  as  he  lived,  a 
faithful  soldier,  a  true  gentleman,  a  kind  and  loving  hu.sband.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Ivcynolds,  who  was  .shot  and  wounded  on  this  field,  and  totally  dis- 
abled lor  future  service,  died  in  I'liiladelphia  city  but  a  few  years  since,  hon- 
ored by  all  who  knew  him  for  his  devotion  to  his  country  and  to  his  people. 
The  fearless  and  no  less  brav(!  Major  TIawksworth,  was  kille<l  at  tin;  ))at- 
tle  of  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  while  gallantly  leading  his  men.  Caj)taiu 
Rolhirt  K.  ^^'inslow  and  snbse(|uent  major  and  lieutenant-colonel,  and  ('apt.aiu 


PHOTO.   BY  W,  H,  TIPTOW,  GETTYSBURG. 


PHINT:    THE   F.  GUTEKUNST  CO.,  PHILA. 


]''' tins  111  rnnia  at  Gettysburg.  375 

Michael  Fulmer,  subsequent  major,  all  veterans  of  the  Mexican  war.  C!olonel 
Winslow  is  still  alive,  Major  Fulmer,  the  latter — look  at  the  old  war  worn 
veteran  bearing  the  scars  ol"  many  battles  and  with  over  seventy  years  of  life's 
battles  passed,  with  all  the  vigor  and  manhood  of  a  boy — is  with  us  to-day. 

But  do  not  have  me  forget  the  brave  boys  Avho  ranked  as  privates,  a  braver 
and  more  determined  and  faithful  regiment  of  men  never  entered  the  army, 
and,  sir,  in  presenting  to  your  association  this  beautiful  monument,  I  do  it  with 
a  devout  reverence  and  with  an  undying  love  for  the  niemor3' of  those  brave  men 
who  in  their  youth  and  manhood  offered  and  gave  their  lives  that  thiscoixntry 
might  live.  They  fell  defending  and  upholding  all  that  that  flag  repre.sents 
and  embodies  ;  the  armies  of  tlie  Union  and  the  armies  of  the  Rebellion  to- 
gether, the  people,  north,  and  south,  east  and  west,  can  and  will  make  for  all 
time  to  come  this  republic  that  Lincoln  died  for,  a  government  of  the  people, 
\>y  the  people,  and  for  the  people;  and  now  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of  the 
survivors  of  the  Sixty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Veteran  Volunteer  Infantry,  Phila- 
delphia Scott  Legion  Regiment,  I  have  the  honor  of  presenting  to  your  care 
and  keeping  this  handsome  granite  monument  which  marks  the  .spot  upon 
this  memorial  field  where  this  grand  old  regiment  .stood  unflinching  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  and  where  their  brave  comrades  fell  and  gave  up  their  lives 
upon  the  altar  of  their  couutrv  that  this  glorious  Union  might  be  forever  pei- 
petuated. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

69"^"  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September  ii,  1889 
ADDRESS  OF  COLONEL  JAMES  O'REILLY 

COMRADES: — Standing  here  on  ground  at  once  historic  and  sacred,  and 
to  memory  ever  dear  once  again,  I  greet  you,  and  to  you  I  would  say 
that  this  time — perhaps  the  last  time,  as  an  organized  body,  that  we 
shall  visit  this  hallowed  .spot — we  have  come  to  pay  final  tribute,  final 
honor,  to  our  dead  ;  not  only  those  who  here  fell  fighting  that  the  Union 
might  live,  but  to  all  our  comrades,  who,  on  any  of  the  battle-fields  of  the  war  for 
the  Union  (and  that  was  nearly  all  in  which  the  grand  old  Army  of  the  Potomac 
took  part)  offered  up  their  lives  a  willing  sacrifice,  that  this,  the  most  beneficent 
form  of  government  which  has  ever  blessed  the  earth,  should  be  preserved  and 
perpetuated  in  all  its  beauty,  grandeur  and  greatness  and  forever. 
It  is  written  that 

"Whether  on  the  scaffold  high,  or  in  the  battle's  vaa. 
The  noblest  place  for  man  to  die,  is  where  he  dies  for  man." 
Is  it  so  ? 

Then  I  claim  for  these,  our  fallen  comrades,  that  they  died  in^the  forefront 
of  the  battle,  for  the  rights  of  man  and  in  the  interest  of  human    "l^. 

Again,  it  is' written  that  "  greater"  love  chan  this  hath  no  man,  that  he  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends,"  and  who  so  proves  his  love  for  his  friends  as  the 
soldier  who  willingly  yields  up  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  in 
their  interest. 


376  Penrusylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Again,  1  claim  for  these,  our  comnules,  that  from  the  gloomy  beginning  of 
the  struggle!  in  1861,  until  its  linal  and  glorious  termination  in  1865,  they 
daily  offered  themselves  to  death  and  to  God,  with  that  sublime  end  in  view. 
Does  any  man  question  this?  Then  to  him  I  would  say,  "Behold  a  country, 
which  \mder  God's  providence,  has  been  and  ia  now  the  refuge  of  God's  poor, 
the  oppressed  of  all  nations — preserved  from  destruction,  let  us  hope  forever. 
Behold  the  arch  enemy  of  the  liberties  of  this  and  of  all  nations  and  peoples, 
utterly  discomfited  and  thwarted  in  her  vile  purpose  of  disrupting,  destroying 
this  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people,  who.  not  as  of 
yore,  by  brazen  armed  intervention  in  our  affairs,  but  this  time  by  most  wily 
and  insidious  means,  did  all  in  her  j)ower  to  ruin  and  make  it  a  dependency 
of  hers  and  plunder  and  impoverish  its  people.  Of  course,  I  allude  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  England.  And,  again,  behold  a  hideous  crime  atoned  for,  a  foul 
blot  wiped  out  forever — in  blood,  it  is  true — but  Aviped  out  forever  by  the  en- 
franchisement of  over  lour  millions  of  bondsmen,  slaves  set  free,  a  dissevered 
people  reunited,  the  blessings  of  peace  restored." 

Oh!  surely,  my  dear  comrades,  living  and  dead,  it  was  a  holy  cause  you 
battled  for.  Yea,  and  God's  holy  ones,  the  priests  of  God,  were  with  us.  They 
blessed  our  arms  and  the  hands  that  bore  them.  They  accompanied  us  to  the 
field  and  daily  ministered  to  our  spiritual  wants,  and  by  word  and  example 
did  what  they  could  to  encourage  us  and  bless  our  efi"orts — God  bless  them, 
dear  Fathers  Martin,  Paul  E.  Gillen,  Corby,  Willets,  McKee.  Dillion,  and  a 
host  of  others,  God  be  with  them. 

Comrades,  it  is  als.)  written  that  it  is  a  wholesome  and  a  holy  thought  to 
pray  lor  the  dead.  Forget  not  this  duty,  this  day  nor  any  other  day  of  the 
time  that  is  left  you.  Pray  then  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  the  God  of  Battle,  for 
your  dead,  for  all  the  dead,  whose  souls  rebaptized  in  their  blood,  went  up  to 
him  amidst  scenes  of  strife  and  carnage  during  those  dire  years  of  war  and  its 
attendant  calamities.  They  may  need  our  prayers — who  can  tell?  Pray  then, 
most  ardently,  I  beseech  you,  for  the  .soul  of  that  heroic  soldier,  Colonel  Dennis 
O'KaiK!,  who  fell  near  the  spot  now  marked  by  our  monument,  where,  but  a 
short  time  before,  he  stood  grimly  smiling  at  the  stubborn  resistance  offered  by 
the  sturdy  men  under  his  command,  t<j  the  fier(!e  onslaught  of  Pickett's  men, 
and  forget  not  the  other  brave  ofiicers  and  enli.sted  men,  who,  to  the  number 
of  one  hnndrcMl  and  forty -seven,  fell  here  beside  him,  and  whose  unparalleled 
bravery  and  stubborn  courage  here  tos.sed  back  the  highest,  mightiest  wave  of 
the  Rebellion. 

Nor  would  I  have  you  forget  those  of  our  comrades,  who  fell  on  other  fields 
than  this,  for 

Some  fell  on  far-off  fields  of  fame. 
Some  here  sank  down  to  rest, 

And  tlicdear  land  tliey  loved  so  well, 
Now  folds  tliem  to  licr  breast. 

All  nearly  ffone,  yet  still  lives  on 
The  memory  of  those  who  died, 

And  true  men,  like  you  men. 
Remember  them  with  pride. 

Comrades,  in  thus  honoring  thi;  dead,  you  do  honor  to  the  living.  You  honor 
yourselves,  and  that  beautiful  monument  will  tell  the  story  to  generations  yet 
unborn,  of  your  heroic  deed,  and  the  deeds,  the  heroism  of  the  comrades  who 
have  gone  on  to  "  fame's  eternal  camping  ground  "  before  you.  They  lived 
-with  honor — ^they  died  with  honor;  be  it  yours  to  follow  their  example. 


Pennsylvania  at.  Gettysburg.  377 

And  now,  dear  comrades,  as  a  part  of  the  duty  assigned  me  on  this  occasion, 
I  will  proceed  to  give  our  hearers  a  ])rief  glimpse  of  the  early  history  of  the 
regiment. 

Long  before  grini-visaged  civil  war  reared  his  horrid  front  in  this  our  hind, 
affrighting  the  inhabitants  thereof,  there  existed  in  th<!  (;ity  of  Philadelphia, 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  a  body  of  Irish-American  citizen  soldiery,  known  as 
the  Second  Regiment  Philadelphia  County  Volunteers.  It  was  numbered  the 
Second  Regiment,  Second  Brigade,  and  belonged  to  the  First  Division  Penn- 
sylvania Militia. 

The  material  of  which  it  was  composed  (the  officers  and  men)  was  recruited 
or  came  from  the  humbler  walks  of  life  in  the  great  city.  They  were  mostly 
hardy  sons  of  toil;  men  who  earned  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows. 
But  very  ambitious  in  a  military  jioint  of  view,  and  very  patriotic,  always 
ready  to  obey  the  orders  of  their  officers;  always  ready  to  defend  the  authori- 
ties and  assist  them,  whether  national,  state  or  city;  ever  ready  to  shed  their 
blood,  if  necessary,  in  defense  of  the  honor  and  integrity  of  their  adopted 
country,  while  cherishing  an  ardent  love  for  the  land  of  their  birth,  not  be- 
cause of  the  nationality  of  the  officers  and  men,  and  the  names  of  the  companies 
of  which  it  was  composed.  It  was  frequentl}',  and  truth  compels  me  to  add, 
derisively  styled  the  Irish  brigade,  and  there  are  here,  to-day,  some  who  can 
look  back  with  shame  and  sorrow,  to  the  time  when  hisses,  derisive  cries  and 
shouts  of  contempt  were  freely  Ijestowed  on  us,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion 
something  harder,  in  the  shape  of  bricks  and  stones,  fell  thick  and  fast  in  the 
ranks  of  the  organization,  as  it  marched  through  the  streets  of  that  city — the 
city  of  brotherly  love. 

But,  thanks  to  God,  and  the  services  rendered  by  them  and  kindred  organ- 
izations of  which  there  were  many  in  the  late  war,  such  senseless  bigotry,  such 
mean  and  contemptible  prejudice  obtains  no  more  in  this  broad  land. 

And,  oh,  my  countrymen,  Irishmen,whata  debt  of  gratitude  you  owe  to  these, 
our  comrades,  to  the  brave  men  of  our  race,  who,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand  (see  Professor  Gould's  statistics)  went  into  the  field  in 
defense  of  our  adopted  country  and  made  such  a  glorious  record  there.  Nor 
does  the  above  number  include  the  tens  of  thousands  of  Irishmen's  sons  and 
their  immediate  descendants  who  took  part  in  the  strife  on  the  side  of  the  gov- 
ernment. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  above  organization  was  altered,  as  follows: 

For  certain  cogent  reasons,  Colonel  Conroy  resigned  and  by  the  advice  and 
on  the  recommendation  of  the  brigade  commander.  General  John  D.  Miles, 
Joshua  T.  Owen  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  D.  Heenan  remained  lieuten- 
ant-colonel; James  Harvey,  beaten  in  the  race  for  the  majority,  resigned  and 
organized  a  company  for  Max  Einstein's  regiment.  Dennis  O'Kane,  then  cap- 
tain of  Company  C,  was  elected  major,  and  James  O'Reilly,  fourth  sergeant  of 
Company  C,  was  elected  captain  of  said  company;  in  this  order  the  regiment 
entered  the  field  as  the  Twenty-fourth  Infantry  Penn.sylvania  Volunteers  for 
three-months'  service  under  the  call  of  the  President  for  seventy-five  thousand 
men.  The  regiment  faithfully  performed  all  duties  assigned  it,  and  was  one 
of  the  two  regiments  who  listened  to  the  appeal  of  General  Patterson  to  re- 
main in  the  field  after  its  service  had  expired  until  reinforcements  could  arrive 
to  defend  the  upper  Potomac,  although  over  two  hundred  of  the  men  were 
shoeless  and  with  underwear  for  breeches. 


378  Pcnihsijivania  af   (Tettjishiinj. 

-MustL'icd  out  Aujiust  !),  1861,  it  was  iiuincdiutt'ly  reorgani/A-d  lor  thrct'-y ears' 
service  as  the  Second  Kegiment  of  Baker's  Brigade,  afterwards  known  as  the 
Sixty-ninth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  It  would  have  been  known  as  the  Sixty- 
eiglith  but  for  a  few  of  tlic  old  oiiicers  who  were  proud  of  the  record  made  by 
their  kiiulnd  of  the  Sixty-ninth  New  York,  and  appealed  to  Colonel  Andrew 
Tii>i)in  and  his  oHicers  to  exchange  numbers  —this  tliey  agreed  to  do,  and  the 
consent  of  the  great  War  (lovernor.  A.  (J.  Curtin.  himself  Irish  by  descent,  l>eiDg 
obtained,  the  regimeut  became  the  Sixty-ninth. 

lM)ur  of  the  comj)any  <'oiumauders.  for  reasons  l)est  known  to  them.selves,  re- 
I'used  to  remain  under  the  former  command,  and  left  the  organization.  These 
were  Captains  Thomas  A.  Smyth,  Hujjh  liodgers  and  James  McGeough  and  P. 
O.  Murphy.  Captains  liogers  and  McGeough  were  replaced  by  Captains  Thomp- 
son and  Fury,  and  sometime  after  its  arrival  in  the  field  it  was  joined  by  two 
companies  under  Captains  Davis  and  McNamara. 

The  complexion  of  the  iield  and  staff  was  altered  by  the  retirement  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Dennis  Heenau,  who  afterwards  organized  the  One  hundred 
and  sixteeutli  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  the  appointment  to  his  place  of 
Major  Dennis  O'Kane  ;  .Tohn  Devereux  of  Chestnut  Hill  was  made  major  ;  Mar- 
tin Tschudy,  a  prominent  young  lawyer  of  West  Washington  Square,  was  ap- 
pointed adjutant ;  C.  C.  Bombaugh,  M.  D.,  surgeon  ;  and  B.  A.  McNeill,  assis- 
ant  surgeon,  with  J.  Robinson  Miles  as  quartermaster. 

During  its  organization,  some  generous  friends  of  the  regimeut,  headed  by 
Thomas  Dolan,  Esq.,  procured  and  presented  to  the  regiment  a  beautiful  green 
flag.  On  one  side  was  jiainted  the  coat-of-arms  of  Pennsylvania,  and  on  the 
other  the  Wolf-dog,  Round  Tower  and  Sunburst  of  Ireland.  And  here  let  me 
c;Ul  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Sixty-ninth  was  the  only  regiment  that 
went  out  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  carrying  the  flag  of  Ireland  side  by 
side  with  those  of  the  United  States.  Uixder  these  flags,  these  glorious  emblems, 
under  officers  tried  and  true,  a  sturdier,  nobler-hearted,  braver  body  of  men 
than  those  who  in  this  regiment  left  Philadelphia  for  Washington  in  the  early 
fall  of  1861,  it  were  hard  to  find.  I  say  this  as  a  comrade,  as  one  who  by  long 
association  with  the  majority  of  them  before  and  during  the  war  had  learned 
their  worth.  I  say  it  because  I  am  speaking  of  the  dead — the  greater  number 
having  pas.sed  from  scenes  of  strife  here  below  to,  I  fervently  hope,  the  peaceful 
abode  of  the  bles.sed. 

And  without  disparagement  to  our  comrade  regiments,  or  any  body  of  troops 
then  in  the  field,  I  claim  lor  this  regiment,  iirst,  that  it  faithfully  performed 
all  duties  assigned  it,  in  camp,  in  garrison,  on  the  march  or  in  battle,  never 
turning  its  rear  to  the  enemy,  except  when  compelled  by  orders  from  superior 
authority  ;  second,  that  the  regiment  never  lost  a  flag  to  the  enemy,  and  on  two 
occasions  .saved  the  colors  of  other  regiments  from  falling  into  the  enemy's 
hands  ;  third,  that  by  its  desperate  charge  at  Clendale  or  Fray.ser's  Farm, it  saved 
the  day  and  possibly  the  army  ;  fourth,  that  this  regimenl  furnished  to  the 
service  three  able  general  officers,  to-wit,  General  J.  T.  Owen,  a  former  com- 
mander, General  M.  Kerwin,  formerly  a  sergeant  in  Company  U,  now  editor 
and  proprietor  New  York  Tablet,  and  General  Thomas  A.  Smyth,  Avho  was  for- 
merly captain  Company  11  (Twenty-fourth),  and  whom,  I  believe  to  be  the 
last  general  officer  killed  on  the  Union  sule  during  the  war  ;  fifth,  that  but  for 
the  mistaken  zeal  in  the  performance  of  his  duty  and  the  persistent  and  j)ositive 
relusal  on  the  part  of  Captain  Wm.  Mcliride,  Seventy-second  I'euusylvania  Vol- 


Pe)in.si//ra)i:i(i  af   Crettyslmrq.  379 

unteera  to  permit  it,  the  flag  of  this  regimt'iit  would  have  been  the  first  t-o  float 
over  the  enemy's  work  at  York  town,  and  in  all  probability,  the  regiment  would 
have  furnished  a  fourth  general  olfictT  to  the  service,  as  Devens  of  Massachusetts, 
who  entered  the  works  lour  hours  later,  was  made  a  general  therefor  ;  sixth, 
that  this  regiment  was  among  the  lirst  to  enter  the  field  m  defense  of  the  Union, 
and  served  continnously  until  honorably  mustered  out  at  flu;  dose  of  the  war 
by  reason  of  its  services  being  no  longer  i-equired. 

All  this  to  your  lasting  (-redif,  my  comrades  living,  all  this  to  the  honor  of 
the  dead  of  this  regiment,  who  here  and  elsewhere  sleep  the  sleep  that  knows 
no  waking — ah  ! 

How  sl(!ep  tlie  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest. 
When  sprin}?  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 

Ketunis  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould, 
Even  freedom  shall  awhile  lepair 
To  dwell  a  weeping'  hermit  there. 


ORATION  OF  CAPTAIN  JOHN  E.  REILIA 

("A  UMRADP]S  of  the  Sixty -ninth: — We  have  again  met  on  this  historic  field 
to  rededicate  this  memorial  shaft  which  marks  the  spot  made  famous  by 
/  your  heroic  deeds.  Within  the  twenty -five  square  miles  of  this  battle- 
field there  are  many  interesting  places  where  many  deeds  of  bravery 
were  performed,  but  there  was  but  one  Pickett's  charge  at  Gettysburg,  and  on 
this  spot,  and  by  you,  my  comrades  of  the  Sixty-ni nth,  ably  supported  liy  your 
comrades  of  the  Philadelphia  Brigade,  was  that  charge  met,  and  the  flood-tide 
of  rebellion  checked.  It  was  here  you  met  the  flower  of  the  Confederate  army 
in  band-to-haud  encounter,  and  here  many  of  our  brave  companions  laid  down 
their  lives  in  that  terrible  struggle. 

When  Hancock  arrived  on  this  field  during  the  first  day's  fight  everything 
was  in  doubt ;  the  right  wiug  of  the  army  having  been  driven  from  beyond  the 
town,  the  gallant  Reynolds  killed,  and  many  of  the  regiments  panic-stricken 
in  consequence  of  their  loss.  And  not  until  he  brought  his  own  Second  Corps 
on  the  field  and  deployed  them  along  this  ridge  on  the  2d,  and  brave  Warren 
had  secured  Round  Top  for  the  artillery,  was  our  army  secure  in  its  position. 

The  Sixtj'-ninth  Regiment  was  placed  along  the  slope  of  this  ridge  and  or- 
dered to  hold  the  line  .secure  in  this  position.  And  you  faithfully  did  what  you 
were  told,  as  in  every  position  throughout  the  Avar  in  which  you  were  placed 
you  proved  faithful  to  the  trust. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  2d,  the  enemy  in  force  attacked  the  left  ;  the  brave 
Sickles  was  badly  wounded  and  his  corps  being  dri  ven  from  its  advanced  position, 
when  gallant  Hancock  came  to  the  rescue.  But  so  impetuous  was  the  enemy's 
assault,  that  on  they  came  like  the  fury  of  the  whirlwind,  until  they  had  ad- 
vanced to  within  a  few  i^aces  of  this  line  ;  the  battery  on  your  front  was  driven 
from  its  position  and  two  of  its  guns  were  left  to  the  advancing  enemy  who  made 
several  desperate  attempts  to  capture  them,  and  was  driven  from  them  each 
time  by  your  well-directed  fire  until  at  last  they  were  forced  to  retire,  the  guns 
recovered  from  the  batteiy,  the  contest  for  the  day  ceased,  and  the  Sixty-ninth 
nobly  held  their  po.sitiou. 

On  the  third  day,  notwithstanding  there  had  been  ample  time  for  entrenching, 


380  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

there  "were  no  entrenching  tools  furnishinl  and  consequently  no  attempts  made 
to  strengthen  this  position  expecting  every  moment  a  renewal  of  the  contest, 
when  suddenly,  about  one  o'clock,  yonder  ridge  commenced  to  belch  forth  its 
volcanic  lire  on  your  unprotected  position.  Shot,  shell,  Whitworth  bolts,  every 
missile  known  to  modern  warfare,  was  thrown  against  this  position  for  two  long 
hours.  This  was  the  prelude  to  the  most  desperate  infantry  charge  of  modern 
times,  for  soon  Pickett's  Division  was  seen  marching  out  from  the  shelter  of 
j^onder  woods  with  colors  flying  defiantly  to  the  breeze  and  seeming  to  say,  \V<; 
come  to  pierce  your  center,  match  us  if  you  can. 

Kemper,  Garnett  and  Armistead,  4,900  strong,  with  Heth's  Division  under 
I'ettigrew  on  their  left,  and  "Wilcox's  Division  on  their  right,  the  whole  of  the  ad- 
vancing column  about  13,000  men. 

Pickett's  men  had  been  given  this  clump  of  trees  as  an  objective  point  lor 
their  attack,  and  the  Sixty -ninth  was  the  barrier  between  them.  On  they  came 
in  grand  display,  and,  notwithstanding  their  ranks  were  being  thinned  by  the 
artillery  fire  from  all  along  this  ridge,  they  marched  forward  with  the  steadiness 
of  men  on  parade  seeming  determined  to  sweep  all  before  them.  These,  my 
comrades,  were  the  moments  that  tried  men's  souls,  none  but  the  bravest  hearts 
could  await  the  assault  which  was  then  approaching,  but  as  confidently  as  the 
attacking  column  came  just  as  confidently  did  you  await  their  coming.  The 
eyes  of  the  whole  country  were  at  that  moment  centered  on  Getty.sburg,  and 
fervent  prayers  were  ascending  to  the  God  of  Hosts  that  the  sweeping  flood  of 
rebellion  should  be  checked.  All  attention  of  both  armies  was  directed  to  this 
position,  for  soon  the  giants  met  to  determine  the  fate  ol  the  day,  and  then  was 
the  tug  of  war  on  your  front  and  in  your  midst.  My  comrades,  the  pride  of  the 
rebel  army  was  broken,  demoralized  and  almost  annihilated.  Aye  !  the  proud 
and  defiant  champions  of  Lee's  army  had  met  their  match.  The  gauntlet  so 
defiantly  thrown  down  by  them  had  been  picked  up,  and  they  paid  the  penalty 
for  tlieir  rashness.  Tliese  fields  were  covered  with  their  dead  who  came  never 
to  return  again. 

Pickett's  charge  was  repulsed  and  the  country  saved.  Harrisburg,  Phila- 
delphia and  Pennsylvania  relieved,  for  had  General  Lee's  plan  succeeded  in 
cutting  this  center  position,  nothing  could  have  stayed  their  onward  march  ; 
so  here,  on  this  very  spot,  the  flood-tide  of  rebellion  reached  its  high  water-mark, 
from  whence  it  was  ever  after  made  to  recede.  But  at  what  frightful  cost 
of  jjrecious  blood,  40,000  mowed  down  in  that  mighty  harvest  of  death  around 
this  little  town  of  Gettysburg,  and  you,  my  comrad<'S,  contributed  largely  to 
that  number.  Your  gallant  leaders.  Colonel  O'Kane  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Tschudy  were  killed,  and  of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  comrades  of  tlui 
Sixty-ninth  llegiment  entering  the  fight  on  the  2d  of  July,  1863,  you  lost  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing,  lifty-five  per  cent,  of  that  number  in  this  battle. 

Tennyson  has  immortalized  in  poem  the  famous  six  hundred  who  lost  thirty- 
six  and  s(!ven-tenths  per  cent,  at  Balaklava,  and  we  read  in  history  of  great 
achievements  being  performed  on  other  battle-fields,  but,  my  comrades,  the 
deeds  and  glories  of  lioman  legion  and  Gnjcian  plialanx  would  pale  before  the 
deeds  of  valor  performed  at  Getty.sburg 

Centuries  may  pass  and  new  generations  ])opnIate  our  land,  yet  the  name  of 
Gettysburg  will  not  fail  to  call  bcibre  memory  the  heroic  deeds  enacted  there. 
Its  deeds  of  valor  are  not  chanted  in  undying  epic  or  immortal  poems,  yet  be- 
side Thermopylae  and  Marathon,  Waterloo  and  lialaklava,  stands  the  name  of 


^^^ 


PHOTO.     Bf    W.    H.    TIPT3N,    GCTTYSBURG. 


PRINT  :    THE    F.    GUTCKUNST    CO.,    PHILA. 


Pennsyhmnia  at  Gettysburg.  381 

Gettysburg,  and  coupled  witli  that  ofCreltyHhurg  as  oiio  of  the  glittering  stars 
in  the  brilliant  firmament  of  fame,  will  be  that  of  the  gallant  old  Sixty-ninth 
Pennsylvania.  Many  years  liave  jiassed,  my  comrades,  since  your  brave  deeds 
helped  to  make  this  field  famous.  In  all  these  years  you  had  no  one  to  sing 
your  jji-aise.  You  modestly  awaited  the  time  when  the  truth  of  history  must  be 
known,  and  your  deeds  would  then  comi)are  favorably  with  the  most  valiant. 
You  were  always  placed  where  carnage  was  thickest  and  you  unflinchiugly  did 
your  duty.     None  could  do  more.     Few  did  as  well. 

But  look  now  once  more  on  these  fields  which  were  once  the  theatre  of  bloody 
strife;  the  scenes  have  changed.  These  ridges  no  longer  belch  forth  their  vol- 
canic fires;  the  beaten  intervale  furrowed  by  shot  and  shell  is  smoothed  by  roll- 
ing years.  The  trees  have  drawn  their  coats  of  bark  over  their  wounds,  the 
sharp  volleys  of  musketry  have  ceased,  no  i>arks  of  artillery  awake  their  thunder, 
no  hoofs  of  rushing  squadrons  sink  into  the  bosoms  of  the  dying,  the  shrieks  of 
the  wounded  are  hushed.  No  comrade  searches  for  friend,  no  father- for  son,  jio 
sister  for  brother,  the  actors  have  disappeared,  the  dead  are  mingled  with  the 
dust,  the  survivors  scattered  and  the  great  chieftains  liave  fallen  asleep.  Horse 
and  rider,  plume  and  epaulet,  flashing  sword  and  gleaming  bayonet,  cannon 
and  cannoneer,  trumpet  and  banner,  have  all  vanished,  and  the  sun  as  it  rises 
from  its  purple  bed,  crowns  the  battle-field  with  the  jewels  of  the  morning,  and 
mantles  the  warrior's  grave  with  tender  grass  and  nodding  flowers.  So  may  there 
come  through  this  great  war  perennial  peace.  May  time  assuage  all  sorrows 
and  heal  all  wounds.  May  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  cement  and  sanctify  the 
Union  and  the  principles  settled  by  it  stand  forever.  May  the  north  and  south, 
the  east  and  M'est,  our  whole  country  redeemed,  reformed,  regenerated,  unite 
to  perpetuate  the  nation  over  which  the  star  of  the  empire,  having  no  farther 
west  to  go,  may  pause,  shine  and  stay  forever. 


w 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

71^'^-  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

July  3,  1887 

.\1)DRESS  OF  fOHN  W.   FRAZIER 

ITHIN  a  day  or  two  of  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter  by  the  rebels  of  the 
South  under  command  of  General  Beauregard,  the  Hon.  Edward  D. 
Baker,  a  Senator  from  Oregon,  called  upon  President  Lincoln  and 
tendered  his  services  in  any  capacity  he  might  best  serve  his  country, 
or  the  President  choose  to  make  use  of  them.  President  Lincoln  promptly  sug- 
gested that  he  raise  a  regiment  of  infantry,  and  Senator  Baker  at  once  started 
for  the  city  of  New  York  for  that  purpose. 

The  firing  upon  Sumter  had  caused  a  great  uprising  of  the  people  of  the  loyal 
North,  and  in  harmony  with  that  patriotic  impulse  of  the  people,  a  great  town 
meeting  was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York,  at  which  Senator  Baker  was  invited 
to  be  present  and  to  speak.  Never  did  the  eloquent  statesman  from  the  Pacific 
slope  speak  more  feelingly  than  on  this  occasion,  and  with  a  voice  tremulous 
with  emotion  and  a  determination  characteristic  of  the  great  patriot  he  closed 
that  short  speech  in  these  words: 


382  J^rnnst/lvaiiia  at  freftyshurg. 

And  if  from  the  far  Pacitic  a  voice  feebler  than  the  feeblest  murmur  upon  its  shore 
may  be  here  to  (rive  you  courage  and  hope  in  the  contest,  that  voice  is  yours  to-day  ;  and 
if  a  man  wliose  hair  is  gray,  wlio  is  well-nigh  worn  out  in  the  battle  and  toil  of  life,  may 
pledge  himself  on  such  an  occasion  and  in  such  an  audience,  let  me  say  as  my  last  word, 
that  when  amid  sheeted  lire  and  tlamo  T  saw  and  led  the  hosts  of  New  i'ork  as  they 
charged  upon  a  foreign  soil  for  the  honor  of  your  Hag,  so  again,  if  Providence  shall  will 
it,  this  feeble  hand  shall  draw  a  sword  never  jet  dishonored--not  to  light  for  distant 
honor  in  a  foreign  land,  but  to  fight  for  country,  lor  home,  for  law,  lor  government, 
for  constitution,  for  right,  for  freedom,  for  humanity,  and  in  the  hope  that  the  banner 
of  my  country  nniy  advance,  and  wheresoever  that  Ijanner  wa%'es  there  glory  may  fol- 
low and  freedom  be  established. 

(Jolouel  E.  I).  Baker  was  born  in  Englaiul  and  with  bis  parents  and  a  younger 
brother  came  to  this  country  when  he  was  about  ten  years  of  age;  they  settled 
in  Philadelphia  in  which  city  he  attended  the  public  schools  until  the  deatli  of 
his  father  which  compelled  him  to  seek  employment  in  one  of  the  many  cotton 
mills  of  Philadelphia.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he  started  for  the  great 
West,  settling  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  soon  afterwards  commenced  the 
stud}'  followed  by  the  practice  of  law.  In  the  year  1846  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress as  a  Whig,  defeating  Abraham  Lincoln  V)efore  the  nominating  convention. 
lllH)i\  the  bieaking  out  of  the  Mexican  war,  Congressman  Baker  returned  to 
Springfield,  rai.sed  a  regiment  of  infantry  and  with  it  joined  General  Scott's 
army  on  its  march  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  After  the  battle  of  Cerro-Gordo  Col- 
onel Baker  was  placed  in  command  of  a  brigade.  After  the  close  of  the  Mexi- 
can war  he  returned  to  Illinois,  and  was  again  elected  to  Congress  from  that 
State.  In  18.51  he  removed  to  San  Francisco;  later  on  he  removed  to  Oregon 
Territory,  and  was  chosen  the  first  United  States  Senator  upon  that  territory's 
entrance  into  the  Union — taking  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  on  tlie 
day  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  President,  March  4,  1861. 

Sometime  during  the  month  of  April.  1861,  President  Lincoln  gave  infonnal 
authority  to  Colonel  Baker  to  raise  a  regiment  of  iufantrj-,  and  he  went  from 
Washington  to  Xew  York  for  that  purpo.se,  but  not  meeting  with  the  success 
he  anticipated  he  came  on  to  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with 
Isaac  J.  Wistar,  his  law  partner  during  the  time  he  was  a  resident  of  San 
Francisco.  Wistar  promised  to  raise  a  regiment  inside  of  thirty  days,  but  his 
legal  mind  led  him  tn  suggest  that  official  authority  first  be  obtained.  That 
was  given  by  General  Cameron  in  the  following  form: 

Wak  Dkpaktment, 
Washington  City,  Mni/  8,  ]s«i. 
Colonel  E.  D.  ItAKKH,  SeiinU:: 

Sir  :— You  are  authorized  to  raisci  for  the  service  of  the  United  States,  a  regiment  of 
troops  (Infantry),  with  yourself  as  colonel,  to  be  taken  as  a  portion  of  any  troops  that 
may  be  called  from  the  State  of  California  by  the  United  States,  and  to  be  known  as 
the  California  Ucgiment.  Orders  will  be  issued  to  the  mustering  officer  in  New  York 
to  muster  the  same  into  the  service  as  soon  as  presented. 

In  case  the  proper  government  officers  are  not  j)repared  to  furnish  clothing  for  t  lie 
men  of  your  regiment  at  the  time  you  find  it  necessary,  you  are  authorized  to  purchase 
for  cash  their  outtit  of  clothing,  provided  the  sam(^  is  properly  charged  on  the  muster 
rolls  of  your  (command. 

I  am.  sir,  very  resjiectfully, 

Vour  obedient  servant, 

Sl.M()N  Camekon, 
Secrrtary  of  War. 

Even  pn-vious  1o  the  writing  of  that  letter  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr. 
Wistar  had  tluee  eomjianies.  A,  B  and  (',  inustereti  int<j  service  lor  three  years, 
the  muslcriiifi  ollii  <-r.  Coloiul  li'iilV.  ol'ilit-  I'liited  States  army,  j)erfoiiniiig  that 


Pen7tsii] rttiiid   (tt    (ictfyshiirg.  383 

dnty  in  riiihidelphiu,  ;uul  betore  tlu;  liisl  ilay  ol'  .Iuik-  a  full  regiment  of  ten 
companies  was  organized,  equipped  and  drilling  in  s(iu;ul.  company,  battalion 
and  regimental  manoeuvres  on  tlie  beautiful  parade  grounds  of  Fort  Schuyler, 
located  at  tbe  junction  of  East  river  and  Long  Island  Sound.  The  eni-olment 
and  muster  of  several  comjianies  of  the  regiment  are  dated  April  16,  1861. 

Such,  in  brief,  was  the  formation  of  the  California  regiment,  afterwards  the 
Seventy-first  of  the  Peun.sylvania  line.  Its  colonel  was  a  member  of  Congress 
when  the  Jlexican  war  ]»roke  out  and  resigned  his  seat  to  lead  a  regiment  and 
brigade  in  that  conflict;  he  was  a  Senator  in  Congress  when  the  rebellion  to 
overthrow  the  government  of  the  United  States  began,  but,  at  the  request  of 
President  Lincoln,  he  retained  his  seat  in  tbe  Senate  while  in  command  of  his 
regiment,  and  the  Seventy-first  had  the  di.stiuction  of  being  commanded  by  an 
officer  who  was  at  the  same  time  a  Senator  of  the  United  Stat«s — an  honor  ■un- 
corded to  no  other  regiment  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion. 

Colonel  E.  D.  Baker  was  in  truth  a  statesman  and  sohlier;  he  fell  Avith  his 
face  to  the  foe  at  Ball's  Blufl'  his  body  pierced  by  seven  rebel  bullets;  his  death 
took  from  the  Philadelphia  Brigade  its  loved  and  loving  commander;  it  made 
vacant  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  it  cast  a  deep  gloom,  a  shadow  dark,  over  the 
whole  loyal  North. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1886,  the  surviving  members  of  the  Seventy-first  Regi- 
ment Pennsylvania  Volunteers  organized  a  regimental  association,  and,  under 
the  chairmanship  of  Lieutenant  \Vm.  S.  Stockton,  proceedings  were  begun  for 
tbe  erection  of  a  monument  to  mark  the  line  of  battle  held  by  the  regiment  at  the 
Bloody  Angle  of  Cemetery  Ridge,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  July  o,  1887,  in  the 
presence  of  seven  hundred  surviving  members  of  the  Philadelphia  Brigade,  of 
nearly  all  the  surviving  members  of  Cowan's  New  York  Battery,  of  three  hun- 
dred members  of  Pickett's  Division  of  Confederate  soldiers  who  were  present 
as  the  invited  guests  of  tbe  Philadelphia  Brigade,  and  more  than  two  thousand 
citizens  of  Gettysburg  and  the  surrounding  country,  the  As.sociation  of  Survi- 
vors of  the  California  Regiment,  the  Seventy -first  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  de- 
dicated their  monument. 


ADDRESS  OF  GENERAL  W.  W.  BURNS,  U.  S.  A. 

BAKER'S  California  Regiment: — Called  into  being  by  the  inspiring  elo- 
quence of  the  great  orator  who.se  name  you  bore,  how  could  a  ' '  dumb  ser- 
vitor "  of  the  State  master  such  glowing  sentences  to  vibrate  a  rythmic 
sound  in  your  ears  or  stir  a  throbbing  pulse  in  your  hearts? 
I  came  to  you  when  in  the  deepest  mourning  for  your  dead  father — stricken 
on  the  field  of  battle  before  your  eyes — when  your  hearts  refused  to  be  com- 
forted. Like  the  Lsraelites  in  Egypt,  you  felt  that  I  was  a  Pharaoh,  who  knew 
not  Joseph,  and  oppressed  you^strangers  in  a  strange  land.  You  had  Ijeen 
reared  under  patriarchal  rule;  I  brought  the  iron  autocratical  rule  of  stern 
discipline.  How  you  hated  the  despot !  who,  if  not  an  usurper,  used  all  the 
forms  of  tyranny. 

I  had  to  be  cruel,  only  to  be  kind,  to  arouse  your  lethargy  to  a  sense  of  duty. 
Your  health,  your  life,  and  your  honor  were  in  my  keeping,  all  shaken  at  Ball's 
Bluflf,  and  to  be  tried  in  futtire  fields.     You  forgave  me  when  you  knew.     The 


384  Pennsylvania  at   Geityfihurg. 

hour  of  yonr  forgiveness  is  stamped  upon  my  memory — it  was  at  Fair  Oaks. 
The  brigade  was  in  column,  closed  in  mass,  the  sound  of  battle  approaching. 
An  awe  of  expectancy  was  in  the  surrounding  stillness,  when  suddenly  was 
heard  the  pattering  of  balls  on  the  leaves  of  the  forest  trees  near.  The  shriek 
of  a  shell!  The  detonating  crash  of  its  bursting  overhead!  Then  the  wolfish 
howl,  first  heard — the  rebel  yell  ! 

The  mass  was  jietrified.  A  shiver  ran  through  tlie  ranks.  I  turned  and  saw 
a  -sea  of  upturned  faces,  pale  as  the  dead.  I  was  shocked.  My  outburst  of 
"  Steady  men'^  was  like  a  thunder-clap  in  a  clear  sky — an  electric  shock — that 
ran  through  the  nerves,  and  sent  the  blood  back  to  the  surface.  The  reaction 
was  instantaneous.  A  shout  arose  in  answering  confidence,  which  made  the 
welkin  ring.  Caps  were  thrust  ou  bayonets  and  run  up  in  air.  Round  after 
round  of  stentorian  cheers  rolled  over  the  field,  which  were  said  to  have  checked 
the  onset  of  the  foe,  and  strengthened  friends  far  and  near.  It  was  a  moral 
victory,  followed  by  a  victory  in  deeds. 

That  moment  cemented  a  union  between  the  hearts  of  the  men  and  that  of 
their  general,  never  to  be  weakened.  What  was  the  lesson  of  that  hour  ?  It 
was  the  confidence  of  discipline.  The  shoulder  to  shoulder  camaraderie.  The 
doubt  of  your  fitness  for  the  work  was  instantly  removed.  You  were  eager  for 
the  test  of  your  prowess,  to  win  your  fame,  to  conquer  under  your  flag.  I  said 
in  my  report  of  that  battle,  "  My  brigade  was  christened  under  fire.  It  will 
do  what  is  required  of  it. "  So  you  did.  In  every  battle  afterwards  it  stood 
like  a  wall  in  the  fight.  I  had  occasion  soon  after  to  thank  a  captain  of  your 
regiment,  before  the  brigade,  for  stemming  a  torrent  with  his  men,  when  at- 
tacked behind  the  rifle-pits  we  had  captured  at  Garnett's  Farm.  I  had  occa- 
sion to  report  at  Peach  Orchard,  where  your  regiment  alone  held  an  army  in 
check,  "  The  Seventy-first  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  under  its  gallant  young 
lieutenant-colonel,  wrung  high  encomiums  from  the  corps  commander,  who 
knows  what  hard  fighting  means." 

At  Glendale  (Charles  City  Cross  Roads)  I  sent  you  in  with  the  Nineteenth 
Massachusetts,  to  fill  a  gap  between  the  Sixty-ninth  acd  Seventy-second  Penn- 
sylvania of  our  brigade,  where  you  met  and  repulsed  the  advancing  and  exult- 
ing foe,  and,  although  we  did  not  know  it  then,  your  crashing  volleys  held 
forty  thousand  men  at  bay,  who,  but  for  our  brigade,  would  have  pierced  the 
line  of  march  of  our  army  at  that  point. 

Why  the.se  reminiscences  of  other  fields  than  Gettysburg  ?  My  farewell  order 
enjoined  strict  adherence  to  discipline.  The  God  of  war  did  not,  like  Minerva, 
spring  full  equipped  from  the  head  of  Jove.  You  were  preparing  for  the  cul- 
minating test  of  discipline.  You  were  destined  to  fill  a  space  in  a  line  of  bat- 
tle with  the  world  for  spectators,  where  the  typical  clan  of  the  cavalier  was  to 
hurl  its  momentum  against  disciplined  cou' i,ge-- the  staying  qualities  of  the 
cooler  North — wliere  the  waves  of  tiie  hif-'^iest  tide  of  war  were  to  d;ish  upon 
the  rocks  of  the  Union,  that  echoed  in  the  ear,  "Thus  far,  no  further;  and  the 
mighty  ocean  of  .strife  was  to  ebb  back  into  the  bed  of  peace."  Pickett's  charge 
will  live  in  song,  and  its  sad  requiem  will  echo  "  the  Philadelphia  Brigade." 
"When  Greek  meets  Greek,  then  comes  the  tug  of  war."  Llere  ujx)n  this  his- 
toric field  Americans  can  say  the  same  of  Americans.  Which  can  claim  superi- 
ority, when  perhaps  chance  turned  the  scale?  Had  some  other  brigade  been 
here,  without  your  staying  qualities — had  not  the  prescience  of  your  colonel 
seized  upon  the  guns  loaded  and  capped,  left  by  the  dead  and  wounded  of  the 


Ppunsylvavia  at  Gettyshnrg.  385 

day  bef'.^re,  and  piled  lierc  opportunely  at  hand,  whereby  he  mnltiplied  the 
force  of  your  lire  many  times  your  numl)ers,  and  by  so  placing  his  right  belnnd 
■walls  as  to  enfilade  the  advancing  mass  ;  had  not  the  oue,pieceof  cannon  been 
seized  by  the  aid  of  your  infantry,  and  run  into  the  angle  of  wall  to  be  loaded 
to  the  muz/le  with  broken  shells,  balls  and  bayonets.  Inirling  its  deadly  con- 
tents into  tlie  staggering  mass  at  a  close  range  ;  had  not  your  brothers  of  the 
Sixty-ninth  wheeled  to  face  the  breach  opposite,  and  take  the  foe  in  tiank, 
while  the  Seventy-second  and  a  part  of  the  One  hundred  and  sixth  advanced  to 
meet  his  front — what  might  have  been  the  result  at  that  weak  center? 

These  unique  and  terrible  resources  might  well  have  astonished  and  broken  the 
hearts  of  exhausted  manhood.  They  exhibited  the  genius  of  war  in  concen- 
trating on  strong  points,  and  opening  a  trap  to  choke  in  a  defile.  The  Ood  of 
battles  alone  can  know  why  the  center  of  our  army  was  not  pierced  on  that 
day.  But  we  now  know  that  it  was  the  second  time  in  the  history  of  the  war 
that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  owed  to  the  Philadelphia  Brigade  the  safety  of 
its  center.  The  fact  that  less  than  a  hundred  Confederates  cros.sed  that  stone 
wall  proves  that  the  force  of  the  charge  was  broken  by  the  cross-fire  beyond, 
and  these  could  well  be  cared  for  by  the  reserve  of  the  brigade.  Bachelder's 
map  shows  the  great  space  between  your  brigade  and  that  on  your  right,  the 
thinnest  of  the  line.  You  claim  only  to  have  done  your  duty,  but  the  time, 
place,  and  opportimity  were  yours.  God,  in  his  all-wise  providence,  decided 
events.  We  are  now  united,  never  again  to  be  divided;  our  Union  is  cemented 
with  our  blood.  Those  who  fell  are  honored  as  heroes;  those  who  remain  are 
brothers  in  arms,  dedicating  here  mementoes  of  valor,  not  of  .strife.  T  met  re- 
cently an  officer,  a  colonel,  here.  He  said  he  started  to  ride  at  General  Armi- 
stead,  to  overthrow  him,  and  prevent  the  men  from  shooting  him.  This  was 
valor  in  strife,  honorable  warfare,  so  different  from  political  .strife,  which 
never  forgives  its  own  wrong-doing. 

The  Philadelphia  Brigade  fraternizes  with  Pickett's  Division.  They  re- 
cognize each  other's  bravery  and  respect  each  other's  fame.  The  world  will 
ap])laud  both  alike,  and  history  will  record  their  deeds  together.  This  mem- 
orial of  a  regiment's  deeds  is  a  memento-mori  of  those  who  fell  on  both  sides, 
and  will  be  a  guide-mark  on  the  route  to  fame  tor  the  future  American  soldier. 

The  fortunate  few  who  fought  here  that  day,  must  wear  the  wreath  of  great- 
est glory,  for  the  most  conspicuous  hand-to-hand  encounter.  That  honor  is 
shared  by  the  Seventy-first  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  as  a  member  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Brigade,  which  received  the  force  of  the  gallant  charge  of  Pickett's 
Division.  It  is  not  invidious  to  speak  of  this  regiment  and  that  brigade,  for 
it  was  the  key  of  the  position,  and  it  was  the  fate  of  war. 

Other  regiments  and  other  brigades  did  their  duty,  and  assisted  in  the  fight; 
but  here  was  the  point  of  atuxck,  here  the  rain  of  shot  and  shell  centered,  and 
fell  in  torrents  long  before  the  chai/e.  Here  is  the  historic  spot,  and  arbnnd  it 
a  halo  of  glory  will  ever  cluster,  and,the  aureole  encircle  the  brows  of  those  who 
fought,  with  the  light  of  undying  fame. 

It  ia  fiat  justifia  that  Pennsylvania's  sons  should  here  defend  theirnative  soil. 


25 


386  Pennsyh-ania  at  Gettysburg. 


ADDRESS  OF  BRIGADIER-CiENERAI.  ISAAC  J.  WISTAR,  U.S.  V. 

C">(»MKADES  and  Mends: — Upon  me  has  been  conferred  the  honor  of  deliv- 
ering this  completed  monument  to  the  custody  and  pious  care  of  the 
Hattle-lield  :Memoria]  AssoiMution. 

We  hoi»e  it  may  endure  while  these  surrounding  hills  shall  stand,  not 
simplv  to  mark  lor  posterity  this  spot  on  \vhi(tli  such  momentous  events  trans- 
pired, but  as  a  memorial  from  us  few  survivors  to  commemorate  the  far  great«'r 
number  of  our  glorious  dead. 

You  must  give  me  a  minute  to  recover  myself.  1  cannot  look  on  your  small 
array — jntiful  indeed  in  numbers,  though  in  nothing  else — without  contrasting 
it  with  the  numerous  and  gallant  body  1  once  led.  and  the  feeling  is  too  much 
for  me. 

Your  regiment,  tlie  8eventy-tirst  of  Pennsylvania,  was  mustered  in  on  the 
16th  of  May,  1S(U,  by  a  captain  of  engineers,  who  afterwards  became  one  of 
the  greatest  and  most  distinguished  .soldiers  of  our  country,  and  whose  great 
fame  and  reputation  are  among  the  most  precious  possessions  of  his  fellow-sol- 
diers and  countrymen,  General  William  F.  Smith. 

It  serve<l  its  term  in  the  Second  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  but  1 
will  not  ent«r  on  its  histoiy,  w^hich  is  well  known  to  every  gallant  soldier  of 
that  army.  It  was  entitled  to  be  mustered  out  on  the  16th  of  May,  1864,  when 
the  army  was  locked  in  deadly  embrace  with  the  brave  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia, but  at  the  call  of  its  corps  commander  cheerfully  remained  and  partici- 
pated in  the  bloody  assaults  at  Cold  Harbor,  where  an  hi.storian  has  justly  said 
that  the  Second  Corps  sutiered  losses  from  which,  though  it  recovered  and  con- 
tinued in  .service  till  the  last  day  of  tlu'  war.  it  w;i,s  n<;ver  afterwards  (ixactly 
the  siime  lM)dy  it  had  been. 

1  cannot  spe^vk  to  you  with  calmness,  if  you  think  1  can  or  ought  to  look 
on  the  s<^nty  and  battered  remnant  of  your  once  splendi<l  array  unmoved  you 
are  wrong.     I  cannot  do  it. 

Enough,  however,  has  been  .said  here  by  far  better  orators,  though  one  hun- 
dr«l  times  as  much  would  be  inadequate  tt>  express  the  reminiscences  and 
solemn  thoughts  which  this  historic  spot  and  our  dwindled  ranks  of  scarred  and 
battered  survivors  send  surging  through  our  breasts  and  welling  from  our  eye. 
I  cannot  look  into  your  faces  and  speak  with  steady  voice.  I  can  say  no  more 
now.  but  will  express  one  single  sentinu;nt  which  I  l)elieve  will  reach  all  of  our 
hearts.  That  while  lif(!  remains  for  this  small  icMunant.  we  may  every  one  of 
us,  till  our  last  breath,  continue  to  cherish  for  our  friends  and  comrades,  affec- 
tion, love  and  personal  friendship,  and  to  .share  with  our  gallant  enemies  of 
long  ago  enemies,  thank  God,  no  longer  —peace,  concord  and  fellowshi])  under 
one  common  flag  forever  more. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshurg.  387 


DEDICATION   OF  MONUMKNT 

7:2'^  REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

Jn.Y  4,  1S91 
ADDRKSS  OF  COMRADE  JOHN'   REED 

FRIENDS  and  comrades: — Tim  war  is  over,  your  Icjial  contest  is  at  an  end. 
It  bisconjcs  my  duty  as  chairman  oftlie  monument  committee  of  the 
.Seventy-second  Regiiiient  to  make  a  few  remarks  before  phicing  the 
monument  in  your  care.  In  1887,  the  State  of  P'ennsylvania  determined 
to  erect  monuments  to  mark  the  spots  where  eaiih  Pennsylvania  command  wjis 
engaged  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Tlie  legislature  passed  an  act  appropriat- 
ing $1,500  to  each  regiment,  and  the  Governor  was  required  to  appoint  five 
commissioners  to  co-operate  with  five  survivors  of  each  command,  in  the  selec- 
tion of  a  design  and  location  of  the  monument.  Your  committee  selected  a  de- 
sign which  was  approved  b}-  the  Commission  :  it  was  a  typical  soldier  of  the 
day,  a  youth,  tor  yon  will  remember,  that  at  the  original  muster  of  your  regi- 
juent.  1,185  names  were  on  your  rolls,  1,300  of  whom  were  under  the  age  of 
twentywme  years.  It  is  clothed  in  the  uniform  of  which  you  were  so  proud, 
that  of  the  Fire  Zouaves  of  Philadelphia.  The  attitude  of  the  figure  is  that  of 
a  soldier  clubbing  his  musket  to  illustrate  the  closeness  of  the  .struggle  that  had 
taken  place  in  this  angle  on  the  8d  day  of  Jul}',  186;i.  When  the  location  was 
selected,  it  became  necessary  to  liring  ample  proof  that  the  site  would  be  his- 
torically accurate.  This  has  been  done,  and  the  Commission  were  convinced 
beyond  a  doubt  that  the  Seventy-second  were  in  line  during  the  cannonading 
of  the  rebels  sixty  yards  to  the  left  and  rear  of  this  spot,  and  when  the  enemy 
Ibrced  the  troops  from  the  first  line  of  battle,  you  marched  by  the  right  flank 
until  you  nearly  reached  the  north  wall,  faced  to  the  front  and  engaged  the  ft>e. 
From  that  point  jou  advanced  fighting  down  to  this  wall  having  men  killed 
and  wounded  in  the  advance,  but  in  order  to  conform  to  the  rules  of  the  Me- 
morial Association,  the  position  of  your  monument  was  agreed  to  be  twenty  feet 
from  the  wall.  Some  unauthorized  persons  protested,  and  when  3'our  committee 
attempted  to  dig  for  a  foundation,  your  chairman  was  arrested  and  held  to  bail 
for  trespass.  Then  your  legal  battle  began.  1  would  say  here,  comrades,  that 
you  Avere  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  your  counsel,  forbad  your  committee 
hunted  the  country  they  could  not  have  found  more  true  and  able  "-entlemen 
than  Captain  W.  W.  Kerr,  Major  W.  White  Wiltbank  of  Philadelphia  and  .J. 
C.  Neely  of  Gettysburg.  The  two  Ibrmer,  veterans  of  the  late  war,  gave  their 
time  and  talents  to  your  case  without  compensation.  Your  counsel  filed  a  bill 
in  equity  asking  for  an  injun(;tion  restraining  them  from  interfering  with  us 
and  the  supreme  court  decided  in  our  favor.  But  our  troubles  had  not  ended. 
They  said  they  could  prove  that  the  Seventy-second  Regiment  never  fought  in 
the  angle.  We  asked  that  a  master  be  appointed  to  take  testimony,  which  was 
done,  and  the  learned  W.  Arch.  McLean  of  Getty.sburg  was  chosen,  and  after 
hearing  tlie  testimony,  decided  the  case  according  to  the  evidence  and  law. 
They  were  not  satisfied  but  carried  the  case  again  to  the  .supreme  court  who 
promptly  sustained  the  mast*»r  and  the  lower  courts.  And  here  ended  the  legal 
strife  that  has  lasted  so  long. 


388  Pennsylvania  at  GeMyshiirg. 

Comrades,  ill  your  .struggle  in  tliis  angle  on  July  3d,  1863,  the  God  «)f  battles 
was  with  3'ou,  in  your  legal  contest  the  Goddessof  justice  smiled  ujwn  you.  I 
now  present  this  monument  to  the  Survivors'  Association  of  the  Seventy -second 
Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  and  the  good  citizens  ol"  Pennsylvania  of 
whom  you  form  a  part ;  educate  your  children  to  guard  it  with  a  loving  care 
and  by  the  will  of  God  it  will  stand  while  the  nation  lives. 


ADDRESS  OF  BREVET-MAJOR  W.  W.  WILTBANK 

COMRADES: — The  State  directed  that  the  three  commissioners  appointed 
bj-  the  Governor  should  co-operate  with  the  committee  of  three  to  be 
appointed  by  you  in  selecting  the  site  of  this  monument ;  and  you  were 
fortunate  in  all  the  stages  of  the  action  after  that,  because  your  claim, 
that  you  and  your  comrades  did  your  best  fighting  here,  was  contested  by  others, 
and  by  you  made  good,  before  the  statue  was  erected  ;  and  thus  we  may  heed 
no  criticism  of  the  truth  of  this  firm  and  lasting  mark  of  valor  and  victory. 
Of  all  the  regiments  that  fought  on  this  wide  field,  in  the  battle  that  saved  the 
Union,  it  so  happens  that  the  location  of  yours  has  the  singular  glory  of  an  ap- 
proval of  the  judiciary  as  well  as  of  the  executive  ;  and  the  soldier  who  now 
fights  here  in  bronze,  shall  stand  forever  under  the  protection  of  the  decree  of 
the  eminent  ofiicers  of  this  county,  ratified  by  the  highest  court  of  the  Stiit^'  ; 
a  decree  that  here  you  did  your  greatest  work,  and  that  no  man  or  body  of  men 
may  gainsay  it  history  and  the  law  have  placed  this  effigy,  and  Pennsylvania 
protects  it  by  her  writ  of  perpetual  admonition. 

You  have  thus,  to-day,  done  your  duty  valiantly  to  your  home,  as  you  and 
your  comrades  did  your  duty  in  the  fight,  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago, 
to  your  sovereign,  the  good  republic.  How  many  of  you  remain  with  us  ?  And 
h:is  a  new  generation  come  here  with  you  ?  There  were  orphans,  widows,  the 
childless  and  brotherless  made  in  melancholy  hosts  by  the  reaping  of  this  field 
in  the  elder  time.  Thousands  of  men  fell  down.  If  their  shades  may,  by  tlie 
divine  order,  hear  in  symbols  the  well-known  word  of  command,  and  obey  an 
impulse  that  shall  move  their  souls  through  the  hapi)iness  of  their  immortality, 
the  dead  in  body  are  alive  in  spirit  about  you  now,  perhaps  in  line  of  steady 
march  from  the  cluster  of  .short  wood  yonder,  to  take  up  their  position  ;  per- 
haps in  battle  array,  to  anticipate  the  close  (tonfiictt  that  has  since  told  them 
all  its  secrets,  and  it  may  be  to  live  again  in  the  hand-to-hand  dispute  till  the 
brilliant  moment  of  death.  Those  of  you  who  have  the  histing  faith  must  now 
rest  sure  that  it  is  a  blessed  thing  to  die  for  one's  country,  that  the  God  of 
battles  promotes  to  high  places  the  servants  who  for  him  pass  through  the  valley 
of  darkness.  Our  ancestors  of  the  revolution  created  a  nobility  that  ha.s  bred 
millions  of  sturdy  men  and  women  ;  and  these  in  turn  gave  us  for  our  vindi- 
cation, the  strength,  energy,  daring  audacity  ;  the  irrepressible  and  swift  exe- 
cution, tliat  mad(!,  and  shall  ever  show,  llie  hardy  <',haracter  of  these  sleepers 
ere  they  slept. 

Th«;re  are  three  thoughts  that  your  experience  has  brought  to  you  no  doubt, 
and  that  we  may  for  a  few  minutes  entertain  now.  Had  you  failed  in  the 
time  in  which  the  fate  of  Pickett's  force  was  decided,  so  that  the  bloody  angle 
w;is  held  against  you  a  small  part  of  an  hour,  say  for  only  a  twelfth  of  an  hour, 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  389 

then  the  day  would  have  been  lost.  It  is  tnu'  that  other  reyiinonts,  at  otiier 
places  ill  the  line,  were  opened  upon,  under  like  attack  ;  but  at  this  place  the 
hardest  blows  were  given,  the  bloodiest  and  most  vioh^it  attempt  was  made. 
From  one  hundred  and  fifteen  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  guns  of  the  enemy  con- 
centrated upon  you  their  shot  and  sIkjU  ;  and  a  whole  army  marched  across 
that  plain  from  the  westward,  firing  as  it  movcul,  to  throw  itself  upon  you. 
Yonr  second  thought  is  of  glory  ;  one  of  your  own  luMoes  has  written  of  your 
colors,  that  they  were  "  held  aloft  till  victory  was  won.'"  That  grand  work  was 
done  by  men  whose  names  shall  ever  be  remembered.  \nd  after  the  sense  of 
achievement  has  stirred  you,  and  the  excitement  of  the,  grtjat  buttle  has  subsided; 
after  the  pressure  upon  us  of  sonus  struggle  in  our  present  days  of  quiet  life,  all 
of  us  know  the  final  musing;  the  illustrious  and  theimknown  alike  must  go 
to  eartli. 

Whilst  it  is  right  that  you  should  lyourn  the  loss  that  you  have  had,  it  is  nat- 
ural and  good  that  you  should  be  proud,  and  in  quick  humor  of  content  here- 
after, as  you  see  what  you  have  done  for  your  fellows,  and  what  a  heritage  you 
have  secured  for  the  young  and  the  young  to  .succeed  them.  As  one  said  of  the 
ancient  soldiers,  our  heroes  were  taken  away  from  their  glory,  not  from  their 
fear.  So  pass  the  memory  of  their  glory  to  your  children,  that  the.se  may  live 
in  prosperity,  self-respect  and  peace. 


ORATION  OF  CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  W.  KERR 

/^^OMKADES: — The  volunteer  firemen  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  were 
I  patriotic,  intelligent  and  brave.      You  were  fit  and  worthy  representa- 

\  ;  tives  of  that  organization.  When  you  offered  yourself  to  the  Governor 
of  our  State,  you  were  young,  strong,  and  inured  to  hardship  and  dan- 
ger. No  better  material  could  be  found  in  the  world  from  which  to  form  an 
army.  You  were  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  on  August  10, 
1861,  and  Colonel  D.  W.  C.  Baxter  was  your  first  commander.  Officially  you 
were  designated  as  the  Seventy-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  but 
familiarly  you  were  called  "Baxter's  Fire  Zouaves.'"  You  were  assigned  to 
duty  in  the  Second  Corps  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  from  March,  1862, 
your  fortunes  and  your  fame  were  identified  with  that  gallant  corps.  The  siege 
of  Yorktown  was  a  series  of  engagements ;  the  battles  at  Fair  Oaks,  on  May  31 
and  June  1,  1862,  were  followed  by  Peach  Orchard,  Savage  Station,  Glendale, 
Malvern  Hill,  Chantilly,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville.  You 
participated  in  them  all.  You  gained  in  them  experience,  honor,  credit  and 
renown.     You  were  tried  and  trusted  veterans  of  the  Union  army. 

On  the  1st  day  of  July,  186:5,  you  numbered  twenty-three  officers  and  four 
hundred  and  thirty-five  men.  You  formed  part  of  the  Second  Brigade  of  the 
Second  Division  of  the  Second  Corps.  That  was  the  famous  "Philadelphia 
Brigade,"  commanded  by  that  equally  famous  soldier,  Brigadier-General  Alex- 
ander S.  Webb.  He  was  leading  you  on  to  Gettysburg,  to  drive  the  invading 
enemy  from  your  native  State. 

As  we  stand  here  to-day,  our  thoughts  carry  us  back  to  the  1st,  2d  and  3d 
days  of  July,  1863.  For  tweuty-eight  years  summer  has  succeeded  summer, 
yet  the  scenes  and  occurrences  of  those  days  are  as  vivid  and  bright  as  though 


390  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshnrg. 

it  wer»'  but  ycstc-rday.  They  pa-ss  belore  you  in  panoramic  view.  You  recall 
the  weary  luarcJi  from  ilie  liappahanuock,  the  crossing  of  the  I'ocomac  at  Ed- 
wards' Ferry,  the  kind  and  hospitable  leceptiou  at  Uniout«wn,  the  halt  at 
Taneytown  on  July  1,  the  .sad  news  of  the  death  of  Reynolds  and  defeat  of  the 
Fir.st  and  Eleventh  (Jorps.  the  midnight  march  to  Gettysburg,  the  forming  of 
the  line  of  battle  on  the  morning  of  July  2,  the  attack  by  the  enemy  in  the 
afternoon,  the  loss  of  Brown's  Batter}-,  your  counter<'harge  to  the  Emmits- 
burg  road,  the  recovery  of  Brown's  guns,  the  wounding  of  Colonel  Baxter,  the 
reforming  of  your  lines,  the  little  spring  in  the  rear  where  you  filled  your  can- 
teens and  cooked  your  coffee,  your  restle.ss  .sleep  l)ehind  your  stacked  rifles,  and 
the  bright  and  glorious  breaking  of  the  morning  of  the  day  of  July  ;J. 

Let  us  pause  here,  for  the  scene  apj)roaches  the  reality.  Here  again  you  see 
the  same  low  stone  fence.  It  is  angle-shaped — .something  like  a  huge  letter  Z 
traced  upon  the  ground,  only  the  angles  are  right  angles — the  bottom  line  ex- 
tending towards  Cemetery  Hill  on  the  right,  the  center  line  running  some  two 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  to  the  front,  and  the  front  line  reaching  towards  Little 
Round  Top  on  the  left.  Out  in  front  of  these  angles  are  two  companies  of  the 
One  liitndred  and  sixth  Pennsylvania,  deployed  as  skirmishers.  Behind  the 
angles  are  posted  Cu.shing's  Battery  and  your  Philadelphia  Brigade.  Along  the 
rear  line  of  the  lence  are  eight  companies  of  the  Seven tj'-first  Pennsylvania, 
their  right  connecting  with  Arnold's  liattery  and  their  left  resting  at  the  cor- 
ner of  the  angle;  the  center  line  of  the  fence,  from  corner  to  corner  ot  the  angle, 
is  tinoccupied;  along  the  front  line  of  the  fence  are  the  other  two  companies  of 
the  Seventy-tirst,  their  right  close  up  in  the  corner;  then  to  their  left  the  fence 
is  again  unoccupied  for  the  distance  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet;  and 
then  comes  the  right  of  the  Sixty-ninth  Pennsylvania.  There,  to  the  rear  of 
the  front  fence,  forming  a  line  parallel  with  the  rear  fence,  is  Battery  A  of  the 
Foiu-th  United  States  Artillery — the  renowned  ""  Cushing's  Battery  "^ — with  the 
muzzle  of  its  guns  pointing  over  the  front  fence  at  the  unoccupied  space  between 
the  right  of  tlie  Sixty-ninth  and  the  left  of  the  two  comijaiiies  of  the  Seventy- 
first.  There,  behind  the  battery,  and  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  behind 
the  front  fence,  is  your  Seventy-.second  iiegiment,  in  line  of  battle  to  support 
the  battery.  And  there,  l>etween  you  and  the  battery,  is  General  Webb,  .slowly 
pacing  up  and  down,  keeping  careful  watx;h  over  his  little  brigade. 

This  is  your  position  at  high  noon.  The  Confederate  batteries  sudtlenly  open 
fire.  Every  gun  is  hurling  a  missle  into  the  ranks.  The  Union  artillery  re- 
plies. There  you  lie  with  your  faces  close  to  the  ground.  The  storm  of  iron 
hail  is  flying  around  yon,  but  you  are  helpless  and  unprotected.  The  air  is 
filled  with  flying  shot  and  bursting  .shells,  and  the  roar  drowns  all  other  sounds. 
Tiie  cra.sh  is  blinding,  and  the  shock  isdeafening.  The  cannoneers  are  falling  at 
their  ix)sts,  and  Cushing's  Battery  is  fast  l)eing  disabled.  For  an  liour  and  u 
quarter,  and  the  firing  (leases,  first  on  the  Union  side,  then  on  the  Conlederate 
side.     The  first  ])art  of  the  great  struggle  is  over. 

Now  the  Conlederate  line  of  battle  appears,  nu)ving  iai)i(ily  over  the  field. 
They  cross  the  Emmitsburg  road,  and  you  see  their  faces.  They  are  Pickett's 
men,  the  flower  of  the  Southern  army.  Again  the  artillery  opens,  and  cannon 
and  musketry  are  mingled  in  a  deaiening  roar.  The  Confederates  never  fiilter, 
never  waver.  On  they  come,  confident  of  victory.  They  are  led  by  Armi- 
stead.  He  is  seeking  a  place  to  break  througii  the  Union  lines.  He  sees  Cush- 
ing's disabled  l>attery,  the  unoccupied  lence,  and  urges  his  men  rapidly  to- 
wards it. 


Pennsylvania  at  Geftyfiburg.  391 

The  skirmishers  of  the  One  hundred  and  sixth  run  to  the  rear,  and  are  hastily 
formed  on  your  left  think.  The  two  companies  of  the  Seventy-first  retire  from 
the  front  angle,  and  join  tlieir  regiment  at  the  rear.  The  right  of  the  Sixty- 
ninth  .swings  back  on  its  center.  Cushing's  cannoneers  are  piled  among  the 
rains  of  their  disabed  guns;  Sergeant  Fuger  and  half  a  dozen  of  the  men  are 
all  that  are  left;  one  gun  alone  remains  ;  it  is  loaded  with  canister,  and  Gush- 
ing, Fuger  and  their  men  are  around  it  ;  they  move  it  to  the  front,  closer  to 
the  fence,  and  take  their  places  beside  it.  The  fence  in  the  front  angle  is 
vfholly  unoccupied.  There  is  nothing  to  check  the  Confederate  advance,  save 
«nly  that  lone  cannon  and  the  heroic  men  beside  it. 

The  Confederates  reach  the  fence.  Armistead  jum])s  over  it.  Twelve  hun- 
dred of  his  men  follow  him.  They  rush  upon  the  gun.  A  sheet  of  flame  from 
its  muzzle,  a  deafening  report,  the  brave  young  lieutenant  falls  lifeless  upon 
the  ground,  and  Cushing's  Battery  is  silenced  forever.  The  Confederates  have 
captured  the  angle.  The  Union  arniy  is  cut  in  two  at  its  center.  The  Con- 
federates wave  their  flags  in  triumph,  and  again  press  forward. 

There  you  still  lie — three  hundred  and  sixty  of  you — crouching  close  to  the 
ground.  You  know  that  your  time  has  now  come.  You  see  the  enemy  advanc- 
ing upon  you  in  overwhelming  numbei-s.  You  know  that  alone  and  unsup- 
ported you  must  meet  the  attack.  Your  hearts  are  filled  with  bitterness,  and 
you  are  eager  for  the  fray.  You  look  to  General  Webb  for  the  expected  com- 
mand. You  see  his  lips  moving,  but  can  hear  no  sound.  lie  points  his  sword 
to  the  right,  then  waves  it  towards  the  enemy.  You  are  well-trained  soldiers, 
and  understand  his  signs.  You  know  that  he  wants  you  to  march  by  the  right 
face  closer  to  the  Seventy-first  in  the  rear  angle,  then  face  to  the  left,  and  charge 
down  upon  the  enemy.  Y'ou  spring  to  your  feet.  Away  go  haversacks  and 
canteens.  You  face  to  the  right,  run  quickly  forward  to  the  Seventy-first,  and 
face  again  to  the  left.  Your  courage  is  contagious.  Some  brave  men  of  the 
Seventy-first  and  One  hundred  and  sixth,  unbidden,  .jump  into  line  with  you 
on  your  flanks.  There  stand  the  enemy,  their  baj'onets  bristling  and  their 
rifles  smoking;  They  are  waiting  for  you — for  this  handful  of  men  against 
such  fearful  odds.  One  savage  yell  that  rises  above  the  din  of  battle,  one  wild 
and  tumultuous  rush,  and  you  are  upon  them,  discharging  your  rifles  in  their 
faces,  beating  their  bayonets  from  their  guns,  and  tearing  their  guns  from  their 
hands.  With  the  ferocity  of  madness  you  leap  upon  them,  clutch  them  by 
their  throats,  bury  your  bayonets  in  their  bodies  and  hurl  them  to  the  earth. 
Mounted  on  their  prostrate  botlies,  the  butts  of  your  guns  descend  relentlessly, 
crushing  them  down  before  you.  Slowly  they  retire,  surging  back  into  the 
corner  in  the  angle.  Their  colors  are  still  flying.  They  are  j'et  imconquered. 
A  color  bearer  plants  the  flag  of  Virginia  at  the  fence,  and  his  comrades  are 
rallying  around  it;  like  a  tiger  McCuen  springs  upon  him,  and  wrenches  the 
(»lors  from  his  grasp.  A  short  struggle,  a  terrific  blow,  and  McBride  is  wav- 
ing the  second  flag.  A  thrust  of  the  bayonet,  a  crushing  blow  on  the  head, 
and  two  zouaves  are  struggling  to  reach  the  rear  with  two  other  flags.  The 
colors  of  the  enemy  are  captured.  The  Virginians  make  a  desperate  rush  for 
their  colors.  Again  you  are  upon  them  with  the  fury  of  demons.  Again  your 
guns  and  your  bayonets  deal  death  and  destruction  in  their  ranks.  They  fall 
before  you  in  great  piles,  wounded  and  dead.  Armistead  has  fallen  at  the  feet 
of  your  color  bearer.  Their  leader  is  gone,  their  colors  are  lost.  Disheartened 
and  dismayed,  they  drop  their  arms.     Eight  hundred  of  them  surrender.    Four 


392  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshnrq. 

nUind  of  colors,  und  eight  hundred  prisoners.  Every  Confederate  wlio  had 
crosised  the  fence  is  dead,  wounded  or  captured.  Not  a  man  of  them  has  es- 
caped. The  ('onfederate  army  is  cut  in  two.  Away  to  your  riglit  and  to  your 
left  they  fly  before  your  victorious  comrades.     The  battle  is  over. 

The  ground  is  covered  with  the  wounded,  the  dying  and  the  dead.  From 
the  front  fence  to  the  center,  the  bodies  of  your  zouaves  lie  close  and  thick. 
Sixty-two  of  them  are  dead,  one  hundred  and  forty-six  are  wounded  and  two 
are  missing.  Two  hundred  and  ten  of  your  brave  comrades  have  ceased  to 
answer  at  your  roll  call.     One  hundred  and  fifty  of  you  are  left. 

To  this  place,  this  unknown  spot,  you  have  given  name  and  fame.  It  is  re- 
cordetl  in  history   "'  The  Bloody  Angle  at  Gettysburg." 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

73°  REGIMENT    INFANTRY 

September  12,  1889 

ADDRESS  OF  COLONEL  WILLIAM  MOORE 

C COMMANDER  and  comrades: — It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  the  monument 
committee  of  this  organization  to  now  bring  the  labors  of  the  committee 
;  to  a  close,  by  turning  over  to  you  and  to  the  association  this  monument. 
It  gives  us  pleasure,  because  while  the  labors  of  the  committee  in  getting 
up  the  monument  were  arduous,  and  in  securing  for  it  the  position  which  it  now 
occupies  were  still  more  so.  our  every  effort  has  resulted  in  a  successful  termi- 
nation. 

In  history,  the  heroic  action  of  the  Seventy-third  Regiment  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  remains  unmentioned.  At  that  time,  myself,  its  colonel,  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  confined  in  a  hospital,  suffering  from  a  wound  through  the  lung 
received  in  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville.  The  regiment  was  without  a  single 
field  oflicer.  All  had  been  killed  or  wounded  in  previous  battles.  Consequently 
no  official  regimental  rejwrt  of  the  .services  performed  by  our  regiment  in  this 
battle  was  ever  forwarded  to  army  headquarters,  or  transmitted  to  the  depart- 
ment in  Washington.  Ky  strenuous  exertions  we  procured  testimony  and  evi- 
dence, among  them  letters  from  General  Coster,  who  commanded  the  brigade 
to  which  oui-  regiment  belonged,  and  from  Colonel  Wiedrich,  who  commaiuUd 
the  battery,  and  sworn  affidavits  from  officers  and  comrades  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  from  merabersof  our  own  regiment,  and 
others,  and  were  thereby  enabled  to  convince  the  State  Commissioners  of  the 
justice  of  our  claim  to  erect  our  monument  on  this  spot  ;  and,  in  addition,  we 
have  been  pi'rmitted  to  place  upon  the  face  of  the  monument  a  bronze  bas-re- 
lief, representing  the  heroic  action  of  the  regiment  in  repul.sing  the  attack  of 
the  Ix)uisiana  Tigers,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  cannoneers  and  other  troops, 
recapturing  Wic^drich's  Battery,  thereby  greatly  assisting  in  making  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg  the  glorious  victory  that  drove  the  rebels  from  the  soil  of  our  be- 
loved State.  May  future  liistorians  dojustict?  to  the  Seventy-third  Regiment 
Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry. 

And  now,  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the  committee,  I  have  the  honor  to 
pi(s«;nt.  to  you,  tliis,  your  monument. 


.Pennsylvania  at  Getty shurg.  393 

ORATION  OF  GEORGE   T.   R.   KNORR,  OF  THE  SECOND    REGIMENT 
MARYLAND  VETERAN   VOLUNTEERS. 

THE  grand  old  Common  wealth  ofPeimsylvauia  to-day  honors  itself  in  him- 
oring  those,  alive  or  dead,  who,  in  18(!;>,  with  the  aid  of  the  loyal  sons 
from  other  States,  nortli,  south,  east  and  west,  drove  from  her  soil  the 
invading  hosts.  Twenty-six  years  after  the  repulse  was  made,  and 
while  many  of  those  who  participated  in  it  are  still  numbered  among  her  citi- 
siens,  the  State  erects  these  monuments  to  mark  the  spot  ujKjn  which  each  regi- 
ment, composed  of  her  sons,  performed  its  bravest  work  upon  her  own  soil. 

Standing  upon  this  hill,  within  a  short  distance  of  the  spot  upon  which  the 
martyr  President  delivered  his  sublimely  eloquent  address  of  dedication  in  1863, 
and  upon  which  only  a  few  months  earlier  the  heroes  who  bared  their  breasts 
as  a  barricade  between  our  country  and  its  foes,  were  receiving  the  shock  of 
advancing  foemen,  we  appreciate  the  fact  that  we  are  upon  holy  ground,  though 
none  of  us,  save  those  who  were  present  at  the  battle,  can  coiKreive  the  magnitude 
of  the  struggle,  the  scenes  of  carnage  here  enacted  and  the  sacrifices  here  offered 
up  on  the  altar  of  liberty  and  union. 

Our  special  portion  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  (hiy  is  the  dedication  of  this 
monument  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  service  rendered  by  the  Seventy- 
third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  the  great  battle  fought 
upon  this  field,  Juh'  1,  2  and  3,  1863. 

In  erecting  a  monument  on  this  historic  battle-ground,  nearly  every  foot  of 
which  has  been  consecrated  to  liberty  and  union  b}'  individual  deeds  of  heroism, 
and  rendered  sacred  by  a  baptism  of  blood,  it  is  fitting  that  some  reason  be 
given  for  such  erection. 

It  is  my  pleasant  duty  to-day  to  give  the  reasons  for  the  erection  of  this  stone, 
and  the  allotment  of  this  position  for  it  by  the  Board  of  Commissioners. 

In  a  circular  from  the  Commission,  we  are  informed  that  a  full  history  of  the 
command  is  not  expected  to  be  given  to-day,  but  this  regiment  not  having  re- 
ceived any  credit  for  its  services  here,  in  reports  of  the  battle  on  file  in  the  War 
Department,  it  is  necessary  to  give  some  outline  of  its  previous  history  ;  the 
reasons  for  its  not  receiving  credit  in  the  reports  referred  to,  and  the  evidence 
on  which  this  position  for  the  erection  of  the  monument  was  granted  by  the 
Commission. 

The  Seventy-third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  Colonel  John 
A.  Koltes,  was  recruited  in  Philadelphia,  entered  the  service  September  19, 
1861,  and  was  immediately  attached  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  with  which 
it  served  several  months.  In  the  spring  of  1862,  it  was  ordered  to  West  Vir- 
ginia, but  in  August  of  that  year  was  reassigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  participated  in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  August  30,  1862,  where  its 
colonel  was  killed,  nearly  one-half  its  company  officers  were  killed  or  wounded 
and  the  rank  and  file  suffered  a  corresponding  loss. 

At  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  so  disastrous  to  the  Union  arms,  this  regi- 
ment, then  a  part  of  Buschbeck's  celebrated  brigade,  was  the  first  to  make  a 
stand  against  Stonewall  Jackson's  victorious  army  that  was  pursuing  Schurz's 
Division,  which  had  become  panic-stricken  and  was  retreating.  In  this  en- 
gagement the  losses  in  the  regiment  were  again  large,  Captain  Harrj'^  Giltinan, 
of  Company  K.  being  killed,  and  Colonel  William  Moore  and  Major  Strong,  and 
a  number  of  the  company  ofiicers  being  among  the  wounded. 


394  Pennsyhuinia  at  Gettysburg. 

The  heavy  ciisualties  in  these  two  engagements  left  the  regiment  without  a 
tielil  olVu-er,  anil  every  company  in  it  depleted  iu  numbers.  The  remnant  of 
thf  regiment,  three  hundred  and  thirty-two  strong,  under  command  of  Captain 
D:iniel  F.  Kelley,  was  in  Coster's  First  lirigade,  Steinwehr's  Second  Division, 
Howard's  Eleventh  Army  Corps,  and  on  the  morning  of  July  1,  ISKIi,  left  Em- 
mitsburg,  Maryland,  for  this  field,  arriving  at  the  junction  of  the  Emmitsburg 
and  Taneytown  roads  sliortly  after  noon.  The  First  Corps,  which  preceded 
the  Eleventh  on  the  road,  on  reaching  the  junction  was  marched  to  the  left,  and 
formed  a  battle  line  beyond  Seminary  Ridge.  The  Eleventh  Corps  started 
thiough  the  town  to  form  on  its  right,  reaching  round  to  the  almshouse.  liefore 
the  entire  corps  had  passed  through  the  town,  reverees  were  met  with  at  the 
front,  and  a  column  of  rebel  troops  were  seen  approaching  on  the  Hanover  road 
with  the  intention  of  dividing  tlie  command.  Orders  were  given  for  the  corps 
to  retire  to  this  side  of  the  town,  and  while  the  batteries  of  the  division,  by 
command  of  General  von  Steinwehr,  opened  fire  upon  the  enemy,  the  Seventy- 
third  Regiment  was  deployed  across  the  Emmitsburg  and  Baltimore  roads, 
facing  north,  i)rotecting  the  corps  in  its  retreat  through  the  town  to  near  where 
we  stand  to-day.     Bates'  history  says  of  this  service  : 

As  the  rear  of  the  tJnioa  force  was  retiring-  from  the  town,  closely  followed  by  the 
enemy,  the  Seventy-third  was  ordered  forward,  and  charged  through  the  orchard  just 
below  the  cemetery,  checking-  the  pursuit  and  occupying  the  houses  on  either  side  of 
the  Baltimore  pike.  A  brisk  tire  completely  swept  all  the  approaches  and  checked  the 
enemy's  advance.  The  tire  from  the  houses  occupied  commanded  the  streets  and  tops 
of  the  buildings  in  the  town,  and  protected  the  cannoneers  of  Steinwehr's  artillery  on 
the  heights  above. 

Late  in  the  evening,  when  the  regiment  had  been  stationed  on  Cemetery  Hill, 
a  general  ofiicer  rode  up  and  inquired  if  there  was  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  on 
the  hill.  An  officer  of  this  regiment  responded,  ' '  Yes,  here  is  the  Seventy-third. ' ' 
Which  answer  was  followed  by  the  order,  "  Well,  get  your  men  in  line,  make 
a  reconnaissance,  and  ascertain  the  ])osition  of  the  enemy  and  how  much  of  the 
town  is  occupied  !  "  The  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  the  regiment  advancing 
on  the  town  in  the  Ibllowing  manner :  Companies  A,  ¥  and  D  through  the 
gardens  and  alleys  ea-st  of  Baltimore  street  ;  Companies  E  and  H  uj)  Baltimore 
street ;  Companies  B.  C  and  K  on  the  left  of  Baltimoie  street,  and  through  the 
wheatfield  ;  while  Comjianies  Ci  and  I,  acting  as  a  reserve,  occupied  what  is 
now  called  the  liattle-Field  Hotel.  At  the  firing  of  a  pistol  by  Captain  Kelley, 
the  signal  agreed  upon.  th(!  men  advanced  to  a  point  beyond  the  old  tanyard, 
where  they  were  received  with  a  well-directed  volley  of  musketry  by  the  enemy, 
who  were  posted  in  houses  and  the  neighboring  wheatflelds.  Several  brave 
fellows  here  met  their  death.  The  object  of  the  reconnaissance  being  accom- 
plished, according  to  instructions,  the  regiment  retired  to  its  former  position  to 
take  what  restctould  be  obtained  to  prepare  the  men  for  the  work  of  the  morrow. 

On  the  morning  of  July  2,  the  regiment  was  posted  in  the  old  cemetery  as  a 
support  to  the  batteries  <m  the  hill.  There  it  remained,  watchful  but  inactive, 
until  near  dusk,  when  a  large  force  of  rebels,  with  the  famous  Louisiana  Tigers 
in  the  advance,  nuule  a  daring  and  impetuous  charge  ujion  the  batteries  posted 
on  the  right  on  East  Cemetery  Hill.  Before  charging,  the  enemy  had  advanced 
cautiously,  undercover  ol  the  houses  of  the  town  and  the  steep  declivity  of 
Cemetery  Hill,  and  the  movement  was  so  sudden  that  they  were  already  among 
the  guns  of  the  first  battery  (Wiedrich's)  and  advancing  on  the  second  (  Rick- 
etts')  when  the  Seventy-third  discovered  them,  and  with  the  Twenty-seventh 


Pennsylvania  at  Geftyshnrg.  395 

Pennsylvania  IJpiiiment  ruslnMl  to  (lio  rescue.  I'lic  hand-to-hand  struggle, 
wluch  is  so  graphically  pictured  in  the  beautitul  bronze  ou  the  inouument,  then 
ot;curred,  the  regiments  mentioned  holding  their  ground  and  preventing  the 
turning  of  the  batteries  until  reinforcements  arrived,  when  what  remained  of 
the  Louisiana  Tigers  retreated  down  the  hill,  having  made  the  last  charge,  as  a 
distinct  command,  which  liistory  recx)rds  for  that  organization  of  intrepid  fighters. 
After  the  repulse,  a  new  line  of  battle  was  formed,  in  expectation  of  another 
attack,  and  several  piecies  of  artillery  were  placed  at  the  head  of  Baltimore 
street  near  the  cemetery,  .so  as  to  command  tlie  approach«'s  from  the  town.  The 
tSeventy-third  was  sent  in  supjiort  of  these  batteries,  and  stood  by  them  until 
the  morning  of  theod,  when  tliey  were  again  sent  to  the  old  cemetery  to  support 
the  batteries  stationed  there. 

Bates'  history  says  of  the  Seventy-third's  third  day  in  the  battle  . 

On  the  3d,  the  regiment  remained  in  the  position  held  during'  the  previous  evening' 
and  in  the  afternoon,  while  the  fearful  cannonade  was  in  progress  which  preceded  the 
llnal  struggle,  it  was  exposed  to  the  tire  of  the  enemy's  guns  from  a  circuit  of  two  or 
three  miles. 

The  men  were  lying  among  the  graves,  with  two  hundred  guns  trained  upon 
them,  the  shot  and  shell  from  which  shattered  the  gravestones  and  scattered 
the  fragments  around  them.  When  the  final  charge  of  Pickett's  and  Petti- 
grew's  troops  was  made,  the  Seventy-third  was  moved  to  the  Taneytown  road, 
close  to  Ziegler's  Grove,  where  they  remained  until  the  third  day's  fighting 
was  ended. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4tli  the  regiment  was  ordered  into  the  town,  which 
they  entered,  deployed  as  skirmishers  along  the  streets  on  the  west  side  of  the 
town  until  they  reached  the  Chambersburg  road.  Here  quite  ahody  of  rebels 
held  their  ground,  and  only  surrendered  when  cavalry  appeared  in  the  rear  of 
their  position.  They  were  then  marched  into  the  town,  to  the  square,  and 
placed  in  charge  of  the  Seventy-third's  reserve.  The  regiment  was  kept  busily 
employed  until  nine  o'clock,  when  the  enemy  fell  hack,  le^iving  the  field  in  our 
hands. 

Captain  Daniel  F.  Kelley,  commanding  the  regiment  during  these  four  days, 
neglected  to  make  any  regimental  reports  to  headquarters,  the  result  being  that 
in  the  official  returns  the  Seventj--third  does  not  appear. 

When  the  State  decided  to  erect  monuments  to  the  regiments  which  fought 
here,  the  survivore  of  the  Seventy-third  made  claim  for  this  positicm  for  its 
monument,  and,  after  searching  inquiry  into  the  matter  by  tlie  State  Commis- 
sion appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  by  the  Gettysburg  Memorial  A.sso<nation, 
their  claim  was  declared  valid,  and  liere  your  monument  is  erected. 

Among  the  vast  amount  of  testimony  given  in  support  of  the  Seventy-third's 
right  to  this  position,  was  that  of  Colonel  Wiedrich,  who  commanded  the  bat- 
tery. He  said:  ''  My  recollection  of  the  evening  of  July  2,  1863,  is  that  when 
the  Louisiana  Tigers  charged  my  battery,  and  when  we  were  in  a  hand-to-hand 
fight  with  them,  I  saw  that  my  position  could  not  be  held,  and  had  ordered 
my  battery  to  limber  up  and  fall  back  to  the  Baltimore  pike,  when  the  Seventy- 
third  and  Twenty-seventh  Regiments  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  came  to  my 
rescue  and  repulsed  the  rebels." 

The  survivors  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  testifying 
under  oath,  said:  "  Not  only  do  we  not  oppose  the  location  and  design  of  the 
Seventy-third's  monument,  but  we  unanimously  declare  that  they  are  fully 
and  justly  entitled  to  the  position  which  tiiey  claim." 


396  Pennsylvania  of  Gettysburg. 

These  affidavits  are  quoted  to  sliow  tlie  quality  of  tlie  evidence  offered  to 
prov*'  the  Seveuty-third's  gallant  struggle  on  this  spot. 

Who  has  not  read  Tennyson's  '"  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade,"  at  Balaklava, 
and  gloried  in  the  bravery  of  that  noble  six  liundred  immortalized  in  his  verses? 
And  yet  the  unsung  and  unjwetie  solid  squares  with  which  Wellington  met 
Napoleon's  onslaughts  at  Waterloo  were  composed  of  men  who  showed  equal 
heroism,  and  that  strict  and  unflinching  obedience  to  orders  which  is  the  attri- 
bute most  prized  in  a  soldier.  Volunteers  can  always  be  had  from  an  army  to 
make  a  charge,  be  it  ever  so  rash  and  dangerous,  for  there  is  an  eclat  attached 
to  it,  and  a  feverish  spirit  of  bravado  will  carry  a  man  through  a  task  he  would 
shrink  from  if  time  were  given  for  thought;  but  they  who  have  to  stand  under 
lire,  calmly  awaiting  the  onslaught,  knowing  not  at  what  moment  it  may  come — 
to  stand  hour  after  hour  on  the  alert  without  action — have  the  most  trying  duty 
the  soldier  is  called  upon  to  perform.  It  was  this  duty,  followed  by  a  brave 
and  stubborn  resistance  when  called  into  action,  which  the  Seventy-third  Regi- 
ment Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry  jierformed  on  this  spot.  Eulogize  the 
bravery  of  the  charge  of  the  Louisiana  Tigers  as  you  may,  and  have  the  poet 
carry  it  down  to  posterity  in  glowing  rhyme,  if  you  will,  the  fact  remains,  and 
must  be  admitted,  that  the  successful  repulse  of  that  charge  was  accomplished 
by  men  just  as  brave,  and  on  whose  bravery  twenty-four  hours'  experience  in 
the  dispiriting  duty  of  waiting  had  no  bad  efiect.  When  the  enemy  was  dis- 
covered, you  took  a  firmer  grasp  of  your  muskets,  and  with  the  cry,  "  Let  us 
die  on  our  own  soil,"  hurled  yourselves  on  the  advancing  column  with  such 
impetuosity  as  to  check  the  foe  and  hold  him  until  reinforcements  arrived. 

During  the  entire  battle  the  Seventy-third  "played  w-ell  its  part;"  but  it 
was  here,  where  this  granite  and  bronze  will  tell  of  its  achievements  to  posterity, 
it  gave  that  grand  exhibition  of  bravery  which  forced  back  the  best  troops  of 
the  Confederacy  with  heavy  loss,  and  aided  materially  in  that  demoralization 
of  Lee's  army  which  culminated  in  retreat. 

God  forbid  that  Ave  should  claim  tlu;  whole  repulse  for  this  one  regiment  ! 
It  was  first  in  the  advance,  with  the  Twenty-seventh  Pennsylvania  by  its  side, 
but  other  troops  came  to  its  assistance,  and  New  York,  Ohio  and  Indiana  have 
their  share  of  the  glory. 

Nothing  is  claimed  for  the  regiment  that  cannot  be  fully  substantiated.  No- 
thing is  claimed  that  has  not  been  already  proven  before  the  Commission  to 
which  has  been  entrusted  the  duty  of  selecting  the  proper  spot  upon  which  to 
erect  the  monument. 

General  Henry  J.  Hunt.  Chief  of  Artillery  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in 
the  absence  of  reports  from  this  regiment  in  the  War  Department,  sought  to  se- 
cure for  his  arm  of  tlie  .service  the  whole  credit  for  the  repulse  of  the  Louisiana 
Tigers.     He  writes; 

The  cannoneers  of  the  two  batteries,  so  sutumarily  ousted,  rallied  and  recoverert 
their  g-uns  by  a  vig-orous  attack,  with  pistols  by  those  who  had  them,  by  others  with 
hand-8i)ikfs,  ruiiimers,  stones  and  even  fence  rails.  *  *  *  After  an  hour's  desperate 
tlghtinj^,  the  enemy  were  driven  back  with  heavy  loss. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  gunners  of  the  batteries  did  their  best  to  save  their 
cannon,  and  that  having  no  other  weapons,  they  seized  stones  iVoni  the  walls 
and  rails  from  the  fences  to  use  against  the  foe;  l)ut  history  cannot  be  permitted 
to  give  to  posterity  the  impression  that  with  these  weapons  alone  eight  hun- 
dred of  the  enemy  were  laid  low  in  the  assault  upon  this  jwsition.  The 
Seventy-third  Penn.sylvania  came  to  the  rescue,  and  to  the  Sevcuty-third  be- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  397 

longs    the   credit,   as  Colonel   Wiedric.li    testiiies,   of  leading  in   the   resisting 
column  when  he  wiis  about  to  endeavor  by  retreat  to  save  his  pieces. 

The  Seventy-third's  loss  in  this  battle  was  comparatively  small,  seven  being 
killed  and  twenty -seven  wounded. 

In  August,  18615,  the  regiment  was  ortlered  to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  where 
it  was  incorporated  into  the  Twentieth  Army  Corps.  At  the  battle  of  M  i.ssionary 
Ridge,  November  25,  18(k>,  after  liard  lighting,  it  was  flanked  by  a  superior 
force  of  the  enemy  and  only  seventy-two  of  its  members  escaped  capture  or 
death. 

In  December  of  the  same  year  it  was  re-enrolled  as  a  veteran  organization,  at 
Lookout  Mountain,  Tennessee,  and  as  a  part  of  the  ftimons  White  Star  Division, 
was  in  every  battle  fought  and  won  l)y  the  Twentieth  Corps,  marching  to  the 
sea  with  General  Sherman,  and  being  j)resent  at  the  surrender  of  General  John- 
ston at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina. 

The  victory  won,  the  war  ended,  and  j)eace  reigned  once  more  within  our 
borders.  After  an  honorable  record  of  three  years  and  ten  months,  on  July  14, 
1865,  the  Seventy-third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  then  con- 
sisting of  eleven  officers  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  men,  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  of  the  United  States,  at  Alexandria,  Virginia.  During  its 
term  of  service  it  had  upon  its  rolls  the  names  of  one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  sixty  patriots;  and  of  this  number,  its  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  captured 
or  missing  was  seven  hundred  and  seven. 

Among  the  members  of  the  regiment  who  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands  at 
Missionary  Ridge  was  Benjamin  F.  O'Donnell,  the  left  guide  of  the  regiment, 
who  in  that  capacity  carried  a  guidon,  or  small  flag.  Seeing  he  could  not 
escape  capture,  he  quickly  tore  the  flag  from  its  staff  and  secreted  it  under  his 
coat.  One  of  the  enemy,  who  had  noticed  his  actions,  rushed  at  him,  demand- 
ing "  that  rag."  O'Donnell  denied  having  it,  and  the  rebel  struck  at  him  with 
his  musket,  injuring  O'Dcmnell's  hand  so  badly  that  he  is  to-day  .still  cripiiled. 
Tiie  surging  of  the  troojis  separated  him  from  his  assailant,  and  he  was  enabled 
to  more  securely  hide  the  flag.  He  was  taken  by  his  captors  to  Belle  Island, 
then  to  Pemberton  prison,  and  finally  to  tlie  prison  pen  at  Andersonville. 
"While  here  he  sickened,  and  thinking  himself  about  to  die  gave  his  precious 
charge  into  the  hands  of  Sergeant  Zachariah  Rost,  another  prisoner  from  the 
Seventy-third. 

Rost  was  taken  from  Andersonville  to  Florence,  South  Carolina,  and  ex 
changed  at  Hilton  Head,  May  1,  1865,  bringing  home  with  him  the  relic 
O'Donnell  did  not  die.  After  being  exchanged  he  applied  for  a  pension,  the 
flag,  in  protecting  which  he  was  injured,  being  produced  in  evidence  before 
the  pension  bureau.  O'Donnell  kept  it  in  his  possession  until  the  11th  of  last 
month,  when  he  turned  it  over  to  this  Regimental  As.sociatiou.  What  remains 
of  this  guidon,  which,  with  those  who  carried  it,  was  incarcerated  in  rebel 
prisons  for  seventeen  months,  is  before  you,  while  Benjamin  F.  O'Donnell,  who 
preserved  it  from  capture,  is  present  with  us  to-day,  still  acting  as  the  left 
guide  of  the  regiment.  The  flag  is  in  appearance  now  what  the  rebel  called  it 
at  Missionary  Ridge — a  "rag."  But  how  precious  a  rag,  and  what  memories 
cluster  around  it  to-day  !  Comrade  O'Donnell  carried  it  on  this  field  in  the  first 
battle  in  which  it  appeared.  Then  it  was  new  and  pleasant  to  look  upon. 
Now,  with  no  trace  of  comeliness  remaining,  it  is  looked  up  to  by  these  vete- 
rans with  veneration  and  pride,  for  the  scars  upon  it  are  evidences  (jf  battles 


398  Pninsylvania  at   (rfftyshurg. 

fought,  of  victx)rie»s  won,  unci  of  tin-  luirdships  of  seventecMi  nionlhs'  imprison- 
ment with  its  brave  defenders. 

The  gioiind  upon  which  this  monument  stands  was  dedicated  by  your  heroic 
struggle,  and  by  the  blood  of  your  fallen  comrailes;  but  the  monument,  reared 
by  a  grateful  Commonwealth  in  commemoration  of  your  bravery,  and  in  memory 
of  those  of  your  regiment  who  liere  sacrificed  their  lives  on  the  altar  of  liberty, 
we  now  dedicate  and  convey  to  the  State  for  the  instriiction  of  coming  genera- 
tions. 

Those  who  were  engaged  in  the  sanguinary  hand-to-hand  struggle  on  this 
spot,  may  well  thank  God  that  they  are  permitted  to  live  to  see  the  fruit  of 
their  labors  in  our  re-united  country  with  its  unprecedented  growth  and  pros- 
perity; they  maj'  thank  God  that  they  live  to  see  their  heroism  and  bravery, 
and  that  of  their  former  comrades,  thus  publicly  and  permanently  recognized 
by  the  State  under  whose  auspices  they  served  the  Federal  Government;  and 
the}'  may  thank  God  that  the  generations  which  have  arrived  at  manhood  since 
the  war,  hold  in  reverential  remembrance,  and  teach  their  children  to  revere, 
those  who  in  the  hour  of  their  country's  need  were  ready  to  give  their  all,  even 
life  itself,  for  right,  for  liberty,  and  for  the  dear  <ild  flag. 

We  now  commit  this  monument  into  the  hands  of  the  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  t«  accept  and  protect  it. 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  MONUMENT,  BY  CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  W. 
KEKR,  ON  15EHALF  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS  OF  THE  COMMON- 
WEALTH OK  PENNSYLVANIA 

(^OMKADES: — We  have  assembled  here  to-day  in  the  performance  of  our 
duty,  to  pay  a  tribute  to  patriotism  and  to  mark,  with  an  enduring 
/     mark.  Penn.sylvania's  pride  in  her  brave  and  valorous  sons. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  the  momentous  occurrences  on  this 
battle-lield,  have  been  recorded  in  the  pages  of  the  history  of  our  country.  But 
there  were  instances  of  heroic  Vtravery  in  this  great  struggle,  that  in  battles  of 
less  magnitude  would  have  been  heralded  to  the  world  ;  there  were  incidents 
of  the  display  of  courage  and  endurance,  that  if  the  courage  and  endurance  had 
been  wanting,  tln!  battle  would  ha\e  ended  in  our  defeat  and  humiliation  ;  and 
the.se  instances  and  incidents  have  long  remained  hidden,  unnoticed  and  un- 
honored.  Such  is  yourca-se.  and  of  such  is  th(u-haract<:i- of  your  services  in  tliat 
great  battle. 

Five  Commi.ssJoners  were  ai)poinie(i.  by  virtue  of  a  law  of  our  State,  to  co-(»]>- 
erate  with  live  of  ^our  survivors,  ami  select  and  locate  a  suitable  memorial  tablet 
or  monument,  in  bronze  or  granite,  to  mark  the  po.sition  of  your  regiment  en- 
gaged in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  With  j>atience  and  i>erseverance  the  Com- 
missioners liave  searched  the  records,  sttidied  the  positions,  collected  the  testi- 
mony andc.\amined  the  evidence,  to  enable  tiiem  to  select  a  location  that  would 
give  you  nuTitcd  distinction,  defy  all  advcrs<'  iiiticism  and  bear  the  imjire.ss 
f)f  absolute  truth  and  accuracy. 

That  the  Confederates  m;ule  a  de^perat4!  and  determined  ell'ort  to  break  through 
the  Union  lines  on  this  hill,  that  the  famous  I^uisiana  Tigers  ctharged  up  and 
held  our  batteries,  that  they  were  attacked  l)y  troops  from  the  Union  army,  that 


Pennsylvania  <tt  (rcffi/fibHrg.  399 

a  desperate  hiuul-to-liaiid  fiicountci  took  place,  that  the  enemy  were  repulsed, 
that  the  batteries  were  .saved,  and  that  the  Louisiana  Tigers  were  almost  an- 
nihilated, ar(^  historical  tacts  tliat  have  long  been  known  and  loudly  eulogized. 
What  would  have  been  the  result  of  that  charge  of  the  Confederates  but  for  the 
heroic  bravery  of  the  Union  troops  engaged  in  the  encounter  no  mortal  can  tell; 
what  would  havt;  been  the  fate  of  the  Union  army  but  for  the  courage  and  en- 
durance of  the  Union  troops  who  saved  our  batteries  is  known  to  God  alone. 
That  you  were  here  in  that  encounter  has  remained  unnoticed  and  unknown  ; 
that  you  and  your  comrades  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Pennsylvania  were  the 
Union  troops  that  drove  back  the  Confederates,  saved  the  batteries  and  dealt 
the  death-blow  to  the  most  famous  regiment  of  the  South,  luwl  never  been  pub- 
lished or  proclaimed.  (Others  have  long  claimed  the  credit,  enjoyed  the  honor 
and  received  the  commendation. 

From  the  labors  of  the  Commissioners  the  dormant  truths  of  years  have  l>eeo 
evolved,  and  justice,  though  tardj',  has  been  awarded  to  you  at  last.  From 
the  abundance  of  the  testimony,  it  is  clearly  established  that  you  were  the  men 
engaged  in  that  memorable  hand-to-hand  encounter,  that  you  were  the  men 
who  assisted  in  driving  the  enemy  from  our  guns,  and  that  you  were  the  men 
who  rendered  such  .signal  service  to  our  army  in  the  hour  of  its  distress  and 
peril.  To  you  is  unhesitatingly  conceded  the  proud  right  to  place  this  monu- 
ment in  the  spot  in  the  forefront  of  the  line  of  battle  of  our  glorious  Union 
army. 

You  have  here  erected  this  monument,  and  you  have  dedicated  it.  On  be- 
half of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Commis.sioners  accept  it  from  you  :  and 
from  now,  and  forever  on,  the  strong  arm  of  our  grand  old  Commonwealth  will 
be  thrown  around  it,  to  guard  it,  protect  it  and  preserve  it,  an  everlasting  me- 
morial of  the  heroism  and  valor  of  you,  her  loyal  and  devoted  sons. 


THE  ttLI)  FLAG  (  »K  THE    SEVENTY-THIRD    BY    SERGEANT    JAMES 

MURRAY 

COMRADES  and  friends: — Before  you   is  unfurled  to-day  one  of  the  old 
State  flags  carried  ])y  the  Seventy-third  Regiment  Penn.sylvania  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  during  the  war  for  the  Union,  and  1  am  requested  by 
the  survivors'  a.ssociation  to  briefly  tell  you  its  history. 
Very  few  of  the  State  flags  carried  by  our  Ixjys  can  now  be  found  outside  the 
State  museum  at  the  capitol,  and  to  .see  one  of  them  floating  on  this  battle-field 
will  scarcely  fall  to  your  lot  again. 

When  the  Seventy-third  left  the  State  in  18(J1  tojoin  the  Army  of  the  i'otomac. 
the  first  State  flag  carried  by  its  color-sergeant  was  given  to  us  bj'  the  represen- 
tative of  the  Commonwealth.  At  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  where  our 
brave  commander.  Colonel  Koltes,  gave  his  life  for  his  country,  the  flag  was  .so 
torn  and  riddled  with  shot  and  .shell  that  it  was  unfit  for  further  service,  and 
was  sent  to  the  capitol  for  safe-keeping. 

The  second  flag  given  to  us  by  the  great  War  Governor,  Andrew  G.  Curtin, 
was  carried  upon  this  field  during  the  engagement,  but  at  the  battle  of  Mission- 
ary Ridge  it  was  reduced  to  the  same  stale  as  its  predecessor  by  the  hard  usage 
it  received  while  carried  at  the  head  of  our  column. 


400  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

The  one  before  you  was  the  third  and  last  State  flag  carried  by  the  regiment, 
and  was  presented  to  us  at  Lookout  Mountain,  Tennessee,  on  behalf  of  the  ladies 
of  rhiladelphia,  who  bjwle  us  protect  it  with  our  lives  and  bring  it  home  with 
us  in  honor  and  victoiy.     We  pledged  ourselves  to  do  so. 

Here  it  is  !  And  now.  my  friends,  after  hearing  from  the  orator  of  this  oc- 
casion of  the  gallant  deeds  performed  Ijy  this  regiment,  I  ask  you,  "Have  we 
kept  our  vow?  "  Here  waves  the  flag,  unsullied  1)}'  defeat,  havinginvariably  led 
us  to  victory. 

liut  hark  !     The  old  flag  speaks  for  itself: 

"You  have  carried  me  from  Chattanooga  to  Rocky-face  Ridge,  to  Kesaca, 
New  Hope  Church,  Pine  Knob,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek  and  to 
Atlanta  in  victory.  You  have  carried  me  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea  in  victory. 
You  have  carried  me  from  Savannah,  through  the  Carolinas,  and  to  the  '  sur* 
render  of  Johnston."     Victory  !  Victory  ! !  Victory  !  !  ! 

■■  You  have  brought  me  back  to  my  old  home  in  Philadelphia  ;  you  have 
kept  and  protected  me  ever  .since,  and  to-day  you  have  me  with  you  to  com- 
memorate with  your  former  comrades  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  this  glorious 
victory  in  which  you  bore  such  a  noble  part.     You  have  indeed  kept  your  vow. "' 

God  bless  you,  dear  old  flag  !  While  one  of  the  Seventy -third  lives  you  shall 
be  cherished  and  cared  for,  and  as  each  one  of  us  passes  away  to  the  great  l>e- 
yond,  you  shall  cover  his  coffin  and  be  with  him  to  his  last  resting  place.  It 
will  not  be  long,  dear  old  comrades,  for  our  ranks  are  thinning  rapidly.  Time 
was  when  you  were  surrounded  by  a  thousand  of  as  brave  soldiers  as  served 
their  country,  and  whose  cheers  of  victory  made  the  welkin  ring. 

To-day  we  are  with  you  again  ;  but,  oh  !  so  few,  so  few.  A  few  years  more 
and  there  will  be  none  to  answer  roll-call,  and  our  memory  will  be  as  a  dream 
to  these  young  people  who  now  surround  us.  In  those  days,  my  young  friends; 
I  trust  some  of  you  will  give  a  thought  to  this  day  and  think  kindly  of  the  old 
veteran  and  his  flag. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

74"^"  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

July  2,  1888 
ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  A.    VON  HARTUNG 

COMRADES: — We  are  assembed   here   for  the  purpo.se  of  dedicating  this 
monument.     We  all    were    here  before  twenty-five  years  ago.      But, 
ahis!     I  miss  many  of  those  who  had  joined  us  that  time.     They  have 
been  called  home  and  are  now  members  of  that  great  army  from  which 
no  one  returns.     Others  are  prevented  by  sickness,  great  distance  or  by  busi- 
nes.s  from  l)eing  with  us  to-day  on  this  our  day  of  honor. 

For  what  purpose  were  we  here  at  that  time,  twenty-five  years  ago  ?  We  had 
not  come  in  our  usual  citizens'  clothing,  but  in  uniforms,  armed  with  sword.s, 
guns  and  cannons  in  order  to  repel  a  haughty  enemy;  we  were  here  to  lielp 
with  armed  hands  to  save  the  Union  and  to  ])rotect  the  starry  banner.  Twenty-i 
eight  years  ago  that  memorable  presidential  election   took  place,  from  which 


V 


vr^i.\  a. 


^^aM 


~AV-i^Y 


TON,   GtTTYSSUR 


PRINT:    THE    F.   CUTE?. 


Pennsylvania  at  GeHyshnnj.  401 

Abraham  Lincoln  came  loitli  as  a  victor.  The  South,  tor  many  years  ac- 
customed to  rule  the  Nortli,  wanted  to  be  iiulepeiidenl,  and  now  came  the 
time  of  that  treason,  a  more  fatal  one  tlie  history  of  the  world  never  saw. 
Secretary  of  War  Floyd  had  llie  arms  reniovcnl  I'loni  the  northern  arsenals 
and  conveyed  to  the  soutli,  where  guns,  cannons  and  anumniition  purposely 
left  unprotected  were  shifted  into  the  hands  of  the  traitors.  The  city  of  Pitts- 
burg made  a  glorious  excejition.  There  t  lie  people  arose  and  prevented  by  force 
the  departure  of  the  cannons  that  had  already  been  put  o\\  board.  Honor  to 
those  brave  Pittsburgers!  The  State  of  South  Carolina  had  left  the  Union  and 
dared  insolently  to  tread  under  feet  the  tlag  of  onr  ancestors.  The  other  south- 
ern states  soon  loUowed  and  formed  that  league  known  under  the  name  of  the 
Southern  Confederation.  When  Lincoln  took  the  oath  as  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  4th  of  March,  he  did  not  find  a  dollar  in  the  treasury, 
not  a  vessel,  not  a  soldier.  The  officers  of  the  regular  army,  mostly  south- 
erners, had  deserted  and  gone  over  to  the  service  of  tho.se  States.  A  hostile 
army  threatened  unprotected  Washington,  and  the  President  applied  to  the 
Governors  oftlie  loyal  States  and  asked  for  soldiers  to  protect  the  capital.  They 
came  with  great  enthusiasm,  those  States'  militia  diflerently  uniformed  and 
armed.  Their  intention  was  good,  but,  not  accustomed  to  the  severe  hardships 
of  a  war,  they  were  soon  replaced  by  seventy-five  thousand  volunteei-s  who  were 
enrolled  for  three  months. 

After  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  it  was  seen  that  the  enemy  had  been  greatly 
underrated,  it  became  apjtarent  that  we  had  not  to  deal  with  a  little  revolt  but 
with  a  great  revolution.  II  was  not  before  then  that  the  whole  country,  and 
with  it  Abraham  Lincoln  perceived  the  gi-eatness  of  danger. 

He  demanded  and  received  from  Congress  after  a  single  short  session  the 
right  to  levy  three  hundred  thousand  men  lor  three  yeai-s,  and  besides  one  bil- 
lion of  dollars.  And  then  Father  Abraham  called  for  three  hundred  thousand 
men,  saying  "the  Union  must  and  .shall  be  preserved."'  And  then  the  hearts 
trembled  and  the  whole  nation  was  seized  with  a  p(5werful  enthusia.sm.  His 
call  resounded  like  the  .sound  of  thunder;  like  the  clash  of  swords  and  the 
roaring  of  the  waves,  and  they  came,  the  children  of  Father  Abraham,  and  so 
we  came  too.  We  hastened  on  to  preserve  the  Union  and  to  protect  the  starry 
banner.  But  the  task  was  no  easy  one.  A  strong  army,  well  armed,  of  excel- 
lent discipline  and  well  led,  stood  against  us,  and  not  always  the  luck  of  war 
was  on  our  side.  The  great  battle  of  Chancellor.sville  was  lost  tor  us.  The 
enemy  invades  the  northern  states,  plunders  Hagerstown  and  marches  toward 
Philadelphia.  The  road  was  apparently  unobstructed,  the  Potomac  army  ap- 
parently annihilated.  Ihit  in  forced  marches  we  came  on,  and  here  at  Gettys- 
burg, here  on  this  field  of  honor,  we  threw  ourselves  into  their  way  and  cjilled 
to  them,  '■  thus  far  and  no  farther."' 

One  hundred  thousand  on  our  side,  Ave  fought  for  three  days  against  an  army 
superior  in  number.  It  was  a  gigantic  battle.  Then  at  last  the  (;all  resounded, 
Victory!  The  hostile  troops  had  left  during  the  night.  The  battle,  the  great- 
est, the  most  successful  battle  of  the  war.  was  won.  But  it  was  with  great 
sacrifices  that  the  victory  was  bought.  In  yonder  cemetery  thousands  are 
slumbering  the  everlasting  sleep,  mowed  down  by  hostile  missiles.  In  honor 
of  those  dead  these  monuments  have  been  put  up.  BiJt  also  the  survivors'  part 
of  the  honor  is  due.  One  falls  in  the  battle,  the  other  dies  afterwani  of  the 
wounds  or  in  consequence  of  the  hardships  of  war. 
26 


402  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

We  who  were  so  lortmiate  as  to  survive  that  battle  and  to  see  its  results 
share  in  the  honor  as  well  as  those  who  have  gone  hence  belore  us. 

In  former  centuries  it  was  not  customary  to  erect  monuments  lor  the  living. 
It  was  left  to  posterity  to  glorify  the  deeds  of  their  ancestors.  It  is  only  a  few 
years  ago  that  his  grateful  countrymen  erected  a  monument  in  honor  of  Her- 
man, the  great  German  chief  who,  more  than  1800  years  ago,  defeated  the 
Homan  legions  in  the  Tentoburg  forest.  But  customs  and  manners  are  chang- 
ing. Eighteen  years  ago  Germany  fought  that  gigantic  war  with  France,  and 
it  is  long  ago  since  that  finest  of  monuments  rises  on  the  Niederwald  in  lionor 
of  the  dead  as  well  as  of  the  living.  So  also  this  monument.  It  is  apparently 
a  dead  stone  without  language.  But  monuments  speak  a  powerful  language 
that  warns  and  admonishes  the  living.  As  that  monument  on  the  Niederwald 
warns  the  French  to  beware  of  German  blows,  and  reminds  the  German  youth 
to  follow  the  sublime  example  of  their  ancestors  and  to  sacrifice  life  and  prop- 
erty in  the  defense  of  their  country,  so  this  monument  speaks  too.  It  tells  of 
great  heroic  deeds  and  warns  all  who  should  ever  dare  again  with  an  insolent 
hand  to  destroy  our  glorious  ITnion  or  to  insult  the  star-spangled  Ijanner.  It 
admonishes  the  youth  to  follow  our  example  and  in  the  days  of  danger  to  stake 
life  and  property  in  the  protection  of  our  country. 


ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  PAUL  F.  ROHRBACKER 

WE  have  met  to  erect  and  dedicate  a  monument  which  shall  remind  gen- 
erations to  come  of  the  deeds  of  brave  men  Avho  fell  in  as  noble  a 
cause  as  heroes  ever  contended  for.  Some  may  say  :  "'Why  this 
monument?  Why  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  great  strife?" 
We  might  simply  au.swer,  "Because  Ave  cannot  help  it."  It  is  instructive, 
animating,  reverential  and  patriotic,  to  be  reminded  of  the  character  and  of  the 
sacrifices  of  those  heroes  who  gave  their  all  in  their  country's  services.  Even 
if  a  (luarter  of  a  century  has  passed  over  their  graves,  yet  the  example  which 
they  gave  us  must  be  preserved  to  us  in  order  to  guide,  strengthen  and  animate 
us  and  those  that  will  follow  us. 

There  is  no  need  to-tlay,  and  here,  to  recount  the  causes  of  the  war  in  which 
those  men  sacrificed  their  lives.  The  war  was  not  carried  on  for  the  purpose 
of  oppression,  of  trampling  upon  a  section.  It  was  not  a  war  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  grandeur  and  glory  to  any  one  man  or  set  of  men.  It  Avas  not  a  war 
to  make  one  part  of  this  country  greater  than  another  part.  It  Avas  a  war  that 
barbarism  might  cease,  and  that  liberty  and  civilization  in  its  i>urest  form 
might  be  established  by  the  American  people.  It  was  a  war  that  this  Union 
might  be  moulded  into  I'cllowship,  that  out  of  it  miglit  be  fused  all  the  guilt 
and  all  the  shame  Avhich  so  long  stained  it. 

The  battles  of  the  war  Avere  Avon  l"or  the  whole  country  :  and  the  beauty  of 
this  government  shines  alike  over  every  foot  of  American  soil.  Its  benefits, 
like  the  dews  of  heavi^n,  fall  equally  u))on  every  eitizens  head  liencath  the  flag 
of  our  country.  The  Avounds  of  the  Avar  are  healing,  an<l  as  you  look  about  you 
to-day,  over  our  vastcountry  and  all  its  increased  population  and  its  prosperity, 
Ave  may  truly  thank  Go<l  that  .slaA'ery  was  wii)ed  out.  the  only  cause  of  dissension 
tliat  had  ever  exi.sted.  And  in  this  feeling  of  tlianklulness  we  are  Joined  by 
the  i)eoi)le  of  tlie  Soutli.      We  liaxt;  nothing  Mioic  1  li:it  ean  divide  us  as  a  nation. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburij.  403 

Today  we  all  §|lory  in  having  but  one  Hag,  one  country,  one  nation  and  one 
<lestiny.  There  is  no  sectional  feeling  that  animates  us  on  this  occasion,  nor 
do  we  leel  any  pride  of  race  or  color.  We  are  here  as  American  citizens.  All 
races  have  contributed  their  share  for  the  attainment  of  the  glorious  result. 
The  Irishman  and  the  Scotchman,  the  Englishman  and  the  Scandinavian,  the 
Anglo-Saxon  and  the  African.  .\nd,  my  friends,  we,  as  Germans,  have  done 
our  share. 

We  are  assembled  liere  to-day  to  dedicate  this  monument  to  the  valor  and 
patriotism  of  the  Seventy-fourth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  exclu- 
sively a  German  regiment. 

When  the  news  of  the  tiring  on  Fort  Sumter,  April  14,  1861,  reached  Pitts- 
burg, the  excitement  among  the  entire  pojiulation  became  intense,  and  two 
days  afterward,  on  the  16th  of  April.  Company  B,  German  Turners,  left  Pitts- 
burg for  Harrisburg,  commanded  by  Captain  H.  Amlung.  Seigrist's  company 
was  K,,  also  most  Germans.  These  two  companies,  commanded  by  Captains  H. 
Amlung  and  G.Seigrist,  were  incorporated  as  Companies  B  and  K, Fifth  Regiment 
i'ennsylvania  Volunteers,  three-months'  service.  These  men  formed  the  nucleus 
of  the  Seventy-fourtli,  which  was  organized  a  few  montlis  afterwards.  The  com- 
mand ot  the  regiment  was  given  to  Colonel  A.  Schinimelpfennig.  a  brilliant  and 
thoroughly  educated  Ku.ssian  officer,  who  had  seen  service  in  the  war  against 
IJenmark,  and  in  1848  and  1849  in  the  revolution  in  Baden.  Colonel  Schimmel- 
pfennig  made  of  the  regiment  a  model  organization  in  drill  and  discipline,  and 
the  excellent  record  made  by  the  regiment  is  due  to  the  exertion  of  that  model 
soldier  and  gentleman.     You  liave  heard  its  history  read  by  Comrade  Hissrich. 

To  have  been  a  member  of  the  Seventy-fourth  Pennsylvania  is  a  prouder  dis- 
tinction than  any  patent  of  nobility  that  king  or  potentate  might  confer. 

And,  as  Germans,  we  are  all  proud  of  their  record.  No  part  of  our  population 
has  manifested  greater  readiness  to  risk  their  lives  for  the  preservation  of  our 
beloved  country,  than  the  Germans  and  their  descendants.  In  those  days  that 
tried  men's  souls,  adopted  German  citizens  gave  their  best  blood  for  the  sal- 
vation of  the  Union.  The  great  sacrifices  of  the  Germans  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  the  bravery  of  the  German  is  ignored  or  forgotten.  Historj'  talks  about 
the  Hessians,  that  fought  on  the  side  of  oppression,  but  .says  little  or  nothing 
of  the  Germans  that  fought  with  Washington.  It  is  ignored  or  forgotten  what 
the  Germans  have  done  for  the  prosperity  of  our  Commonwealth.  Pennsylvania 
Dutch  Avere  often  scoffed  at — tlieir  wives,  mothers,  daughters,  ^vere  often  desig- 
nated as  being  clumsy,  ignorant,  unrefined,  but  when  the  war  broke  out,  history 
tells  us  that  among  all  the  German  women  of  Pennsylvania,  there  was  not  one 
Avho  l)rought  up  a  traitor. 

It  has  become  fashionable  for  Anglomaniacs  to  belittle  everything  that  does 
not  come  from  England,  and  call  England  the  mother  country.  Nothing  is 
further  from  the  trntli.  It  was  disputed  a  century  ago.  It  is  less  true  now. 
The  whole  world  is  tlu;  mother  country  of  this  land.  We  Germans  are  not 
here  .since  yesterday.  Three-fifths  of  the  population  of  Pennsylvania  are  German 
or  of  German  descent. 

When  the  Avar  of  the  Kebellion  broke  out,  the  great  fact  became  evident 
(and  the  American  people  are  ever  open  to  receive  facts),  that  these  so-called 
'■foreigners,''  tliatthe.se  Germans,  whose  hearts  were  thought  to  dAvell  on  the 
Rhine,  the  Elbe  and  the  Danube,  Avere  head  and  heart  for  this  their  l)('loved 
land. 


404  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Tliey  came  from  city  and  hamlet,  from  tlie  work-shop,  the  office  and  the 
school-room;  they  came  from  the  north,  tlie  east  and  the  west,  and  some  even 
from  the  south:  they  lioneycombed  the  whole  Federal  forces,  for  there  was 
scarcely  an  organization  that  had  not  its  (iermari  representative.  Shoulder  to 
shoulder  Germans  fought  with  their  comrades  of  other  nationalities  as  well 
as  with  those  to  the  manor  born. 

It  is  due  to  the  Germans  that  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  the  city  of  St. 
Louis  and  the  largest  part  of  Mi.ssouri  remained  faithful  to  the  Union.  The 
first  victory  of  the  Union  troops  was  gained  at  Carthage,  Missouri,  by  General 
Sigel  and  his  Germans.  It  was  Blenker's  Division,  that  after  the  l)attle  of 
Bull  Knn  retained  its  discipline  and  at  Centreville  barred  the  way  to  the  vic- 
torious Confederates. 

Who  does  not  remember  the  names  of  Sigel,  Blenker,  Gilsa,  Steinwelir, 
Stahel,  Schimmelpfennig,  Mahler,  Max  Weber,  Bohlen,  Koltes,  Hecker,  Oster- 
hans,  Salomon,  Matthies,  Hassendeubel,  Captain  Dilger  and  a  host  of  others. 
Thousands  less  prominent,  but  not  less  valiant,  bared  their  bosoms  t^o  hostile 
bullets. 

Loyally  and  faithfully  they  served  their  country  in  the  winter's  cold,  and 
during  the  summer's  heat  you  find  them  inhaling  the  poisoned  breath  of  the 
swamp;  you  meet  with  them  on  the  lonely  picket — everywhere  in  the  field  you 
fiud  men  from  all  parts  of  Germany  and  from  all  conditions  iu  life.  In  camp 
and  on  the  march  you  might  have  heard  tliem  singing  German  song — .songs 
from  the  Rhine,  the  Danube,  the  Weser  and  the  Main;  they  sang  of  .spring 
time  and  love,  old  melodies,  they  .sang  songs  of  their  native  land,  also  songs  of 
their  adopted  country— but  always  cheerful  and  ready  for  any  service  required 
ol  them  their  .songs  were  often  heard  in  the  rebel  camp,  and  their  meaning 
was  not  misunderstood. 

.Vs  free  men,  not  as  hirelings,  did  they  offer  their  life  for  the  preservation  of 
this  land,  and  thus  paid  off  a  long-standing  debt.  Thus  they  paid  old  debts  to 
the  great  patriots  who  sowed  aLso  for  us  the  seed  of  freedom.  Were  these  sol- 
diers less  patriotic  because  they  -spoke  German  and  sang  German  songs? 
Were  they  as  defenders  of  our  glorious  flag  less  valiant,  were  the  blows  dealt 
by  them  less  vigorous  because  they  were  given  by  German  arms  ?  Let  the  deeds 
of  the  Seventy-fourth  Pennsylvania,  on  the  first  day's  fight  at  Gettysburg,  an- 
swer these  <iuestiou.s.  Of  the  fourteen  ofiicers  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
men  wiio  advanced  on  the  first  day's  battle,  one  oili(;er  and  six  men  were  killed, 
four  officers  and  forty  men  wounded  and  fifty-two  mi.ssing,  leaving  but  four 
ofiicers  and  eighteen  men,  a  total  lo.ss  of  one  hundred  and  twelve.  I  tell  you,  my 
friends,  twenty-five  or  fifty  years  hence  the  descendants  of  those  men  who  fell 
or  lbu"-ht  at  Gettysburg  will  be  as  proud  of  thedietls  of  his  ancestor  and  of  his 
.\mericanism,  as  are  to-day  the  children  of  these  who  fought  at  Bunker  Hill, 
or  Lexington,  and  looking  back  at  the  history  of  our  time,  these  Americans  will 
wonder  that  there  ever  could  be  any  jealousy  or  Knownothingism,  because 
the  ance.stor  of  one  landed  at  Castle  Garden  or  East  Boston.  We  should  meas- 
ure the  worth  of  the  .American  citizen  by  his  honesty,  his  capacity,  his  patriot- 
ism and  his  .synii)athies,  independent  of  whether  he  or  his  father  entered  the 
family  of  the  n!i)ublic  yesterday  or  a  few  decades  before  ;  our  dead  heroes  have 
furnished  us  Ihe  crit(^rion  of  the  true  American,  for  he  cannot  be  called  iin 
American,  who.  though  he  eame  down  from  the  signers  of  the  Declar.ition  of 
IndtlHtidiiK  I-  it.sc.lf,  stirs  up  ill    f'e«ding  among   his  fellow-citizens.      i.,ook  over 


:!^A\ 


2-"BRICADE,3; 


JUl.YI.fOUCHT,Oj 
M.Ui<Tll  THE  Cf*" 

«EAB  THE  i:EMETEBY^i'B*«8Vr#SV.iS0t(()Mar  I 
TNESE.  ,,        i 

;    ^    PRESENT  AT  gtTTYOBilRC-  iSS.l]  '"'      j 

.  iSiLsa.  orrrcERs  3.  Kd<  IS.    ,•  .■     | 

WObllOED.  OFFfCERS  S,  MfH    84:  .      ?; 

CAPTUfitO  OF!  MlSSliC.  MEN    3.       ■'.'.} 


^e^X 


«*^'*', 


Pennsylvania  ai  Gettysburg.  405 

the  face  of  the  globe  and  find  nu*  a  jiowerlul  nation,  and  1  will  sliow  yon  one 
where  national  feeling  is  paramount.  We,  as  Gerinau-Aniericaris.  laniiliar  with 
the  history  of  the  past,  glory  in  a  united  Germany  wliicli  stands  to-day  anionj: 
the  gaUixy  of  European  nations  of  the  foremost. 

If  loyalty  and  faithfulness  to  one's  country  is  to  be  ]>roven  by  l)loody  .sacri- 
fices, then  the  loyalty  of  the  German  to  his  adopted  (iountry  cannot  be  (jnes- 
tioued.  We  love  this  land;  it  is  our  land  and  the  home  of  our  children  and 
children's  children.  We  may  differ  ]K)Iitic;.l]y.  but  in  the  love  of  our  country 
and  its  in.stitutions,  we  are  one. 

HeiK-efbrth  your  country  is  our  country,  your  people  our  people,  your  des- 
tiny our  destiny,  your  dag  our  flag,  and  your  God  our  God.  Whenever  in 
the  future  the  country  sh;ill  call  upon  her  children,  we  believe  and  know  that 
this  dear  land  .shall  not  call  in  %'ain. 

The  fallen  heroes  sleep  in  this  heautitul  cemetery;  they  sleep  the  sleep  that 
knows  no  waking,  but  their  fame  is  as  fadeless  as  the  lieauty  of  the  rise  of  the 
sun.  They  live  in  our  hearts  and  in  our  memories.  This  nation  is  to-day  a 
Union  baptized  in  the  best  blood  of  the  American  people.  It  is  a  Uuiou  t  hat 
has  been  tried  in  the  tire  of  steel,  and  has  come  forth  brilliantly  and  un- 
scathed. The  best  way  for  us  to  appreciate  the  devotion  of  those  who  died  for 
their  country  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  is  to  make  it  our  duty  to  preserve 
what  they  sacrificed  their  lives  to  save.  The  value  of  a  thing  generally  de- 
pends upon  what  it  costs.  To  show  the  worth  of  this  it  is  only  necessary  to 
imagine  the  Union  broken  into  disjointed  and  discordant  fragments;  the  States 
antagonized  and  inimical  to  each  other.  The  Union,  as  saved,  is  the  reverse  of 
all  this,  and  stands  proudly  before  the  world  the  synonym  of  national  great- 
ness, power  and  glory. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

75™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

OCTOBKR  8,  1 888 

ORATION  OF  FIRST  SERGEANT  H.  NACHTIGALL 

CAOMKADES  of  the  kSeventy -fifth  Kegiment  Penu.sylvania  Volunteers: — I 
extend  to  you  a  hearty  welcome  upon  the  historic  battle-field  of  Gettys- 
/     burg.     We  are  assembled  here  upon  consecrated  ground,  consecrated 
by  the  blood  of  our  brethren,  and  shed  in  a  great  struggle  for  the  pres- 
ervation and  maintenance  of  the  high  i)rinciples  of  liberty  and  humanity. 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  ebbed  away  into  the  abyss  of  eternity 
since  one  of  the  most  eventful  dramas  recorded  in  the  annals  of  hi-storj^  was  en- 
acted upon  this  field;  a  drama  in  which  you  with  thousands  of  sons  of  this  our 
glorious  country  were  destined  to  assume  a  role. 

Your  ranks  have  been  considerably  depleted  since  those  memorable  July- 
days  of  1863,  and  of  that  once  magnificent  Seventy-fifth  Regiment,  which,  a 
just  pride  of  the  German  population  of  Philadelphia,  left  that  city  in  Septem- 
ber, 1861,  but  a  small  remnant  has  remained.  To-day  you  are  less  strong  and 
vigorous,  your  limbs  are  less  pliant  and  active  than  in  those  days,  when  to  the 


406  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

sound  of  the  orchestra  of  war,  amidst  the  thunder  of  cannon  and  the  deafening 
roar  of  battle,  you  quickened  your  steps  in  order  to  take  up  your  assigned  posi- 
tion in  the  line  of  battle,  and  the  never-melting  snow  of  years  has  settled  upon 
the  heads  of  many  of  you. 

For  seventeen  years  Carthage  with  its  wealth  of  heroism,  its  art  and  its 
navigation,  directed  by  the  genius  of  Hannibal,  struggled  again.st  the  progres- 
sive institutions  of  Rome;  for  sixteen  years  the  regal  despotism  of  France, 
directed  by  the  genius  of  Napoleon,  endeavored  to  crush  the  liberal  institutions 
of  England;  and  for  four  years  the  spirit  of  secession,  directed  by  the  genius  of 
Robert  E.  Lee,  struggled  to  deal  a  death  blow  at  the  free  institutions  of  the 
American  Republic.  Hannibal  perished  in  Lama,  Napoleon  died  at  Waterloo 
and  Lee  found  his  Appomattox;  but,  mydear  iViends,  when  in  the  lapse  of  time 
the  names  and  memories  of  these  luminaries  shall  have  perished  in  the  whirl- 
pool of  revolution  and  despotism,  the  vision  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  will  be 
directed  hither  to  Gettysburg,  the  bulwark  and  Mecca  of  the  regenerated 
liberty  of  the  American  Republic,  and  from  here  the  lesson  will  be  taught  that 
liberty  and  humanity  are  not  mere  quibbles  of  the  brain  or  the  outgrowth  of 
an  over-excited  fancy,  and  as  we  trace  the  war  history  of  the  world  and  raise 
in  admiration  our  wondering  gaze  to  the  human  genius,  which  like  a  brilliant 
meteor  appears  in  the  heavens,  but  soon  vanishes  from  our  sight,  institutions 
having  for  their  object  the  advancement  of  humanity  will  live  forever,  and  the 
free  institution  of  free  government  for  which  those  men  fought  in  whose  memory 
this  monument  has  been  erected,  shall  not  perish,  but  they  will  grow  brighter 
and  stronger  as  year  after  year  will  roll  on. 

The  ground  upon  which  we  now  stand  and  the  scenes  by  which  we  are  sur- 
rounded within  viewing  distance,  recall  to  our  memories  events  of  world  his- 
toric note,  and  in  ol)edience  to  a  longing  impulse  of  our  hearts  we  have  gathered 
here  to-day  to  commemorate  those  events. 

What  patriotic  heart  would  not  throb  with  enthusiasm  when  reviewing  the 
state  of  atfairs  in  the  dark  and  gloomy  days  in  the  history  of  our  country,.  v\;heu 
treason  hung  like  the  sword  of  Damocles  over  the  life  of  this  nation,  when  the 
people  of  the  northern  States,  in  the  face  of  impending  da-uger,  arose  in  their 
full  majesty,  like  with  one  mighty  impulse,  when,  regardless  of  political  party 
affinities,  station  in  life  or  age,  whether  republicans  or  democrats,  rich  or 
poor,  young  or  old,  came  forward  in  response  to  the  exigency  of  the  hour,  and 
in  vindication  of  the  cause  of  liljerty,  eager  to  enter  into  and  swell  the  ranks 
of  an  army  about  ])oing  organized,  without  expectation  of  emolument  or  official 
honors,  facing  dangers,  exposures  and  privations  calculated  to  try  the  patience 
of  the  most  hearty  and  valiant;  and  a  proud  thought  it  is  to  know  that  they 
fought  to  a  successful  ending  the  mightiest  war  struggle  for  human  liberty 
known  in  the  world's  history.  These  thoughts  and  the  ceremonies  of  this  day 
bring  us  into  the  presence  of  hallowed  memories. 

When  we  unravel  the  years  which  time  has  woven  into  our  life  we  love  to 
pause  here  and  there  at  events  that  have  more  than  others  engrafted  themselves 
upon  our  memory.  Among  others  we  are  reminded  of  that  solemn  hour  when 
the  no])le,  magnanimous  Andrew  Curtin,  the  Governor  of  this  great  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  presented  to  usthe  flagof  our  country,  when  we  are  reminded  of 
those  patriotic  words  he  then  spoke,  words  by  which  boys  were  transformed 
into  men,  citizens  intosoldiei-sand  Iieroes  in  the  course  of  a  single  hour.  Gover- 
nor Curtin  entrusted  tliat  (lag  to  theSeveuty-tifth  Regiment  with  the  contideuce 


Pennst/lvania  af  Gettysburg.  407 

that  you  would  carry  it  into  the  thickest  fight,  that  you  would  defend  it  to  the 
last,  and  that  in  your  hands  it  would  never  be  disgraced.  To-day  we  have 
met  here  to  render  an  account  of  our  stewardship,  and  to  answer  the  query: 
Have  we  justified  the  confidence  imposed  upoTi  us?  The  responsibility  of  that 
trust  might  well  make  reckless  men  hesitate  and  brave  men  falter,  but  the 
Seventy-fifth  Regiment  accepted  that  trust,  and,  oh,  what  a  proud,  what  a  glo- 
rious satisfaction  to  know  that  it  fully  justified  that  trust,  and  after  four  years 
of  war.  during  which  time  it  has  been  borne  aloft  by  patriotic  hands,  it  was  re- 
turned to  the  place  from  whence  it  came,  the  State  capitol  at  Harrisburg,  un- 
sullied and  untarnished,  aye  I  covered  with  glory  and  fame,  and  when  at  times 
amid  shot  and  .shell  it  may  have  fallen  to  the  ground,  consecrating  the  same 
with  the  blood  of  a  dead  color  bearer  (as  in  the  case  of  Sergeant  .Tordan  at  the 
second  Bull  Run  battle),  it  soon  rose  again,  only  to  arouse  you  to  increased 
heroism  and  valor.  The  blow  struck  by  the  enemies  of  human  liberty  against 
the  integrity  of  the  Union,  and  the  haughty  slaveholders'  vow  that  the  free 
mechanic  and  the  laborer  of  the  northern  States  were  destined  to  succumb  to 
his  power  and  influence,  received  upon  this  field  its  sentence  and  death  blow, 
and  it  may  well  be  said  that  the  true  charter  of  American  liberty  was  here 
written  with  the  sword  and  sealed  with  the  blood  of  her  .sons. 

To-day,  my  friends  and  comrades,  you  stand,  a  small  remnant  of  that  once 
magnificent  and  glorious  Seventy-fifth  Regiment,  beneath  the  shadow  of  this 
monument  visible  witnesses  of  a  great  historic  period.  Oh,  my  friends  and 
comrades,  were  I  possessed  with  the  eloquence  of  a  Cicero  or  Demosthenes  my 
tongue  would  be  too  feeble  to  express  in  befitting  terms  tho.se  feelings  wliich 
at  these  sacred  moments  fill  my  heart  and  which  I  feel  confident  also  penetrate 
yours,  and  cause  them  to  beat  responsive  to  the  occasion  of  the  present  hour, 
but  what  words  could  more  adequately  echo  our  feelings,  and  be  more  in  unity 
with  the  earnestness  and  .solemnity  of  this  occasion  than  those  words  .spoken 
by  the  great  and  good  Abraham  Lincoln  upon  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of 
the  National  Cemetery  yonder  on  Cemetery  Hill,  in  November,  1863  : 

But  in  a  larg'er  sense  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground  ;  the  brave 
men,  living  and  dead,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract  The 
world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget 
what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us  the  living  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  for  the  unfinished 
work  that  they  have  thus  far  so  nobly  carried  on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  dedicated  to 
the  great  task  remaining  before  us— that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased 
devotion  to  the  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  their  devotion— that 
we,  here,  highly  resolve  that  the  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain— that  the  nation  shall, 
under  God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  government  of  the  people,  bj-  the 
people  and  for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

Those  of  our  brethren  who  fell  upon  this  field  did  not  live  to  behold  the 
dawn  of  the  golden  morn  of  liberty — they  died  for  us  and  for  their  country. 
In  grateful  remembrance  we  approach  their  last  re.stiug  place.  Re.st  in  peace, 
ye  noble  patriots  1  History  will  forever  accord  to  you  the  fame  and  glory  you  so 
richly  deserved,  but  to  us,  the  living,  your  patriotism  and  yonv  valor  shall  for- 
ever remind  us  of  the  grand  legacy  you  have  bequeathed  to  us.  In  grateful 
appreciation  we  decorate  your  graves  every  year — we  .speak  of  you  as  of  dear 
beloved  members  of  our  own  families,  and  the  numerous  monuments  and 
tablets  erected  upon  this  field  to  your  memory  will  proclaim  to  coming  genera- 
tions that  here  upon  this  field  the  unity  of  a  great  nation  was  cemented  l)y 
your  blood;  that  here  upon  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  a  new  Keystone  was  in- 
serted in  the  magnificent  structure  of  American  liberty  bv  the  heroism  and 


408  Pennsylvariui  at  (rettyshurg. 

Kacrifice  ol'  her  sons,  and  in  mute  admiraiiou  will  coming  generations  cherish 
and  revere  the  memory  of  that  Titan  race  M'hich  here  secured  the  greatest 
triumph  to  liberty  and  humanity,  a  government  system  of  the  people,  for  the 
people,  and  by  the  i)e(iple. 

And  now,  my  friends  and  comrades,  we  will  deliver  this  monument  to  the 
Memorial  Battle-tield  Association,  whose  charge  it  will  be  to  preserve  it.  l/Ct 
a  benediction  of  heaven  fall  upon  the  heioes  of  186:>,  and  when  tlie  last  of  the 
boys  in  blue  shall  have  descended  from  the  stage  of  this  life,  and  the  ranks  of 
the  Grand  Army  have  vanished  from  our  sight,  then  children  and  children's 
children  will  twine  wreaths  of  garlands  around  this  stone  and  the  babe  upon 
the  mother's  lap  will  be  taught  to  lisp  the  story  of  how  and  why  their  grand- 
Kires  have  fought  here. 


ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PART  TAKEN'  BY  THE  SEVENTY-FIFTH  REG- 
IMENT PENN.SYLV.ANIA  VOLUNTEERS  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF 
GETTYSBURG,  JULY  i,  2  AND  3,  1863,  ^'^  H.  NACKTIGALL. 

r\  "^HE  Seventy-fifth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  oi' the  iSecouiJ  Bri- 
I  gade.  Third  Division,  Eleventh  Corps,  having  bivouacked  at  Emmits- 
I  burg,  Maryland,  broke  camp  early  on  the  morning  of  July  1,  with  or- 
ders to  march  to  Gettysburg.  Having  arrived  within  live  miles  of  that 
town,  further  orders  were  received  to  advance  at  double-(iuick.  the  First  Corps, 
Major-General  Reynolds,  having  encountered  and  engaged  the  enemy.  Tlie 
regiment  upcni  reaching  Gettysburg,  marched  through  the  town,  and  from  its 
northern  extremity  proceeded  in  a  norlheastei'ly  direction  in  the  proximity  of 
the  county  almshouse  to  the  west  .side  of  the  Carlisle  road,  where  it  took  up 
its  position,  its  left  wing  leaning  on  the  right  of  the  Eighty-second  Ohio  Regi- 
ment. Before  the  regiment  reached  that  position  it  lost  its  colonel,  Francis 
Mahler,  who  had  fallen  mortally  wounded  and  been  taken  to  the  field  hospital 
where  he  died  on  the  morning  of  July  5.  Lieutenant  Hauschild.  formerly  a 
resident  of  Gettysburg,  was  also  killed,  after  having  received,  but  a  short  time 
previous,  while  manihing  with  the  regiment  through  the  town,  from  the  win- 
dows the  salutations  of  his  friends  and  former  fellow  citizens.  It  was  about 
half-past  one  o'clock  when  the  regiment  reached  tlie  aforesaid  position,  and 
was  for  several  hours  severely  pressed  by  the  enemy  who  appeared  in  outnum- 
bering forces  from  the  north  and  west,  while  at  the  .same  time  it  was  subjected 
to  the  intense  cannonading  ol'  several  well-posted  Confederate  batteries,  until,  on 
account  of  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  the  comparatively  small  Eleventh 
Corps  by  the  enemy,  the  order  for  retreat  was  given.  Unconscious  of  the  danger 
to  be  flanked  and  captured,  the  Seventy-fifth  Regiment  reluctantly  obeyed, 
and  not  any  too  soon,  for,  in  order  to  obtain  a  place  of  safety,  garden  femnss 
bad  to  be  torn  down,  .since  all  the  roads  and  avenues  were  already  in  the  pos- 
session of  tlie  enemy.  Of  the  wild  di.sorderly  retreat  the  Eleventh  Corps  has 
maliciously  been  accused,  the  Seventy-fifth  Regiment  at  least  was  not  guilty  : 
on  the  contrary,  thanks  to  the  collected  forethought  of  Major  A.  Ledig,  who, 
as  the  senior  ollicer,  had  succeeded  Colonel  Mahler  in  the  command,  the  regi- 
ment retreated  in  good  order.  After  passing  througli  the  town,  it  was  assigned 
itH  new  po.siti«tn  upon  the  plateau  of  Cemetery   Hill  which  lorms  the  northern 


iNfAMTFlv. 


OTO.     Ry    W.    H,    TIPTON,    GCTTV5BURG. 


IINT  :   THE    F.    GUTEKUN8T    CO.,  PMILA. 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty shurff.  409 

cxtrnnily  of  tin;  ruigc  of  th<^  same  iiaine,  wliere  it  reiiuiined  <luring  the  course 
of  the  battle.  In  the  eugageincnt  of  the  first  day,  it  siillered  a  loss  of  fifty-five 
per  cent.  No  other  regiment  in  the  Eleventh  thorps  met  with  a  similar  loss. 
Owing  to  the  gallant  conduct  of  the  Seventy-liftli  Regiment,  the  advance  of  the 
enemy  was  checked,  euabling  (ieneral  von  Steinwehr.  whose  military  eye  had 
at  once  recognized  the  great  advantage  of  snch  a  jjosition  as  (Jemetery  Hill,  to 
jK)st  his  batteries  and  fortify  himself.  The  wisdon.  of  thismeasure  sooii  became 
evident,  as  Cemeter}^  Hill  proved  the  key  of  the  Federal  army  during  the  battle, 
5uid  had  the  Eleventh  and  First  .Vrniy  Corps  done  nothing  else  during  the  en- 
tire course  of  the  battle  than  to  maintain  that  position,  it  would  have  covered 
itself  with  undisputable  glory.  In  the  night  of  the  .second  day  of  the  battle 
the  Eleventh  Corps  was  siirjjri.sed  y)y  an  attack  of  tlu^  Louisiana  Tigers  on  the 
northeastern  declivity  of  the  hill,  which  resulted  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter 
in  which  the  Tigers,  who  never  before  had  met  with  defeat,  were  disastrously 
l»eaten  and  routed. 

The  following  were  the  casualties  of  the  Seventy-fifth  Kegimeut  at  the  Gettys- 
burg battle:  Killed,  three  officers  and  sixteen  men  ;  wounded,  five  officers 
and  eighty-four  men  :  missing  or  captured,  three  men  :  total,  one  hundred  and 
eleven. 


DEDICATION    OF    MONUMENT 

81"^  REGIMENT    INFANTRY 

September  12,  1889 
ORATION    OF   CAPTAIN   HARRY    WILSON 

MR.  President,  comrades  of  the  Eighty -first  Pennsylvania  and  friends: — 
In  almost  all  human  lives,  even  the  most  commonplace  that  have 
reached  maturity  and  responsibility,  there  occur  circumstances,  and 
happen  events,  unforeseen,  unexpected  it  may  be,  but  which  have  so 
important  a  bearing  and  influence  upon  those  lives  as  to  become  startling  epochs; 
which  stand  out  prominently,  marking  them  with  a  distinctness  that  can 
be  felt  like  iron  that  has  been  broken  and  welded  together  ;  like  hard  tangle 
knots  in  the  otherwise  smooth  and  even  thread  of  life. 

Assembled  upon  the  famous  battle-ground  made  sacred  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  by  a  baptism  of  blood  and  .sacrifice  of  precious  life  on  the  altar  of  liberty, 
and  now  sanctified  by  a  nation's  preservation  and  a  nation's  gratitude  ;  assem- 
bled to  dedicate  this  beautiful  tribute — a  lasting  memorial  to  the  dead  heroes 
who  fought  and  fell,  and  arose  not  again  to  behold  the  flying  foe  and  feel  the 
thrill  of  victory  or  imrticipate  in  the  after  blessings  of  peace  secured  and  the 
Union  perpetuated,  it  is  highly  appropriate,  my  comrades,  to  speak  of  some  of 
tliose  events  of  the  past  which  wo  shared  with  them  and  with  each  other. 

Feeling  down  along  the  thread  of  life  twenty-eight  years  ago,  we  come  to  the 
greatest  event  which  up  to  that  time  had  marked  their  lives  and  yours  and 
mine.  A  mighty  knot  in  the  life  history  of  the  nation.  A  terriblejumble  and 
tangle,  and  culmination  of  di.scordaut  elements  into  one  fearful,  sudden,  hor- 
rifying realization  —  War!  "Grim  vi.saged  war,"  with  hideous  and  defiant 
front,  was  on  us  :    and  from  Fort  Sumter  the  roar  of  cannon  like  an  electric 


410  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

shock  boomed  out  the  story  ol'  insult  to  our  country's  banner  and  reliellion  to 
our  country's  hiw.  How  loud  !  how  portentous  !  No  after  cannonading  in  all 
the  war,  not  even  the  four  hundred  guns  of  Gettysburg  pouring  out  their  con- 
tents at  one  time  seemed  half  so  loud  as  those  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sum- 
ter and  Major  Anderson's  noble  defense.  Along  the  coast  northward  it  roiled, 
bounding  from  wave  to  wave,  and  all  the  seaports  from  Maryland  to  Maine 
hoard  it  as  it  passed,  and  sent  it  on  its  way  with  howls  of  indignation  and  curses 
loud  and  deep.  The  waves  flung  it  to  the  mountains  ;  and  whirling  around 
the  rugged  peaks,  and  sweeping  down  the  valleys,  and  screaming  through  the 
chasms,  the  mountains  sent  it  spinning  on  —  a  national  cyclone — across  the 
plains  and  prairies,  and  up  along  the  lakes,  till  striking  the  Rockies  on  its 
westward  way,  with  one  wild  bound  the  war  cloud  leaped  the  intervening 
space  and  burst  with  fearful  and  furious  import  upon  the  Pacific  slopes. 

With  what  result  ?  Why,  down  from  the  mountain  and  up  from  the  valley, 
in  from  the  field  and  out  from  the  factory  there  came 

"  The  heroes  of  the  north 

Who  swelled  that  grand  array. 
And  rushed  like  mountain  eagle  forth 

From  happy  homes  away." 

It  required  but  the  call  of  the  President  and  the  quota  was  filled.  And  when 
Mr.  Lincoln  saw  the  need  of  more  forces  and  made  a  second  call,  the  tide  came 
pouring  in,  singing  on  their  way: 

"  We  are  comingr  Father  Abraham,  six  hundred  thousand  more.'" 

Among  them  were  those  who,  joining  together,  were  designated  the  Eighty- 
first  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  What  a  change  I  what  an  e])Och  in 
one's  life!  Enlisted.  Law-abiding  citizens  of  peaceful  pursuits  and  quiet 
home  lives.  Enlisted  I  What  for  ?  to  fight,  and  if  need  be  to  die,  in  the  cause 
of  our  country. 

Four  companies  of  the  regiment  came  from  the  counties  of  Carbon  and  Lu- 
zerne, among  which  were  some  of  you.  You  dropped  your  tools  in  the  mines 
and  laid  aside  your  caps  and  lamps  to  imt  on  the  paraphernalia  of  war.  Some 
of  you  dropped  the  hoe  and  rake  in  the  field  and  left  the  plow  in  the  furrow, 
and  bade  adieu  to  the  old  homestead  to  seize  a  musket  and  cartridge  box,  to 
tramp  in  battle  line  o'er  fields  of  carnage,  and  make  furrows  in  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy.  From  Mauch  Chunk,  Lehightou,  Weatherly,  Lausford,  Summit  Hill 
and  a  score  of  towns  and  villages,  you  followed  your  leaders,  Captain  Stroh. 
Company  G;  (afterwards  lieutenant-colonel).  Captain  Harkness,  Company  H 
(afterward  major)  ;  Captain  Conner,  Company  I  ;  Captain  Foster,  Companj-  K  ; 
you  met  six  companies  of  us  from  Philadelphia,  who  in  like  manner  with  you 
laid  our  planes  upon  the  bench,  dropped  the  hammer  and  trowel,  threw  down 
our  pens,  shut  up  our  ledgers  and  turning  our  backs  on  yard-stick  and  scales, 
from  store  and  mill  and  shop,  aye,  some  of  us  mere  boys  from  the  .school  room, 
and  following  our  leaders,  Ca])tain  Schuyler,  Company  C  ;  Captain  Alexander, 
Company  A  ;  Captain  Trump,  Comi)any  B  ;  Captain  Sherlock,  Com])any  I)  ; 
Captain  William  Wilson,  Company  E  (afterward  colonel),  and  Captain  Lee, 
Company  F  :  we  met  you  and  organized  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  under  the 
following  regimental  staff  officers  :  Colonel  James  ISIiller,  a  distinguished 
soldier  of  the  Mexican  war  ;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Charles  F.  Johnson,  Major 
Eli  T.  Conner,  Burgeon  William  A.  Gardiner,  Adjutant  H.  Boyd  McKeen, 
and  Chaplain  Stacy  Wilson,  your  speaker's  honored  father. 


PeiDisyivania  (d  Geffyshnrtj.  411 

Together  you  formed  a  regiment  of  over  nine  hundred  .strong  eft'ective  men 
•with  brave  hearts,  who  were  willing  to  give  uj)  the  social  joys  of  home,  the 
comforts  of  life,  the  companionship  of  beloved  wives,  children,  parents,  brotliers, 
sisters,  friends,  and  go  forth  to  endure  the  privation  and  exposure  of  a  soldier's 
life — the  weary  march,  the  pelting  storm,  the  lonely  picket  watch,  tlie  smoke 
and  roar  and  flame  of  battle,  and  almost  certain  death  in  a  tliousand  horril)le 
forms — it  was  a  turn,  an  event,  an  epoch  in  your  lives  which  left  its  mark — ■ 
alas  how  few  remain  to  speak  of  it. 

In  the  spring  of  1862,  the  great  Second  Army  Corps  was  organized,  and  the 
Eighty-first  Pennsylvania  Regiment  was  assigned  to  General  O.  O.  Howard's 
First  Brigade  of  General  Richardson's  First  Division;  and  from  this  time  until 
the  close  of  the  war  at  Appomattox  Court  Hoase,  the  track  of  the  Eighty -first 
Pennsj'lvania  Volunteers  was  a  track  of  suflering  and  of  blood.  If  I  under- 
stand the  significance  of  this  monument  and  the  intention  of  the  State,  Gettys- 
burg is  selected  as  a  representative  battle-field,  becau.se  of  its  magnitude  and 
importance  in  the  history  of  the  war,  and  its  being  located  within  the  limits  of 
the  State,  which  is  eminently  proper;  but  that  memorial  monument,  that  crown 
of  the  victor's  glory,  that  token  of  a  country's  loving  gratitude,  is  erected  and 
dedicated  in  honor  of  every  Eighty-first  Regiment  Penn.sylvania  soldier  who 
fought  dutifully  or  fell  heroically  on  any  battle-field  of  the  late  war — aye, 
whether  he  sleeps  in  an  unknown  grave,  or  cemetery  lot,  or  yonder  national 
burying  ground. 

And  now,  comrades,  I  would  that  I  had  the  voice  of  a  trumpet  and  a  sil- 
ver tongue  that  lor  once  something  like  justice  might  be  done  to  the  record  of 
a  regiment,  which  for  some  reason  has  never  received  that  public  recognition 
which  it  merited.  It  may  have  been  owing  to  the  fact  that  our  first  Colonel 
Miller  (killed  at  Fair  Oaks)  and  his  successor  Colonel  Conner  (killed  at  Mal- 
vern Hill),  and  Major  Harkness,  desperately  wounded  twice  and  disabled,  and 
other  successors  in  the  field  and  staif,  were  resident  and  more  particular!  v 
known  in  counties  outside  of  Philadelphia,  and  consequently  did  not  receive 
the  notice  of  the  press,  as  did  those  regiments  which  were  commanded  by  men 
of  political  influence  or  of  large  acquaintance  in  the  city. 

Some  of  you  comrades,  were  with  the  regiment  from  1861  to  1865.  How 
eagerly  the  papers  were  read  with  a  true  soldier's  pride.  What  a  thrill  of  in- 
spiration in  the  consciousness  that  it  was  known  at  home  that  we  did  our  duty 
in  the  part  a.ssigned  us.  But  I  ask  you  to-day,  under  the  shadow  of  this  monu- 
ment, do  you  remember  in  all  that  four  years,  ever  seeing  anything  in  the 
papers  especially  commendatory  of  our  commanding  officers  and  our  Iwys? 

Well,  behold  that  monument  and  rejoice  at  last,  for  the  old  Keystone  State 
speaks  to-day  and  her  praises  are  carved  in  the  solid  granite.  You  have  waited 
patiently  and  are  rewarded  at  last.  And  perhaps  it  is  all  the  better.  You  are 
not  open  to  the  charge  as  a  regiment  of  having  had  your  ordinary  soldierly 
conduct  magnified  into  deeds  of  undue  importance;  your  light  brushes  and 
skirmishes  with  the  enemy  into  sanguinary  battles  .so  overdrawn  that  an  honest 
participant  would  scarcely  recognize  the  picture. 

But,  comrades,  while  we  did  not  begrudge  the  praise  that  was  lavished  upon 
other  regiments,  yet  it  was  somewhat  aggravating,  that  where  our  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded  was  far  in  excess,  to  be  comparatively  unnoticed.  Colonel  H. 
Boyd  McKeen,  who  had  advanced  from  the  position  of  adjutant  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  regiment,  and  who  fell  while  gallantly  leading  a  brigade  in  a 


412  J'c-ansylvanid  at  Gettyfihurg. 

charge  at  Cold  Harbor — lie  was  a  I'hiladelphian,  and  had  led  the  legiinent  into 
many  a  battle.  But  he  stood  on  his  merits  alone,  and  with  becoming  moilesty, 
and  the  true  instincts  ot  a  gentleman,  scorned  the  devious  methods  of  paid  coi- 
respondence,  or  to  seek  even  the  notice  that  was  his  due,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  our  other  various  c^>mmanders.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  with  six 
companies  from  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  yet  the  n^giment  is  scarcely  known  to 
have  had  an  existence. 

Bear  in  mind  that  it  was  one  of  the  liist  regiments  of  the  First  Brigade  of 
the  First  Division  of  the  old  fighting  Second  Corps:  "  that  corps  which  was 
always  in  the  front  and  maintained  its  existence  unbroken  from  1861  to  1865: 
tliat  corps  which  in  fair  fight  with  Lee's  great  army  had  captured  forty -four 
Confederate  flags  ere  first  it  lost  a  color  of  its  own,  that  corps  which  under  the 
command  of  Sumner,  Couch,  Hancock,  Warren  and  Humphreys — illustriou.s 
roll-  -left  nearly  tbrty  thousand  men  killed  and  wounded  upon  the  battle-fields 
of  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  I 

''That  corps  among  who.se  generals  of  divisions  were  numbered  Sedgwick. 
Richardson,  Howard,  French.  Barlow,  Birney,  Mile.s,  Mott,  Gibbon,  Webb  and 
Alexander  Hays;  the  corps  which  crossed  tlie  Chickahominy  to  the  rescue  of 
the  beaten  left  at  Fair  Oaks — which  made  the  great  assault  at  Marye's  Heights, 
Fredericksburg;  that  corps  on  which  fell  the  fury  of  Longstreet's  mighty  charge 
at  Gettysburg;  which  was  the  rear  guard  in  that  delicate  change  of  position 
and  fought  its  way  through  the  intercepting  lines  of  the  enemy  at  Auburn  and 
Bristoe;  that  corps  which  stormed  the  .salient  at  Spotsylvania,  opened  the  bat- 
tle on  the  left  at  Petersburg,  swept  down  on  and  outflanked  the  enemy's  posi- 
tion at  Five  Forks,  and  which  at  Farmville  fought  the  last  infantry  battle  of 
the  war  against  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,''  and  out  of  that  battle  of  the 
Eighty-tir.st  Pennsylvania  Regiment  escaped  of  those  who  were  present — -Colo- 
nel William  Wilson,  Captain  ,Iames  B.  McKinley,  one  other  officer,  thirty-six 
men  and  the  colors. 

We  are  proud  of  the  record  and  the  connection,  and  we  stand  here  to-day  to 
challenge  a  comparison  of  the  actual  facts  with  any  regiment  of  our  glorious 
State  of  Peimsylvania,  or  any  other  State;  not  in  any  jealous  or  censorious 
spirit  which  makes  compari.sons  odious,  but  simply  as  a  matter  of  friendly 
rivalry  and  in  the  interests  of  justice  to  all.  liemember,  for  four  years  it  fol- 
lowed steadily  the  fortunes  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  sharing  its  perils  un- 
complainingly, enduring  its  hard.ships  cheerfully,  performing  its  duties  faith- 
fully. Was  there  a  desperate  "charge  bayonet''  to  make  ?  The  Eighty -first 
was  generally  a.ssigned  a  place  in  the  advance  (tolunm.  Was  there  a  forlorn 
hope  to  be  undertaken,  involving  the  probable  death  of  every  participator? 
There  is  .scarcely  a  comrade  here  among  the  .survivors  but  I  have  seen  him  pin 
his  name  on  his  knapsack  as  a  memento  to  wife  or  children,  sweetheart  or  friend, 
aye  more  than  once.  Was  any  part  of  the  line  pressed  and  needing  lielp  ?  1 
have  seen  yon  deliberately  take  the  knapsack  from  your  backs,  containing  tli«^ 
few  precious  love-tokens  from  home,  to  which  you  had  clung  througli  many  a 
weary  march,  and  deliberately  fling  it  away,  tliat,  unincumbered,  you  might 
carry  youi-  extra  cartridges,  and  double-quick  it  for  two  miles  on  astretcli,  close 
up  the  gap  and  lialting  on  a  run,  ojien  fire  on  the  enemy  to  his  astonishment 
and  defeat.  I  have  seen  you  march  through  mud  ankle  deoji,  all  day  long  and 
away  into  the  night  under  beating  rain  to  reach  the  enemy.  I  have  seen  you 
in  liiu'  of  battle  all  night  long  with  ordei,^  to  buihl   no  fires  that  would   betray 


Priiv.sylvania  af   (retfy.sfmr(f.  413 

our  position;  (lif>  only  protectiou  around  you  a  (!ol(i  {>iim  blanket,  while  tlio 
snow  and  sleet  .smote  your  faces,  froze  on  your  beards,  and  the  barrel  of  your 
inverted  musket  glistened  witli  ice  in  the  darkness.  1  have  seen  you  when;  it 
was  impossible  for  the  coininis.sarv  departnuMit  to  got  rations  to  the  front,  far- 
ing for  three  days  on  three  hard-tack,  marching,  building  breast-works,  pluck- 
ing at  the  grass  and  snatching  at.  the  leav(!s  to  chew  them  if  perchanc^e  tliere 
might  be  substance  to  give  you  strength  to  go  on.  I  have  seen  you,  lor  weeks 
together,  the  only  water  you  had  to  drink  or  make  coffee  out  of,  nasty  nau- 
seating hot  yellow  oak-leaf  swamp  water,  which  you  knew  was  causing  us  every 
day  to  beat  the  funeral  march  behind  a  comrade  at  the  rate  of  one  a  day  and 
we  laid  him  nwny  in  his  grave  perchance  half  filled  with  the  water  that  had 
killed  him.  And  yet  you  were  cheerful.  In  the  name  of  God,  comrades,  would 
any  one  of  you  be  willing  to  go  through  it  all  again  for  the  whole  surplus  in 
the  United  States  Treasury  as  a  hireling — so  much  for  the  job?  No,  comrades, 
but  you  did  it  cheerfully  and  with  self-sa(aiticing  devotion  to  the  j)atriotic  prin- 
ciples which  had  been  sealed  with  the  blood  and  sulferingsof  our  revolutionary 
forefathers  and  handed  down  as  a  precious  heritage.  "  The  Union  forever,  one 
and  inseparable,"  "  if  any  man  attempt  to  pull  it  down  (the  stars  and  stripes) 
shoot  him  on  the  spot; "'  and  yon  did  so  and  got  through  successfully,  and  to- 
day, standing  beside  this  monument,  on  the  very  ground  once  plowed  with  a 
perfect  tempest  of  shot,  atid  shell,  and  grape,  and  canister,  and  minie-balls, 
marked  with  your  foot-steps  in  the  struggle,  stained  with  your  very  blood-  ah, 
'tis  your  joy  to-day,  as  you  cast  your  eyes  to  the  top  of  yonder  flag  pole  tower- 
ing up  ;ibove  the  cemetery  of  sleej)ing  heroes  (-whose  spirits  may  perchance 
thi.s  moment  mingle  with  us),  and  southward,  to  the  proud  cities  of  the  rebel- 
lion; and  to  Richmond,  the  Confederate  capital,  and  to  the  grand  old  dome  at 
Washington,  and  floating  over  every  noble  institution  of  our  glorious  Union,  f 
.sjjy  it  is  our  joy  to  know  and  sing  to-day — 

"Our  fiag-  is  there,  our  flag  is  there,  we  hail  it  with  three  loud  huz/.uhs. 
Our  Hag  is  there,  our  flag  is  there,  we  greet  the  sight  with  glad  applause." 

But  it  has  left  its  mark  upon  you.  We  look  in  each  other's  faces,  many  of 
us  for  the  (irst  time  in  a  quarter  of  a  century.  How  marked  the  change. 
Robust,  in  your  young  and  vigorous  manhood,  or  in  the  early  prime  of  life 
then — alas,  now  prematuiely  old.  wrinkled,  gray  and  weather-beaten  all  the 
more  by  that  early  disablement;  not  all  the  government  millions  of  surplus 
can  restore  that  .strong  right  arm,  replace  that  sturdy  limb,  bring  back  the  ner- 
vous energy  and  vital  forces,  or  displace  the  aches  and  pains  pertaining  to 
malarial  and  rheumatic  disea.ses — and  yet,  should  any  of  you  be  in  circumstances 
of  distress  and  incapacity  to  earn  a  comfortable  living,  God  pity  you  if  you  have 
no  hospital  record  uyion  which  to  base  your  claims.  The  incompleteness  of  our 
pension  legislation  makes  it  po.ssible,  by  perjury  if  you  will,  to  seizure  at  le:ist 
the  monstrous  sum  of  from  twt)  to  eight  dollars  per  month. 

And  right  here  we  want  to  lift  up  our  voice,  and  on  the  dignity  and  in  he- 
half  of  all  true  soldiers,  put  down  our  foot  on  and  detu)unceand  protest  against 
any  legislation,  any  measures  for  a  soldier's  benefit,  either  now  or  in  the  time 
to  come,  entitled  as  was  a  recent  bill  presented  for  consideration  (comeclo.ser 
comrades,  let  me  whi.sper  it  le.st  yonder  dead  turn  in  their  graves;  lest  the  God- 
dess on  the  National  Monument  hear  it  and  drop  that  laurel  wreath,  and  the 
crimson  of  shame  burn  on  her  marble  cheek)    -a  "pauper  pension  bill  !" 

But  to  resume.  How  little  we  knew  of  war  in  the  beginning  <jf  tho.se  lour 
years  of  struggle. 


414  Pennsylvania  at  Getfyslmrg. 

How  crude  our  i<leas.  Do  you  remember  the  fears  ol'ttimes  expressed  with 
deep  coiiceru,  when,  at  Camp  California,  near  Alexandria,  Virginia,  in  1861, 
when  the  news  of  an  imi)ortaut  victory  reached  us  from  the  Avest  or  southeast  ? 
"  There  !  do  you  hear  that  ?  Just  what  I  have  been  afraid  of — the  whole  thing 
•will  be  over  and  we  will  liave  to  go  home  without  getting  a  shot.'" 

Xiany  a  time  doubtless  you  have  smiled  as  you  read  with  the  eye  of  a  veteran, 
backed  with  the  experience  of  having  stood  your  ground  and  fired  upon  the 
enemy  at  short  range  until  your  musket  got  so  hot  and  foul  you  couldn't  drive 
a  bullet  down  the  barrel,  read  with  amusement  the  effusions  and  descriptions 
by  letter,  of  that  earlier  time.  All  in  expectation  of  something  terrible  and 
startling — we  knew  not  what — the  imagination  wrought  the  most  trifling  thiugs 
into  shapes  marvelous.  For  instance;  a  letter  in  my  possession  of  that  time 
with  due  soberness  relates:  "It  is  generally  believed  that  a  spy  was  in  our 
camp  last  night,  for,  at  a  very  late  hour,  .somebody  was  distinctly  heard  to  have 
tripped  over  the  captain's  tent-rope." 

Our  first  experience  in  effective  duty  (comical,  but  pleasing  to  recall  at  this 
late  day),  that  expedition  to  Marlboro,  to  guard  the  polls  at  an  election.  Not 
a  rebel  soldier  perhaps  within  twenty  miles,  but  Ave  had  out  our  picket  line  all 
the  same.  In  the  middle  of  the  night,  "bang"  went  the  pickets'  portentous 
gun.     "Fall  in,"    "fall  in.''     Great  excitement. 

'■  Drummers  I  beat  the  long  roll."  We  climbed  up  shivering  to  the  right, 
not  knowing  preciselj'  what  the  long  roll  meant,  but  hammered  the  sheepskin 
with  I'rightful  vengeance  keeping  time  with  our  teeth.  Kather  a  cool  and  frosty 
night,  but  with  surprising  (juickness  the  boys  tumbled  into  line,  and  present- 
ing a  beautiful  picture  of  parade  in  undress  uniform.  The  longer  the  enemy 
put  oft"  coming,  the  more  anxious  Ave  became  to  meet  him.  On  examination  it 
Avas  found  that  a  stray  pig  had  wandered  too  close  to  a  green  picket,  who,  hear- 
ing the  sound  (not  knoAving  but  it  might  be  a  rebel),  levelled  his  gun,  and 
doubtless  with  heart  in  his  mouth,  hair  on  end  and  eyes  shut,  "let  her  go." 
Further  examination  and  in.spection  in  the  morning  developed  the  fact,  by  con- 
clusive proof,  that  the  i)icket's  firing  Avasnot  entirely  ineffective,  though  the  pig 
escaped. 

So,  it  would  be  j)leasant  to  go  on  by  the  hour  recalling  the  education  and  de- 
velopment, and  hoAv  it  gradually  dawned  on  us  Avhat  actual  war  meant,  and 
hoAV  anything  but  laughable  it  Avould  become  to  have  atAventy-four-pound  shell 
playfully  to  burst  itself  in  one's  Aery  arms.  Ah  !  there  were  to  be  many  fear- 
ful experiences  and  Aveary  hardships,  making  hard  knots  in  all  your  individual 
lives,  before  you  obtained,  through  discipline  and  suffering,  the  hardened,  per- 
sistent, unfaltering  courage  to  constitute  a  thorough  veteran.  Very  fcAv  of  you. 
ray  comrades,  but  feel  the  tAvinge  of  more  than  one  knotty  place  left  on  your 
person  where  the  minie  ball,  canister  .shot  or  piece  of  shell  cut  you  doAvn,  to 
crawl  or  be  dragged  away  only  to  return  when  recovered,  and  be  cut  doAvn 
again.  .\nd  hundreds  of  others  of  our  comrades,  .some  in  almo.st  every  battle 
i'ought  by  the  Second  (,'ori)s,  closed  their  eyes  and  sunk  doAvn  all  in  a  bloody 
heap;  the  thread  of  tlieir  liA-es  abriiptly  broken  off;  their  battle  ended  forever. 

Listen  to  this  record  of  the  Eighty-lir.st  Pennsylvania  Veteran  Keginient.  as 
published  in  Jiates'  history,  and  produce  il  you  can  more  honorable. 

Of  the  colonel's  stalf  and  field  officers,  four  killed,  five  Avounded,  two  died 
of  di.seH,se  and  one  ])risoner,  and  of  those  Avouuded,  it  .should  be  added,  Avounded 
two  or  three  tin)es.  as  was  Colonel  Wilson.  Major  Ilarkness,  or  as  Colonel  Mc- 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg,  415 

Keeu,  who  was  wouudcd  b:ully  in  three  different  battles,  to  return  and  be  killed 
in  another. 

Of  the  line  officers,  of  which  it  only  takes  thirty  to  supply  the  ten  companies 
of  a  regiment,  fourteen  were  killed  outright,  one  of  them  with  seven  bullets 
through  him  and  many  with  two  and  three.  And  as  others  were  promoted  to 
fill  the  vacancies,  forty  were  wounded,  and  it  was  a  common  thing  for  bot  '(jf- 
ficers  and  men  to  come  out  of  a  single  light  with  several  wounds,  and  numbf^rs 
of  these  also  died  afterwards  from  the  effects  of  their  woimds. 

Of  the  rank  and  file,  though  there  were  in  all  some  fifteen  hundred  names 
enrolled,  not  more  than  about  twelve  hundred  men  actually  reached  the  front 
and  got  into  actual  engagement. 

Of  these,  two  hundred  and  one  were  killed  outright  ;  five  hundred  and  six- 
teen wounded,  many  of  which  afterward  proved  latal  ;  one  hundred  and  fifty - 
two  were  made  prisoners  of  war,  many  of  whom  died  at  Libby  or  Andersonville 
prisons,  and  seventy-nine  died  of  disease.  Total  loss,  one  thousand  and  sixteen; 
and  here  is  a  little  band  of  survivors,  which  constitute  one-third  the  number 
perhaps  that  live  to-day  of  all  that  ma.ss  of  men  ! 

Where  is  the  record  of  any  regiment  that  fought  more  pitched  battles,  besides 
skirmishes,  than  this  one?  And  one  of  the  proudest  things  of  which  you  have 
a  right  to  rejoice,  my  comrades,  is  the  fact  that  though  in  the  front  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  the  Eighty-first  Pennsylvania  Regiment  never  lost  her  colors  ! 
On  the  contrary,  they  had  to  be  renewed  at  least  once,  and  we  think  twice, 
because  they  had  been  shot  away  till  but  a  star  or  two,  clinging  to  some  ragged 
stripes,  were  all  that  was  left.  Where  are  to  be  found  a  more  gallant  and  in- 
trepid band  of  officers  than  were  our  commanders,  from  Colonel  Miller  on  down 
to  Colonel  Billy  Wilson,  who  was  badly  wounded  at  Malvern  Hill,  Fredericks- 
burg, Spotsylvania,  and  narrowly  escaped  the  loss  of  his  life  in  one  of  the  last 
battles  of  the  war,  for  we  happened  to  be  looking  at  him  just  at  the  moment 
the  third  button  of  his  coat  was  snipped  off  his  breast  with  a  minie  ball,  and 
his  face  broadened  with  a  grin  of  approval. 

Heroes  !  prodigies  of  valor  I  deeds  of  daring  and  deliberate  sacrifice  of  life, 
which  have  never  been  heralded  by  writer,  nor  woven  into  jjoetic  rhythm,  nor 
told  in  .song,  nor  set  to  music  I  Where  can  be  found  a  grander  array  or  more 
numerous,  than  we  know  to  be  present  by  the  actual  history  of  our  dead  com- 
rades, the  officers,  and  especially  the  rank  and  file,  of  the  Eightj--first  Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment?  All  honor  to  them.  Never  was  a  monument  dedicated  to 
more  worthy  or  deserving  memories,  nor  served  to  perpetuate  more  sublime 
achievement  than  was  wrought  by  these  dead  heroes.  Delightful  it  would  be 
to  all  oi  us,  did  time  and  opportunity  permit,  to  take  up  the  theme  and  indi- 
vidually recount  their  deeds.  Reverently  would  we  speak  of  Colonels  Miller, 
Conner  and  McKeen.  Of  Sherlock,  McGee,  Vandyke,  Young,  Lee  and  Aydelott. 
Of  Samuel  Peters,  just  recovered  from  former  wounds,  returning  a  professed 
convert  from  his  former  gayeties,  through  reading-matter  furnished  in  the  hos- 
pital, bringing  with  him  a  haversack  full  of  tracts  and  manfully  distributing 
them  with  noble  words  to  his  astonished  comrades,  and  with  new  spirit  led 
his  company  to  the  enemy's  works,  and.  Avaving  his  sword,  fell,  shot  through 
the  heart. 

Of  Abbott,  Phillips  and  Uinder,  Patton,  Hawk,  Hoover,  Charlie  Wilson  and 
a  score  of  others.  And  perhaps  the  grandest  of  them  all,  our  noble  color-bearers, 
who  knew  and  looked  for  nothing  else  but  certain  death,  a  magnificent  list  of 


416  Pe.nnf<iilvanvi  at   (rcHyshurq. 

names,  worthj*  to  he  inscribed  ui)on  this  monunicrit.  Among  them  McHale, 
Davis,  Shiner,  Parkhill  and  Murray.  Ah,  some,  of  the  deeds  wrought  by  those 
men,  and  circumstances  attending,  contain  a  pathos  that  would  start  the  tears 
from  eyes  that  did  not  quail  at  the  cannon's  mouth.  Captain  Hackett,  Captain 
(Iraliain,  do  you  remember  the  lone  grave  we  digged,  while  we  were  only 
dniiniiuT  boys,  down  in  the  little  hollow  by  the  woodside.  for  Color-Bearer 
Kphraiui  Davis,  after  the  terrible  night-seem-  of  his  suiieriug  and  deatli  ?  With 
;iii  old  shovel  and  some  sharpened  (Macker-box  lids  we  made  the  excavation, 
and  wrapping  him  in  his  blanket  all  soaked  with  his  blood,  let  him  down,  oh, 
so  gently,  in  his  grave.  Then  laying  stones  and  lumps  of  earth  along  the  sides, 
we  placed  pieces  of  rough  boards  across  .so  the  falling  earth  might  not  strike 
his  honored  body.  And  we  cried  and  could  not  help  it  as  we  filled  the  grave, 
and  we  cut  his  name  deep  in  a  piece  of  cracker-box  lid  with  our  iiocket-knives, 
and  filled  the  letters  with  ink  to  make  them  plain,  and  planted  that  poor  tomb- 
stone at  his  head,  the  best  and  only  tribute  our  loving  hearts  and  willing  hands 
could  offer,  the  companion  of  our  youth,  but  little  older  than  ourselves,  a  mere 
boy  himself,  shot  through  and  through  the  body  while  carrying  the  colors. 

And  there  was  Color-Sergeant  .Tames  B.  Murray.  Where  ever  was  found  a 
nobler  specimen  of  patriotic  zeal,  a  more  deliberate  .sacrifice  of  life.  Wounded 
twice  and  returned  again  to  challenge  death  while  bearing  proudly  aloft  his 
country's  flag.  Three  days  he  remained  beyond  his  term  of  service,  which  had 
trauspired,  and  he  was  entitled  to  go  home  to  greet  the  preparation  being  made 
for  his  honorable  reception.  But  we  were  facing  the  enemy  at  Reams'  Station, 
and  he  declined  to  leave  his  comrades  in  face  of  a  battle.  Excused  by  the 
cokmel,  implored  by  his  comrades,  aye,  almost  by  force  stripped  of  his  accou- 
trements and  flag,  and  driven  to  the  rear,  he  goes  but  a  short  distance,  but  can- 
not break  away.  His  face  is  toward  home;  an  honorable  discharge  his  just 
deserts.  His  back  is  to  his  comrades  and  the  enemy.  Life,  honor,  home  are 
before  him  :  battle  and  possible  death  behind  him.  The  enemy  charges  our 
works  with  fearful  force.  Ten  thou.sand  demoniac  yells  rend  the  air.  See  ! 
see  I  the  gallant  Murray  cannot  endure  his  back  turned  for  this  first  time 
toward  the  foe,  and,  whirling  around,  he  plunges  through  the  .shower  of  lead 
and  seizing  a  dead  man's  musket  takes  his  place,  and  falls  beside  him,  shot 
through  the  head. 

And  there  was  Captain  .John  Bonil,  served  through  the  war.  and  now  in 
the  very  last  battle,  almost  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  could  have  surrendered 
and  had  life;  but,  shaking  hands  with  Comrades  Ward  and  Gallagher,  and  one 
other,  who  agreed  together  to  run  the  gauntlet  from  under  the  very  muzzles 
of  the  enemy's  guns,  who  had  overwhelmed  our  little  regiment,  and  there  was 
naught  to  do  but  yield  or  die.  "  Boys,"  said  he.  "  good-bye  ;  they  must  kill 
me  l>efore  they  tjike  me,''  and  in  ten  seconds  he  was  a  dead  man. 

And  we  must  speak  a  word  in  memory  of  Captain  Phil.  R.  Schuyler,  in  whose 
honor  Post  51  G.  A.  R.  is  named.  Hi.s  shoulder  terribly  mutilated  In*  a  large 
piece  of  burst  shell,  while  he  is  in  the  very  act  of  assisting  his  dying  friend 
Vandyke.  .Vnd  now  knowing  he  himself  must  also  die,  is  carried  to  the  rear. 
What  sublime  resignation  marked  his  death.  Several  of  his  comrades,  former 
associates  in  the  old  Summerfield  Methodist  chunih  choir  in  Philadelphia,  joined 
with  him  in  song  at  his  recjuest.  And,  leading  with  his  deep  ridi  voice,  in  the 
very  approach  of  death,  he  .sang  alone  as  of  old  the  bass  .solo  first  part  of — 
"Wattihman,  tell  us  of  the  aitfht,  what  its  sig-ns  of  promise  arc." 


Pennsylrania  at  Gettysburg.  417 

And  Iiis  comrades  answered  in  lull  harmony — 

"  Traveler,  o'er  yon  mountain's  height  see  the  glory  beaming  star." 
And  the  dying  Schuyler,  with  prophetic  vision,  saw  the  star  of  victory  lor  the 
Union  cause  rising  in  tlie  distance,  and  with  the  Christian's  eye  ol"  faith  saw  the 
".Star  ol  Bethlehem,"'  the  hope  of  his  salvation,  and  peacefully  committed  his 
soul  to  God. 

And  we  may  not  pass  by  that  phenomenon  of  nature,  Reddy  McHale.  That 
fearless  and  audacious,  freckled-face,  pug-nosed  country  boy  from  nobody  knows 
where.  That  careless  waif  who,  it  is  well  known  by  you  all,  was  deprived  of 
the  flag  in  time  of  parade  because  of  his  personal  appearance,  his  soiled  clothing, 
always  burned  round  the  heels  of  his  trousers,  his  uncombed,  uncut,  shaggy 
red  hair.  But  the  colors  were  always  regarded  safe,  if,  goinu  into  battle,  they 
were  in  Reddy's  hands.  Did  he  not,  amid  that  fearful  rain  of  lead  and  death, 
and  the  confusion  of  repulse,  not  only  bring  our  own  colors  off  the  held  of  Fred- 
ericksburg but  seeing  another  regiment's  colors  lying  beneath  several  men,  who. 
trying  to  rescue  them,  had  fallen  dead  upon  that  Hag,  deliberately  stopped  and 
pulled  the  colors  out  from  underneath  them  and  brought  oft' both  triumphantly? 

And  well  you  know,  comrades,  right  out  there,  not  fifteen  yards  from  where 
we  stand,  he  undertook  to  charge  that  stone  wall  alone  and  fell  shot  through 
the  heart.  And  so  we  might  go  on  by  hours,  not  only  in  honor  of  the  dead, 
but  equally  brave  deeds  were  done  by  the  living  ;  by  many  of  you,  my  com- 
rades, who  survive  and  are  here  to-day.  Comrade  Winter,  we  haven't  forgotten 
when  you,  with  others,  volunteered  to  drag  those  almost  surrendered  caissons 
loaded  with  ammunition,  out  from  the  enemy's  nose,  and  under  fearful  tire, 
and  you  did  it  well. 

So  we  would  like  to  pay  a  tribute  to  every  comrade  here,  as  to  those  who  fell 
at  their  post.  They  fought  gloriously,  fell  nobly,  and  are  not  forgotten.  Some 
lie  in  yonder  cemetery,  some  were  taken  to  their  homes  and  are  laid  in  the 
family  lot,  but  many  alas  lie  in  deep  trenches  on  other  battle-fields.  But 
wherever  they  are,  this  monument  perpetuates  their  memory.  A  grateful 
country  carries  them  all  close  to  her  warm  throbbing  heart. 

Of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  .so  much  has  been  written,  and  published,  and 
exhibited,  in  Rothermel's  celebrated  painting,  and  in  the  famous  Cyclorama, 
that  it  is  perhaps  the  most  familiar  and  widely  known  of  any  battle  that  ever 
transpired  in  the  history  of  the  world.  This  monument  is  erected  positively 
on  the  very  line  occupied  by  the  Eighty-first  Pennsylvania  on  the  second  day 
of  the  battle.  Briefly,  the  main  facts  are  as  follows:  Birney's  Division  of  the 
Third  Corps,  commanded  by  General  Sickles,  had  been  well  advanced  yonder 
to  the  south  and  west  toward  the  Emmitsburg  pike  and  Sherfy's  peach 
orchard.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  they  were  furiously  attacked  by 
the  Confederate  divLsious  of  Generals  Hood  and  McLaws.  General  Lee  had  de- 
termined to  outflank  or  break  through  the  Union  left,  and  had  extended  his 
line  well  around  our  left  toward  Round  Top.  Pender's  and  Anderson's  Con- 
federate divisions  were  thrown  forward  in  the  accumulating  assault.  Bark.s- 
dale,  with  the  Mississippians,  were  massed  at  the  peach  orchard.  General 
Warren,  with  a  portion  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  had  just  seized  Little  Round  Top  in 
time,  and  the  attack  came  on.  There  was  not  a  moment  to  spare.  Position 
well  secured  and  held  to-day,  determines  the  battle  to-morrow.  The  contest 
becomes  desjierate.     The  opi>o.sing  forces  are  too  powei'ful.     Tbe.y  swing  round 

27 


418  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

the  left  ol"  l)irney"s  Division  ami  come  rushing  up  the  valley.  Eleven  Con- 
I'eilerate  Walteiies  are  poumliugour  troops.  Barksdale's  Mi-ssissippians  broke 
through  Graham's  feeble  line.  McGilvery's  artillery  are  driven  out  and  the 
enemy  pour  round  in  rear  of  the  Union  troops. 

Sweitzer's  and  Tilton's  brigades  of  the  Fifth  Corps  are  hurried  forward  to 
Birney's  assistance,  but  are  overwhelmed  and  thrown  back,  and  for  a  time  all 
appears  to  be  lost.  At  this  moment  of  suspense  a  powerful  reinforcement  is 
appioaching.  Who  are  they  ?  It  is  the  division  which  Sumner  had  organized 
at  ("amp  California,  whicli  had  been  led  by  Richardson  and  Hancock,  com- 
manded to-day  hy  Caldwell.  The  scene  of  contest  is  this  field,  the  then  wheat- 
field  afterwards  so  famed  in  history  and  painting.  It  is  called  the  "  whirlpool 
of  the  battle  of  dettysburg."  The  woods  yonder  to  the  .south  and  west  were 
full  of  the  exultant  enemy. 

Says  Walker  in  his  history  :  '"  Across  this  space,  the  fiery  Cross  led  the  First 
Brigade,  composed  of  the  Eighty-first  Pennsylvania,  commanded  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Amos  Stroh,  Sixty-first  New  York,  Fifth  New  Hami)shire,  and  One 
hundred  and  forty-eighth  Pennsylvania,  but  he  moved  on  to  his  death.  Lead- 
ing his  well-approved  brigade  with  si)lendid  enthusiasm,  he  fell  mortally 
wounded  with  hundreds  of  his  men.  More  than  one-third  of  those  oft-deci- 
mated regiments  are  killed  and  wounded  before  the  brigade  is  brought  to  a 
stand,  but  at  last  they  are  checked  by  the  weight  of  withering  fire  from  the 
stone  wall  (that  very  stone  wall,  yonder,  comrades),  which  then  as  now,  lined 
the  further  edge  of  the  Avheatfield.  And  now  Brooke's  Brigade  advanced  from 
the  rear  to  our  relief  and  sup^jort,  and  the  position  is  held  and  secured  with 
the  loss  of  almo.st  half  our  eflective  strength,  the  ground  being  disputed  with 
a  stubbornness  seldom  equalled." 

That  is  what  Walker  says  of  us.  We  modestly  thank  him  for  telling  the 
story  for  us.  We  are  satisfied  to  take  our  share  of  honors  if  Ave  deserve  them, 
with  the  brigade.  We  don't  claim  to  have  fought  the  whole  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg, or  to  have  been  braver  or  Ibught  harder  than  others.  We  .simply  came 
with  a  stronger  force  to  the  support  of  those  who  were  being  overwhelmed  by 
a  superior  lorce  to  themselves,  took  our  ground  where  ordered,  stuck  there,  shot 
as  fast  as  we  could,  and  .simply  did  our  duty,  then,  as  before  and  afterward. 
The  loss  shows  that  every  third  man  who  was  in  the  fight  was  killed  or 
wounded. 

Of  General  Lee's  fatal  mistake,  and  Pickett's  fearful  charge  on  the  third  day 
of  the  battle,  all  are  familiar,  and  the  disastrous  results  to  the  enem^';  we  all 
recognized  the  lact  that  the  backbone  of  the  enemy  was  broken.  He  proved, 
however,  to  be  a  healthy  invalid  to  handle  afterward.  Indeed,  we  do  not  at 
all  feel  it  imi)rnper,  even  under  these  circum.stance.s,  to  express  our  admiration 
of  the  magniliccnt  courage  and  devotion  displayed  by  our  mistaken  brothersof 
the  south,  in  that  most  persistent,  steady,  brilliant  onward  voluntary  submis- 
.sion  to  slaughter,  never  excelled  for  fidelity  and  only  equalled  by  a  like  charge 
and  slaughtei'  of  the  Second  Array  Corps  at  Fredericksburg.  And  it  was  the 
Second  Corps  who  received  them  and  were  avenged. 

There  is  another  epoch  to  which  we  cill  your  attention,  which  marked  ;in- 
other  turn  in  your  lives,  one  more  agreeal)le.  It  was  the  moiiiing  of  the  9th 
of  April,  lH(i.").  In  the  front  line  of  battle  following  uj)  Lee's  retreating  army, 
was  the  little  r<'miiant  of  (he  Kighty-lirs)  Pennsylvania  Kcgiment.  The  .scene 
is  A]>pomattox  Cuurt  Hou.se.     The  line  (;!'  battle  was  formed  in  the  early  raoru- 


J''t'nNSf/lfanl(f.  at  G<iff/shHr(i.  419 

iug  arter  u  niiirch  of  mostof  Uu' night  previous.  The  mists  hiy  in  Ihe  valley 
bel'ore  us.  L'hased  away  hy  the  rising  .sun,  there  rose  on  our  view  a  conuuand- 
ing  ridge,  a  fine  position  lor  an  army  to  make  a  stand.  If  .so,  tho.se  heights  are 
to  be  taken.  That  means  another  eharge.  Tliat  means  strong  probability  of 
♦leath  before  that  sun  shall  set.  With  such  gloomy  i)rospects,  and  entirely 
unaware  of  the  facl  that  we  had  Lee  cut  off  on  the  other  side  Irom  further  re- 
treat, what  was  our  astonishment  when  General  Grant  rode  right  up  to  our  front 
lino  with  his  .staff,  and  called  for  our  division  baud  of  thirty-six  pieces.  Like 
men  in  a  dream  we  heard  the  command  to  "  march  by  the  flank,"  and  filed 
into  the  road.  What  can  it  mean?  Listen  !  "'The  star  spangled  banner," 
and  we  follow  the  general,  every  nerve  tingling  with  a  new  .sensation  and 
quivering  with  the  shock  of  sudden  transition.  Many  a  time  we  had  been 
fooled  with  dreams  of  home,  and  had  learned  to  distrust  them.  But  this  is 
certainly  real.  Listen  !  "The  red,  white  and  blue."  We  have  reached  the 
base  of  the  hill.  Lee's  .soldiers  are  at  the  top,  and  we  are  marching  up.  There 
is  no  cannonading,  no  leaden  hail,  no  death.  Perfect  silence  reigns  among 
the  men.  They  seem  to  glide  like  spectres,  each  man  absorbed  with  powerful 
and  dazzling  reflections.  But  the  music  goes  on — ''Hail  Columbia — happy 
land."  Around  the  hill  top  we  march.  The  Aveb  is  complete.  •'  Halt  I"  and 
the  .stipulations  of  Lee's  unconditional  surrender  are  read,  while  our  hearts 
l)eat  with  a  rapture  wliich  must  be  akin  to  that  of  entering  the  "  Golden  Gates.'' 
Comrades,  can  we  ever  forget  the  wild  joy  of  that  happy  hour? 

The  war  over — battles  ended  peace  secured  home  at  last.  And  following 
on  top  of  this  delicious  experience,  we  reach  the  city  of  Washington,  capital  of 
our  glorious  Union.  The  grand  review  and  reception  ol'  the  victorious  army  of 
the  North  is  the  order  of  the  day.  Alas,  there  is  only  one  painful  feature  con- 
nected with  it.  Our  dead  comrades,  our  dead  comrades,  who  shared  our  hard- 
tack and  canteen,  blanket  and  forage,  and  fell  by  our  side — they,  who  deserve 
it  most,  cannot  enjoy  it.  Oh,  that  they  might  be  here,  what  a  happy  day  ! 
The  commander-in-chief  and  the  great  men  of  the  nation  are  in  the  special 
stand  erected  for  them  to  review  the  passing  victors. 

Pennsylvania  avenue  is  packed  and  crowded.  .Seats  are  improvised  in  every 
po.ssible  form,  at  porches,  piazzas  and  windows,  until  it  appears  like  a  solid  sea 
of  faces  on  both  sides  from  curbstone  to  roof  top.  The  air  is  thick  with  wav- 
ing banners.  It  is  the  spring  time,  and  everybody's  hands  are  filled  with 
flowers.  The  atmo.sphere  is  impregnated  with  their  fragrance.  Fathers, 
mothers,  wives,  children,  friends  are  here,  and  have  brought  roses  to  shower 
on  the  honored,  the  beloved  veteran  coming  home  from  the  war  bringing  vic- 
tory with  him.  Was  there  ever  such  a  proud  day  ?  Bands  of  music  are  play- 
ing thrilling  national  airs  as  we  march.  On  we  go,  two  little  divisions  acro,ss 
that  avenue  in  line — all  that  could  be  got  from  every  quarter,  with  our  ra<'-- 
ged,  bullet-riveti  colors  still  waving  above  us,  stepping  time  to  the  music. 
Clapping  of  hands,  shouts  of  recognition,  cheers,  plaudits  of  welcome  greet  us 
on  every  side-  Hands  are  reached  out  to  us.  and  we  hear  our  names,  but  we  do 
not  stop.  Look  !  we  are  approaching  the  grand  stand,  the  conquering  chieftain 
is  there,  our  noble  lieutenant-general.  We  pass  under  triumphal  arches.  See, 
his  eye  is  on  us— he  knows  us  and  all  about  us:  the  signal  is  given,  the  drums 
roll  the  salute,  the  flag  is  dropped,  he  raises  his  hat  and  a  smile  lights  his  face. 
'•Present  arms."  And  every  sword's  point  is  lowered  and  every  musket 
brought  to  the  front  of  his  person  with  that  military  motion  of  .salnte,  and  we 
march  by  with  the  band  playing  "  Hail  to  the  chief."     The  review  is  over. 


420  l*eii)isiilrania  at  (reftysbuvfj. 

But  our  dead  comrades.  Is  tliere  no  part  for  them  ?  Ah,  yes,  wo  are  look- 
ing forward  to  auotlier  epoch,  in  wlii(!h,  jilease  God,  they'll  share. 

It  is  when  the  trunu)  shall  sound  and  the  dead  shall  arise  from  tlie  dust. 
''Verily  they  shall  have  their  reward."  May  it  not  be  .so,  may  it  not  be  so. 
comrades?  See,  the  old  Eighty-drst  gathering  together  again.  From  Fair 
Oaks  and  Malvern  Hill,  Antietam  and  Gettysburg,  Chancellorsville  and  Fred- 
ericksburg, shaking  of!"  their  dust  the  warriors  gather.  From  Wilderness  and 
Cold  Harbor,  Spotsylvania  and  Petersburg,  Bristoe  and  Farmville,  they  are 
coming  together;  the  souls  of  our  departed  comrades  and  commanders  for  the 
final  grand  review  and  reception  to  the  faithful,  in  the  eternal  city.  And  we 
too,  comrades,  if  we  are  faithful  to  the  sacred  dead,  and  to  ourselves,  and  to 
each  other,  and  to  God,  we  t-oo,  through  the  all  merciful  ^jrovision  of  the  lov- 
ing Father  may  join  the  grand  review,  when,  shoulder  toslioulder,  as  conquer- 
ing heroes,  we  may  march  the  chief  thoroughfare  of  tlie  New  Jerusalem,  the 
battle  of  life  ended  and  the  final  vi<;tory  won. 

And  while  the  bands  of  Heaven  plav^,  and  choirs  of  angels  sing;  with  the 
tianner  of  the  cross,  the  emblem  of  our  hope,  above  us;  treading  out  the  exotic 
sweetness  of  flowers  from  the  fields  of  Paradise,  may  we  receive  on  every  side  the 
greeting  and  welcome  of  the  loved  ones  there  awaiting  us;  and  marching  upiti 
grand  review  before  the  king  of  kings,  the  captain  of  the  world's  salvation, 
may  it  be  ours  to  see  His  smile,  and  hear  His  divine  plaudit  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servants,  enter  in  and  sit  down  on  my  right  hand,  gathered 
home  forever."     Amen;  so  let  it  be. 


DEDICATION   OF    MONUMENT 

82^  REGIMENT    INFANTRY 

June  13,  1888 
ADDRESS   OF    LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  JOHN  M.    WETHERILL 

FRIENDS  and  comrades: — The  people   of  Pennsylvania,   mindful  of  the 
services  of  her  soldier  sons,  have  ordered,  through  their  representatives, 
the  Legislature  and  the  Governor  of  the  State,  the  erection  of  monu- 
ments to  commemorate  their  deeds  upon  this  battle-field,  and  have  con- 
fided to  the  survivors  of  tho.se   who  fought  here  the  duty  of  selecting  the  form 
and  locating  the  place  upon  which  they  are  erected. 

In  accordance  with  this  trust,  Ave  are  assembled  to-day,  to  deliver  to^  the 
proper  authority  this  complete structuie,  erected  as  a  lasting  witness  and  testi- 
fying that  it  is  the  place  where  your  most  valuable  services  and  sacrifices  in 
this  battle  were  rendered  to  the  cause  of  our  country. 

For  the  purpose  of  handing  down  this  record  to  future  generations,  the  same 
organization  is  assembled  here  that  occu])ied  it  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 
But  how  (-hanged  !  Then  in  the  full  lilooni  of  active  manhood,  in  martial  array, 
with  l)anners  .streaming,  drums  beating,  with  bright  arms,  erect  1)earing,  and 
all  the  manly  pride  and  Ijravery  of  the  experienced  .soldier. 

Now  the  few  survivors  advance  to  this  well-remembered  .spot  with  bended 
form,  halting  from  wounds  and  with  tottering  stej).  Some  .still  retain  .some- 
thing of  tlie  elasticity  of  youth,  but  in  the  youngest  the  hair  is  sprinkled  with 


C"*.      PHILA. 


Pennsyivania  uf  Geftysburg.  421 

white,  and  the  eye.  iucnstoined  to  the  listlessnessolpeaeo,  has  lost,  iuadvancint^ 
age,  the  sternness  of  expression  with  wlii<;li  it  formerly  undauntedly  gazed  into 
the  fire  of  opposing  musketry. 

Many  are  missed,  laid  low  hy  the  storm  of  subsequent  battles,  and  time,  a 
more  relentless  enemy,  has  more  than  decimated  the  remainder. 

We,  the  few  who  are  let"t,  with  grateful  acknowledgments  to  the  Almighty, 
who,  through  these  memorable  scenes  of  our  lives,  lias  preserved  us  to  the  present, 
rejoice  that  we  are  i)ermitted  to  as.semble  upon  this  historic^  field  to  consummate 
the  purpose  which  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  has  so  kindly  as- 
signed us. 

It  is  fitting  that,  on  this  occasion,  the  record  of  this  part  of  your  services  to 
your  country  should  be  recorded.  1  wish  I  were  better  able  to  perform  this 
pleasing  duty,  for  no  tongue  can  be  too  eloquent,  or  pen  too  graceful  to  describe 
the  deeds  of  the  patriotic  soldiers,  who  have  made  this  field  historic  throughout 
all  coming  ages. 

There  is  no  need  to  remind  you  of  the  1st  day  of  July,  186;{.  when  you  were 
encamped  on  the  line  of  Pipe  creek,  thirty-seven  miles  distant  from  the  ground 
on  which  we  now  stand.  How  pleasant  and  cheerful  liad  been  the  day  of  rest, 
which,  after  your  rapid  march  from  the  Potomac,  you  enjoyed  in  the  woods 
near  the  banks  of  that  insignificant  rivulet.  The  long  summer  day  had  ended 
and  night  closed  upon  the  scene.  Momentarily  expecting  tattoo  you  were 
making  preparations  to  enjoy  the  unwonted  luxury  of  a  summer  night's  .sleep 
under  the  trees. 

The  drummer's  call  is  heard.  What  is  it?  It  is  yet  too  early  for  tattoo. 
Soon  you  learn,  as  out  beats  the  assembly,  letting  you  know  there  is  no  rest 
for  that  night.  The  accoutrements  put  on,  the  shelter  tents  unfastened  and 
distributed,  the  orderly's  command.  "  Fall  in,'  the  roll  called  and  all  accounted 
for,  these  are  the  work  of  a  moment.  With  brief  ceremony,  the  regiment  is 
formed  and  you  are  on  the  march.  No  one  knows  where.  Your  brigade  heads 
the  column.  In  the  darkness  the  road  is  mi.staken,  and  two  miles  added  to 
the  march  in  regaining  the  right  direction. 

Well  was  it  for  you  that  the  day  had  been  one  of  rest — for  hour  after  hour 
through  the  night  the  march  continues.  Daylight  saw  you  .still  steadily  ad- 
vancing with  ranks  well  closed  up  ;  and  sunrise  shows  you  a  pleasing  country 
with  hills  and  valle^^s  well  cultivated,  the  abode  of  an  energetic,  thrifty  and 
happy  population. 

You  learn  tliat  you  are  on  the  Baltimore  turnpike,  and  that  j'our  objective 
point  is  Gettysburg,  in  Peuusylvania,  yet  many  miles  distant.  The  knowledge 
tliat  you  are  marcliing  to  defend  the  soil  of  your  State  inspires  additional  aixlor 
and,  regardless  of  fatigue,  you  pre.ss  on  in  unbroken  ranks  witli  renewed  deter- 
mination. 

Hour  after  hour  the  march  continues,  until  about  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, from  the  hollow  of  Kock  creek,  you  discern  the  cemetery  near  the  road, 
and  stretching  along  the  ridge,  forever  after  to  be  called  by  that  name — the 
I'nion  line  of  battle. 

Brief  is  the  halt.  The  reinforcement  of  your  corps,  eagerly  looked  for  by 
General  Meade,  has  arrived,  and  the  positions  of  its  divisions  and  brigades 
marked  out  before  their  arrival.  Some  to  the  right,  others  to  the  center  ;  your 
l)rigade  files  to  the  left,  and  crossing  through  the  fields  strikes  the  Taneytown 
road,  and  marching  along  it  to  the  rear  of  Round  Top.     Here  your  arms  are 


422  Pennsylvania  af  Geffi/s/nmj. 

stacked  in  line  and  you  prepare  what  food  you  can.  still  wearing;  all  equix)ments. 
Thi.s  pleasant  business  just  begun,  the  assembly  call  is  heard,  and  again  you 
([uickly  lorm  in  line.  But  lor  a  short  time.  The  emergency  is  passed,  and 
dismissed  again  your  rough  repast  is  prepared,  and  night  soon  coming  on,  your 
blankets  are  .spread  tor  beds  upon  the  grass,  among  the  gigantic  boulders,  under 
the  luxuriant  Ibliage  of  the  grove,  and  grateful  sleep,  unrealized  by  any  but 
those  who  have  experienced  a  similar  labor,  ends  the  day. 

With  the  first  streak  of  early  dawn,  refreshed  by  welcome  rest,  again  you 
are  in  position.  Now  you  feel  that  business  is  to  be  done.  Rifles  are  examined 
and  cartridges  counted.  So  pressing  is  the  occasion,  no  time  can  be  spared  Ibr 
breakfast.  A  draught  of  water  from  the  canteens  and  a  liard  tack  munched  at 
intervals  as  you  march,  are  your  only  repast,  as  soon  in  route  you  retrace  your 
steps  of  the  afternoon  before   along  the  Taneytown  road. 

The  sun  rises  bright  and  clear,  and  the  grass,  Avet  with  dew,  sparkles  in  its 
beams.  It  is  the  last  sunrise  on  earth  to  many  brave  men,  but  its  cheerful  rays 
banish  all  forebodings  as  you  gaily  strike  acro.ss  tlie  fields  towards  Culp's  Hill. 
Soon  the  cannon  opens  upon  your  rear.  This  is  from  an  unexpected  quarter, 
as  our  own  lines  are  between  you  and  the  enemy,  but  still  you  advance  with 
the  steadiness  contracted  by  two  years  of  discipline  and  the  experience  in  many 
battles.  Some  one  orders  the  flag  unfurled,  thinking  our  own  men  are  firing 
upon  you  by  mistake.  The  order  comes  to  furl  the  flag,  as  it  is  not  advisable 
to  make  too  prominent  a  mark,  and  you  soou  discover  the  causeof  the  disturbance 
to  be  from  the  enemy,  who,  occupying  an  elevated  position,  is  thereby  enabled 
to  fire  over  our  lines  along  Cemetery  Ridge  and  into  your  rear.  Still  advancing 
under  this  fire,  in  time  you  reach  the  hollow  just  below  and  to  the  west,  easily 
discernible  from  this  position  were  it  not  for  the  foliage  of  the  trees.  The  bri- 
gade is  formed  in  column  of  regiments — in  line.  General  Geary,  in  command 
of  this  portion  of  the  field,  appears  and  a  brief  consultation  is  held.  The  One 
hundred  and  twenty-second  New  York  is  ordered  forward  to  this  spot,  supported 
by  the  Eighty-second  Penn.sylvania,  with  instructions  to  drive  out  the  enemy 
from  our  intrencliTuents,  which  they  had  occupied  the  night  before.  The  en- 
gagement opens  briskly  with  the  One  hundred  and  twenty-second  New  York, 
and  their  firing  is  rapid  and  successful,  the  Confederates  being  driven  ba<'k. 

Then  the  Kighty-.second  Pennsylvania  relieves  them  and  occupies  the  in- 
trenchments,  the  enemy  endeavoring  their  recapture,  but,  failing  in  the  attempt, 
and  after  his  failure  maintaining  a  desultory  fire  for  a  considerable  time,  which 
is  replied  to  in  a  .similar  manner  by  the  Eighty-second  and  the  Twenty-third 
Pennsylvania  on  j'our  right,  and  the  Sixty-seventh  New  York  on  your  left. 

This  is  without  much  result  on  either  side,  and  after  a  time  all  firing  ceased. 
and  .some  of  the  enemy's  wounded  came  and  were  brought  into  our  lines. 

When  the  firing  on  both  sides  had  ceased,  you  were  relieved  from  this  po- 
sition by  a  portion  of  General  Geary's  (command,  and  you  retire  to  the  ravine 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  wc  now  stand,  tliinking  thai  for  the  })resent 
your  labors  are  over. 

But  the  enemj',  finding  himself  unable  to  withstand  the  attack  in  front,  opens 
upon  your  rear  with  his  artillery,  firing,  as  he  had  previously  done,  over  our 
lines,  along  Cemetery  Ridge.  Nothing  is  gained  to  him  by  this  procedure,  for 
well  you  have  learned  that  artillery  is  more  noisy  than  harmful  at  the  distance 
in  which  it  was  operated,  and  not  to  be  compared  in  its  elfect  with  the  more 
<iuiet  and  deadly  musketry.     Finding  his  eflorts  useless,  tlie  artillery  fiie  n])oii 


FeniiSjiirnniii   nt   (rf'ft//s/)>ir</.  42.S 

you  is  finally  tiinu'd  in  another  direction.  Vonr  rest,  however,  i.s  but  of  short 
duration.  General  Meade  had  perceived  the  niassiufj  of  the  enemy'.s  center, 
and  the  tire  of  hi.s  artillery  was  now  directed  upon  our  batteries,  which  lined 
our  front  along  Cemetery  ridge.  Anticipating  the  movement  which  culminated 
in  Pickett's  charge,  lie  desired  to  strengthen  his  center,  now  known  to  be  the 
intended  jwint  of  attack.  Not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost  and  your  brigade  is 
ordered  to  the  center  in  double-quick  time.  In  almost  a  run  you  arrive  upon 
the  ground,  and  are  posted  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  center,  in  rear  of  artillery, 
which  replies,  gun  for  gun,  with  the  rapid  discharges  of  their  opponents.  Soon 
the  artillery  tire  ceases,  and  Pickett's  gallant  men  advance  to  the  attack. 

Perceiving  the  point  towards  which  his  movement  is  directed,  your  brigade 
is  moved  a  short  distance  to  our  right,  to  form  a  line  of  battle  in  the  rear  of 
the  front  to  furnish  a  resisting  force  in  case  the  lines  in  front  should  be  unable 
to  withstand  the  attack. 

The  suspen.se  is  brief  the  enemy  with  all  his  gallantry  l)eing  but  able  to 
reach  our  tirst  line,  when,  broken  in  pieces,  torn  and  dispirited,  his  brave  men 
regain,  as  best  they  can,  their  position  in  their  own  lines,  and  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  is  practically  decided  in  favor  of  the  Union  army.  Many  gallant 
Confederates  remain  on  the  field,  and  the  long  columns  of  prisoners  and  their 
exhibited  flags  add  additional  evidence  to  the  successful  defense  of  the  Union 
position.  Thus  the  lighting  is  ended,  but  the  4th  of  July  found  you  upon  the 
same  ground,  without  shelter  from  the  rain  which  pitilessly  beat  upon  yon 
throughout  the  day  and  night. 

Early  on  the  5th,  the  day  bright  and  clear,  you  l)ade  farewell  to  the  battle- 
held  at  Getty.sburg,  not  again  visited  by  the  organization  till  now  -nearly 
twenty-live  years  after.  Marching  across  a  portion  of  the  field  of  the  former 
three-days'  contest  the  column  of  the  Sixth  Corps  leads  the  van  in  pursuit.  All 
day  long  you  follow  clo.sely  upon  the  heels  of  the  retreating  enemy,  and  as  the 
sun  is  setting,  through  one  of  the  passes  of  the  mountains  is  heard  the  report 
of  a  cannon,  and  a  shell  whistles  over  the  advancing  force,  and  you  know  that 
he  is  brought  to  bay.  Your  line  files  to  the  right  of  the  road,  others  to  the  left, 
and.  standing  in  position,  you  await  the  development  of  his  movements.  They 
are  soon  learned.  In  the  growing  darkness  his  artillery  is  limbered  up  in  re- 
treat, and  as  night  steals  on  you  lie  down  on  your  arras  in  cheerful  slumbers, 
proud  and  happy  of  the  result  of  the  battle,  which  has  driven  our  enemj'  from 
the  north,  taught  the  lesson  that  no  hostile  invader  dare  with  impunity  put 
his  foot  on  Pennsylvania  soil,  freed  the  capital  of  the  nation,  as  well  as  the 
cities  of  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  from  the  fear  of  rebel  occupation,  and  by 
the  staggering  blow  which  the  enemy  received  opened  u]>  in  your  minds  the 
pleasing  prospect  of  a  speedy  return  to  your  homes  by  the  termination  of  the 
war. 

But  many  military  operations  had  yet  to  be  pertbrmed  before  the  end  is 
reached. 

Time  will  not  permit  more  than  allusion  to  your  many  days  and  nights  of 
service  in  battles  and  marches.  Volumes  have  been  written  and  will  be  again, 
picturing  the  ever-memorable  deeds  of  the  armies,  ending  by  the  virtual  clos- 
ing of  the  war  in  the  surrender  at  Appomattox. 

On  this  monument  are  inscriljed  Yorktown,  Fair  Oaks,  White  Oak  Swamp, 
Malvern,Antietam.^Villiamsport,  Fredericksburg,  Franklin's  Crossing,  Marye's 
Heights,  Salem  Heights,  Gettysburg,  Funkstown.  Kapi>;ibannock  Station,  Mine 


424  Pennsylvania  at  Gtttyshurg. 

Kuii,WiUleines.s,  Spotsylvania,  JNorth  Anna.  Tolopotomoy,  Cold  Harbor,  I'ders- 
biirg  (1),  Fort  Stevens,  Winchester,  Dabney's  Mills.  Fort  Fisher,  Petersburg 
Ci),  Sailor's  Creek  and  Appomattox  Court  House — not  all  the  engagements  in 
which  you  participated  and  leudered  valuable  service,  but  only  those  in  which 
the  aichives  of  the  War  Department  certify  to  your  losses  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

Their  simi)le  recital  speaks  volumes  to  you  whose  memory  recalls  the  stir- 
ring events  connected  with  their  names.  The  enduring  granite  will  hand  the 
record  down  to  future  generations,  who  ■will  value  your  services  as  priceless, 
when  thej'  know  and  feel  that  this  war  was  not  alone  for  tlie  maintenance  of 
the  Union  of  the  States,  but  for  sustaining,  besides,  the  liberties  of  all  the 
people  of  the  country,  which,  without  the  existence  of  the  Union,  could  not 
have  been  nor  cannot  be  preserved. 

Our  military  service  is  ended.  Should  war  occur  in  the  future  our  country 
requires  young  and  active  men  for  its  soldiers.  Our  part  in  our  day  and  gen- 
oration  h..s  been  performed.  Remembering  the  martial  ardor  of  our  youth,  re- 
gret lully  we  feel 

"  O  now  forever 

Farewell  the  plumed  troop  aud  the  big-  wars 

That  make  ambition  virtue. 

Farewell  the  neighing  steed  and  the  shrill  trump 

The  spirit-stirring  drum,  the  ear-piercing  life. 

The  royal  banner ;  and  all  quality, 

Pride,  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war." 

liuL  it  is  still  left  to  us,  from  our  military  experience,  to  instruct  our  sous  in 
the  knowledge  w^e  have  acquired  and  the  principles  formed  in  our  martial  lil'e, 
that  the  honorable  character  and  military  practices  of  the  soldier  may  be  iami- 
liar  to  the  rising  generations,  should  they  have  need  of  their  exercise. 

Jiut  though  the  physical  strength  and  capacity  of  endurance  of  the  .soldier  is 
gone  from  us,  the  moral  vigor  of  our  position,  as  defenders  of  the  flag,  gives  our 
sentiments  upon  every  question  relating  to  the  welfare  of  our  country,  a 
stronger  claim  for  acceptance  to  all,  both  young  and  old. 

It  will,  ill  this  view,  not  be  considered  presumptuous  to  remind  the  people  of 
the  State  and  Nation,  that  the  principle  tor  which  you  fought  was  the  "Union 
of  the  States,"  and  to  say  that  though  the  Union  was  attacked  during  the  late 
war  upon  the  ju-etext  of  the  preservation  of  the  in.stitution  of  slavery,  that  liere- 
after  the  furtherance  of  some  other  object,  popular  with  large  portions  "of  the 
people,  may  Ije  made  by  designing  and  aml)itious  men  the  ostensible  reason  lor 
its  attempted  overthiow.  .\nd  let  us  remind  them  that  the  Union,  founded  on 
popular  attachment  to  its  ^jrinciples,  will  be  constantly  imperilled,  unless  a 
sentiment  of  kindly  and  fraternal  feeling  exists  among  all  classes  of  our  citi- 
zens, whatever  may  be  their  business  pursuits  or  means  of  livelihood. 

In  furtherance  of  these  views,  therefore,  let  us  endeavor  by  our  counsels  to 
hasten  the  day  when  every  shade  of  bitterness  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
.shall  have  i)assed  away,  so  that,  if  not  in  the  present,  at  least  in  the  next  gen- 
eration, if  ])Ossil>le,  nothing  of  tlie  incidents  of  the  war  be  remembered  without 
regret,  except  the  achievements  of  the  soldiers  of  both  armies.  And  let  us 
teach  that  their  achievements  are  thf  ((Pinnion  ht-ritagi'  and  glory  of  all  the 
people  of  all  sections  of  the  country. 

.\nd  let  us  not  forget  to  say,  that  the  men  of  the  North  fought  for  the  Union, 
not  for  our  section  alone.  ]»ut  that  its  benefits  and    blessings  should   belong  to 


l*ninst//r(ini'((.  at   Gefiiisbuni.  425 

and  be  the  lieritage  ot'  the;  whole  country,  sontli  and  north,  as  well  for  those 
who  fought  against  it:  and  that  tlie  surrender  at  Appomattox  established  popu- 
lar liberty  for  the  whole  country,  as  well  lor  them  as  for  us. 

So  that  future  generations  though  remembering,  with  i)ride  the  gallant 
achievements  of  their  southern  ancestors  on  tiiis  and  other  fields,  will  yet  re- 
gard as  a  blessing  their  defeat  as  secttriug  to  all  (by  the  i)reservation  of  the 
Union),  the  inestimable  boon  of  personal  and  i)olitical  liberty,  and  the  right  to 
manage  their  own  domestic  affairs  subject  only  to  the  ne(;essary  restraints  of 
the  Federal  Coustitution. 

And  we,  too,  the  people  of  the  Nortii.  will  claiiii  a  part  of  the  glory  of  tlie 
deeds  of  our  then  enemies  (not  so  now).  For  with  our  country  fully  reunited, 
their  achievements  will  be  recognized  as  the  work  of  the  American  nation,  and 
the  sons  of  the  North  will  claim  a  share  ot  the  glory  of  the  Confederate  conduct 
of  battle,  as  Avell  as  the  southern  born,  tor  its  gallantry  was  tlie  heroism  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  as  such  it  belongs  to  all.  the  North  as  well  as 
the  South. 

Then  shall  we  in  all  sincerity  feel  that  ""  we  are  not  enemies  but  friends. 
We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it  has  not  burst 
the  bonds  of  our  aifectiou.  The  mystic  chords  of  memory  stretching  from  every 
battle-field  and  every  patriot's  grave  to  every  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over 
this  broad  land,  have  swelled  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  touched  as  they  have 
been  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature.'" 

And  now,  resting  on  the  Held  to-day,  we  view,  after  twenty-tive  j-ears  of  ab- 
sence, the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  glorious  achieveiuents  of  your  youth.  The 
distant  hills  and  mountains  present  the  same  appearance  as  they  did  a  quarter 
of  a  century  since;  but  how  altered  the  re.st !  In  place  of  the  long  lines  and 
glittering  musketry  of  the  infantry,  the  booming  of  cannon,  whistling  of  bul- 
lets and  the  galloping  clang  of  horsemen,  we  look  upon  a  gladdening  scene  of 
husbandry.  The  fields  are  covered  with  grain,  and  the  cheerful  cry  of  the 
farmer  to  his  team  has  supplanted  the  stern  and  determined  military  com- 
mand. The  ring  of  the  mower's  instrument  takes  the  place  of  the  clang  of  the 
military  sabre.  The  puff  of  the  locomotive  supplants  the  smoke  of  the  cannon, 
and  its  whistle,  the  booming  of  the  discharge. 

Oil  the  spot  in  the  rear  of  Round  Top  (where  you  rested  atuong  the  boulders 
from  your  tired  march  of  the  night  of  the  1st  ot  July)  is  heard  among  the  trees, 
when  summer  sttnshine  renders  cheerful  days,  the  pleasing  harmonies  of  the 
flute  and  viol,  and  youths  and  maidens  lightly  trip  the  mazy  dance  or  whirl 
the  affectionate  waltz.  On  the  ridge  fronting  your  position  flourishes  the  grape, 
and  the  wine  pressed  upon  the  spot  cheers  the  hearts  alike  of  Union  and  Con- 
federate soldier,  as  they  view  the  place  of  their  former  exploits. 

Pleased,  we  survey  the  .scene,  for  this  spectacle,  the  epitome  of  our  countrj^'s 
prosperity,  in  agriculture,  tnanulactures,  and  social  life,  is  yotir  work.  With- 
out your  victories  on  this  and  other  lields  the  Union,  tlie  source  of  this  hap- 
piness of  all,  would  be  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  desolation  have  taken  the  place 
of  the  cheerfulness  we  now  behold. 

Let  then  the  dancers,  as  they  wind  their  graceful  movements,  give  one 
thought  to  the  tired  men,  who,  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  so  soundly  slept  upon 
and  gallantly  defended  the  place  of  their  present  festivities,  and  the  traveler, 
who,  viewing  the  battle-tield,  pauses  in  his  survey  for  a  goblet  of  native  wine, 
remember  the  soldier  parched  and  thirsty  from  the  du.st  and  .smoke  of  battle, 


426  Pennsjilvania  of  (reffysI>Hr(/. 

who,  no  matter  whether  he  Ibujiht  on  the  right  or  the  wrong  side,  wliether  lie 
wore  the  blue  or  tlie  gray,  still  sacriticed  himself  for  a  patriotic  sentiment,  and 
in  ifgretful  memory  of  the  past  '"  Quaff  a  cup  to  the  dead  already,"  and,  thank- 
ful for  tJie  present  one,  to  '"the  health  of  the  next  man  that  dies." 


ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  G.  W.   WATERHOUSE 

COMRADES: — For  a  quarter  of  aeentury  the  summer's  sun  has  shone,  and 
the  winter's  snows  have  fallen  upon  this  historic  spot  since  that  event 
in  the  past  which  we  of  the  present  come  to-day  to  emphasize  to  the 
future,  by  the  dedication  of  this  historic  stone. 

To-day,  surrounded  by  all  the  blessings  of  peace,  it  is  my  privilege  to  extend 
to  you,  my  comrades,  a  heartfelt  greeting,  on  the  ground  where  in  deadly  fray 
we  were  gathered  .so  many  years  ago;  and  where  so  many  of  our  comrades  gave 
testimony  to  their  loyalty  to  the  land  of  their  birth  and  adoption,  by  baptis- 
ing this  soil  with  their  blood. 

What  memories  !  Memories  that  time  has  but  made  more  hallowed,  crowd 
UBon  us,  as  we  are  here  a.ssembled.  in  this  work  of  love  I  How  that  toilsome 
march  of  thirtj'-seven  miles,  under  the  hot  sun  of  the  2d  of  July,  comes  vividly 
back  to  us,  ending  as  it  did  with  our  arrival  on  the  l)attle-tield  at  about  one 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

How  well  old  uncle  John  Sedgwick  kept  his  word  to  the  commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  when  lie  promised  him  to  liave  the  Sixth  Corps  on  the 
field  of  Gettysburg  at  two  o'clock,  you  all  know.  How  well  we  rememberour 
first  assignment  to  position  in  the  rear  of  the  Third  Corps,  and  our  movement 
later  on  the  next  da}'  to  this  spot  on  which  we  now  stand,  where  we  relieved 
the  gallant  Geary's  boys,  supporting  the  Twelfth  Corps;  and  in  that  fearful 
conflict  which  made  Gulp's  Hill  historic  ground. 

I  might  go  on  for  some  time  and  try  to  recall  other  facts;  but  our  time  is 
limited  to  a  space.  And  now.  my  comrades,  our  duties  for  this  occasion  are 
done,  our  mission  performed.  This  will  be  the  ^lecca  to  which  our  thoughts 
and  our  footsteps,  as  long  as  life  is  with  us,  will  ever  tend,  and  may  future 
generations,  looking  upon  this  stone,  learn  lessons  of  loyalty  which  will  lead 
them  to  strive  to  emulate  the  patriotism  and  devotion  of  tho.se  who  had  the 
honor  to  be  known  as  the  Eighty-second  Kegimentof  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
Shaler's  Brigade,  Wheaton's  Division,  Sedgwick's  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac, 


REMARKS    OF  WILLIAM  H.  REDHEFFER.  SECRETARY  OF  FIGHTV- 
SECOND   PENNSYLVANIA    VOLUNTEERS 

C"><).\IKAi)ES: — When  a  proper  history  of  the  grand  old  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, of  its  many  severe  struggles,  marches  and  hard-fought  battles  to 
get  posses.sion  of  its  great  olyective  point — Richmond — and  the  heroic 
deeds  of  its  valorous  commanders  and  soldiers,  shall  have  been  written, 
no  one  name  of  that  galaxy  of  heroes  will  stand  out  brighteror  more  ])romiiieut 
than  that  of  George  (iordoii  Meade. 

That  giaiid  old  aiiMV  that  was  .so  oltcMi  out-<;eiU'ralcd,  and  whose  (oniMianders 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysbvrg.  427 

were  so  often  out-inano-nvred.  hut  w  liosc  soldiers  wcrt;  never  whijuxd.  Vou 
all  remember  the  Penirisnlar  Campaign  under  that  (thenj  idol  of  the  army, 
McClellan.  -with  our  marches  and  eounter-marehes,  fatigues,  hardships  and 
battles,  and  our  many  reverses,  and  yet  the  old  army  was  never  defeated,  dis- 
fomlited  or  discouraged.  These  to  be  succeeded  by  the  Maryland  Campaign, 
under  the  old  commander,  McClellan,  with  Antietani  and  tlie  various  other 
victorious  battles — to  be  succeeded  in  turn  by  lUirnside  and  the  reverses  at 
Fredericksburg,  and  the  '"  Mud  March,"'  with  the  toils,  hardships  and  privations 
incident  to  those  campaigns:  and  then  ""  Fighting  Joe"  Hooker,  with  Chan- 
cellorsville.  Marye's  Heights  and  Salem  Church  ;  to  be  Ibllowed  bj'  the  second 
invasion  of  Maryland  and  the  i)enetration  of  the  loyal  soil  of  our  own  State  of 
Pennsylvania.  You,  comrades  of  tiie  old  "  Shaler's  Brigade,'"  remember  how. 
in  the  latter  i)art  of  June,  186.3.  while  on  the  march,  we  were  informed  of  the 
displacement  of  Hooker  and  the  suV)stitution  of  that  grandest  of  all  our  com- 
manders. General  Meade,  to  the  command  of  our  grand  old  army.  Vou  remem- 
ber, too,  the  grumblings  and  feelings  of  disappointment  and  distrust  amongst 
the  rank  and  file  at  the  placing  ot",  as  we  then  thought,  a  new  man  at  the  head 
of  the  arm}',  and  one  who  was  then  comparatively  imknown  beyond  the  limits 
of  liis  own  (Fifth)  corps. 

The  first  day's  fight  at  Gettysburg,  the  fall  of  that  gallant  .soldier,  Reynolds, 
and  the  sending  for  our  division  commander.  Newton,  to  go  to  the  front,  to  take 
Reynolds'  place,  in  command  of  his  corps,  are  still  fresh  in  your  minds.  You 
remember,  also,  the  night  march  of  the  first  day  of  the  fight,  to  reach  the  field 
of  battle  in  time  to  take  part  therein.  Wherever  the  nation  most  needed  a 
,sol(lier,  there  some  of  the  grand  old  Sixth  Corps  were  sent. 

After  our  victory  lieie  at  Gettysburg,  then  the  charge  at  Funkstown,  and  the 
driving  of  the  rebels  from  our  .soil,  and  the  ending  of  the  Pennsylvania  cam- 
])aigu.  None  of  us  who  took  part  in  that  battle  knew  of  the  anxious  days  in 
Philadelphia,  Washington,  Baltimore  and  New  York,  nor  of  the  many  sleepless 
nights  passed  by  the  people  of  those  cities  during  that  time  ;  and  not  until  it 
was  known  bj'  them  that  the  grand  old  invincible  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
confronting  Lee  and  his  hosts  was  confidence  restored. 

This  victory  at  Gettysburg  was  the  first  step  in  the  disruption  and  downfall 
of  the  so-called  Southern  Confederacy.  After  that  the  old  foe  of  our  army  fought 
on  the  defensive  No  more  ofi'ensive  campaigns  ;  no  more  invasions  of  Penn- 
•sylvania  or  Maryland  were  attempted  by  them.  To  have  lost  at  Gettysburg 
meant  the  imperilling  and  possible  capture  of  Washington,  Philadelphia.  Bal- 
timore and  perhaps  New  York  city,  and  the  recognition  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy by  foreign  powers.  These  catastrophes  would  have  prolonged  the  war 
for  years  and  left  the  end  in  doubt.  Of  course,  this  is  mere  conjecture  or  .spec- 
ulation, but  it  is  the  sort  of  thing  indulged  in  in  everyday  life,  and  is  pardon- 
aV)le  here. 

General  Meade  was,  to  my  mind,  the  greatest  soldier  and  general  that  ever 
commanded  our  old  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He  was  a  soldier  by  instinct  and 
education;  one  of  .sound  judgment  and  good  hard  common  .sense.  You  must 
remember  that  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  the  best  fought  and  most  decisive  in 
results  of  the  war,  was  fought  within  less  than  one  week  after  he  had  assumed 
command  of  the  army.  We  were  on  the  march  for  somewhere,  wherever  Lee's 
army  might  be.  But  where  were  they'?  That  was  the  question.  Like  the 
true  soldier  that  he  was,  Meade  took  command,  and  within  less  than  one  week 


428  Pennsylvani((  nf  Gcffyshurr/ 

theieaftev,  fought  the  liardest  battle  ol' the  war,  with  tlie  most  glorious  results, 
(ieneral  ■Meade  was  uo  hurrah  soldier  ;  he  was  a  soldier  in  the  strouijest  accep- 
tation of  the  term  ;  aud  1  do  not  wish  to  detract  from  the  merits  of  any  of  the 
other  heroes  of  the  war  when  I  repeat  that  to  my  mind — a  soldier  in  the  ranks — 
he  was  the  greatest  strategist,  tighter  and  soldier  that  ever  commanded  our 
array.  There  have  been  other  claimants  for  the  honor  of  having  selected  the 
position  for  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  some  have  boldly  asserted  that  Meade 
liad  nothing  to  do  with  it,  while  others,  in  their  claim,  would  almost  make  one 
think  that  Meade  wasn't  in  the  fight  at  all. 

When  Meade  took  command,  our  army  was  acting  on  the  defensive.  We 
were  after  our  old  foe,  Lee  ;  but  where  he  was  at  that  time,  no  one  kne\^ . 
Therefore.  Meade  was  obliged  to  move  cautiously  and  feel  his  way  gradually. 
But,  when  Bufbrd  discovered  the  enemy's  whereabouts,  and  the  gallant  Rey- 
nolds, soldier-like,  obeyed  the  soldier  instinct  and  marched  his  column  toward 
the  .sound  of  the  guns,  and  fell,  covered  with  glory,  then  Meade  knew  where 
Lee  was,  and  immediately  ordered  his  entire  army  to  the  .scene  of  conflict. 
Gettysburg.  His  instructions  to  Hancock,  of  July  1,  were,  "  That  you  pro- 
ceed to  the  front,  and  by  virtue  of  this  order,  in  case  of  Reynolds'  death 
(as  reix)rted)  you  assume  command  of  the  corps  there  assembled;"  and  he 
further  said,  "  In  case  the  ground  and  position  are  better  for  alight  than  the 
one  heretofore  selected  (Pipe  creek),  you  will  advi.se  me  and  I  will  order  all 
the  troops  up."  Hancock  reported,  and  Meade  ordered  all  the  troops  up  at  once 
and  arrived  on  the  field  in  person  .shortly  after  midnight.  Now,  if  General 
Meade  did  not  select  the  site  for  that  battle,  who  did?  Surely,  no  one  will 
argue  but  that  as  general  commanding,  he  could,  after  the  first  day's  light,  have 
withdrawn  the  army  to  Pipe  creek  or  elsewhere,  if  he  so  chose,  and  fought  his 
battle.  Meade's  instructions  to  Hancock  cannot  be  mistaken  or  misunderstood, 
read  them  as  we  will.  He  said,  "  If  you  think  the  ground  aud  p().sition  (at 
Gettysburg)  a  better  one  on  which  to  fight  a  battle  *  -  *  .so  advise  me,  and 
I  will  order  all  the  troops  up."  If  he  had  not  have  intended  to  give  battle  to 
the  enemy,  wherever  he  found  him,  with  advantages  alwaj's  in  our  favor, 
wouldn't  he  have  ordered  a  retreat,  even  after  Hancock's  report,  and  fought  on 
ground  of  his  own  selection  ?     Most  a.ssuredly. 

Meade  intended  to  fight,  not  retreat  ;  and  he  fought  with  results  well  know  n 
to  us  all.  And  the  future  liistorian,  in  reviewing  the  many  battles  of  the  re- 
bellion, and  the  soldiers  that  participated  therein,  will,  I  feel  satisfied,  accord 
to  General  Meade  the  full  merit  and  jiraLse  that  he  earned,  and  to  which  he  is 
so  justly  entitled. 

I  liave  always  believed  that  Divine  Providence  had  much  to  do  with  the  se- 
lection of  General  Meade  as  our  commander  at  that  battle.  We  could  have 
afforded  and  did  suffer  reverses  in  many  of  our  other  battles  without  serious 
effect,  l)ut  supposing  we  had  been  defeated  there,  tlien  what? 

I  have  no  words  of  condemnation  or  censure,  nor  do  I  say  it  in  a  spirit  of  fault- 
finding, but  I  think  a  mistake  was  made  in  not  naming  General  Meade  lor  tlie 
lieutenant-generalcy.  I  don't  say  this  out  of  any  disrespect,  or  to  detract  from 
the  laurels  of  the  soldier  that  was  named  for  that  position — for  I  consider  hin» 
one  of  the  ablest  of  our  generals.  That  Meade  was  a  great  and  safe  soldier, 
Ihoroughly  efficient  and  competent  in  every  respect,  was  attested  to  by  General 
Grant  himself,  in  retaining  him  as  commander  of  the  .\nnyofthe  Potomac, 
He  ably  aided  and  seconded  Grunt  in  his  })lans  and  campaigns,  wiiich  culmi- 


PHOTO      Bt    W.     M,     TIPTON,     GtTTrSB 


PRINT  :    THt     F.    GUTbKUN&T    CO.      PHILA. 


Pennsylvania  at  (rettysburg.  429 

iiated  in  tlie  deleat  of  Lee's  army,  and  tlie  overthrow  of  the  rebellion  ;  and  if 
lie  had  not  have  been  a  true  soldier.  Grant  would  not  have  tolerated  him  for  a 
moment.  And  the  strongest  argument  that  I  can  make  in  support  of  my  as- 
•sertiou  of  the  .slight  put  upon  Meade,  is  this  action  of  (irant's  in  retaining  him 
ill  command  of  our  army  as  he  did. 

After  a  while,  those  who  follow  after  us  will  write  a  correct  history  of  our 
deeds,  withoutfear,  tavor  or  aflfection,  and  without  passion  or  prejudice.  Then 
I  am  satisfied  that  full  justice  will  be  done  the  name  of  General  Meade,  and 
his  name  will  stand  out  boldlj'  in  the  front  rank  with  the  other  heroes  of  the 
Union  armies  that  took  pait  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion. 

The  gatherings  of  old  soldiers  on  old  battle-fields  should  be  encouraged,  not 
only  by  the  soldiers  who  took  part  in  them,  but  by  the  people  at  large,  as  they 
serve  to  keep  alive  the  old  fraternal  feelings  between  old  comrades-at-arms,  and 
stimulate  the  rising  generation  to  emulate  the  examjile  of  their  sires,  and  fos- 
ters and  kindles  in  the  breast  of  the  young  a  proper  spirit  of  patriotism  and 
love  of  country  ;  so  that  in  the  future,  .should  our  country's  life  ever  again  ))e 
imperiled,  they  will  spring  to  her  defense  with  the  same  spirit  and  as  gallantly 
as  did  their  fathers  before  them. 

Comrades,  some  of  us  who  meet  here  upon  this  occasion,  may,  perhaps,  never 
attend  such  another  gathering.  We  are  getting  old  and  others  must  take  our 
places.  Let  our  actions  be  such  that  we  would  have  our  children  emulate  them. 
Let  us  do  no  act  or  say  one  word  the  recital  of  which  would  Avound  the  feelings 
of  others  or  cause  pain  to  ourselves.  I^et  our  every-day  lives  be  li ling  exami)lc.- 
of  i)robity,  honor  and  rectitude,  for  our  children  and  our  children's  children. 

Comrades,  I  am  done.  That  God,  in  his  infinite  wisdom,  may  guide  us  all 
in  the  future  as  he  has  in  the  past,  is  my  earnest  prayer. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

83^  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September   ii,  18S9 

ADDRESS  OF  COLONEL  D.  C.  McCOV 

/^~^OMRADEB: — When  some  years  ago  the  proposition  was  first  made  in  our 
I  association  to  erect,  on  this  historic  field,  a  memorial  in  honor  of  those 

\  /  who  here  fought  and  fell,  it  was  well  understood  that  there  would  ))e 
difficulties  to  meet  and  obstacles  to  overcome.  When  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  carry  out  the  project,  it  was  known  that  the  duties  and  labors  of 
the  committee  would  be  various  and  arduous,  requiring  a  considerable  sacri ■ 
tice  of  time;  but  it  was  manifestly  jjioper  that  the  idea  should  be  carried  out, 
and  that  the  monument  so  erected  should  have  inscribed  upon  it  the  names  ot 
those  who  here  gave  their  lives  in  defense  of  our  government  against  the  as- 
saults of  armed  treason.  It  was  also  fitting  that  such  a  memorial  shaft  should 
be  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  our  leader,  the  gifted,  genial,  gallant  Vincent, 
who  here,  with  the  others  named,  gave  his  young  life,  with  all  its  future  bright 
prospects,  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  his  country. 

Alter  years  of  effort  on  your  part,  and  after  considerable  progress  had  been 
made,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  came  to  your  aid,  and  uiiide  the  success  of  the 


430  PennsyJi'o.ui(i  at   (ictiiislmrg. 

undertakinj;  not  onlj-  possible  but  readily  practicable,  and  to-day  we  behold  in 
this  beautil'ul  monument  the  end  of  your  labors  and  the  consummation  of  our 
desires. 

(Jentlemen.  you  have  done  your  woik,  and  you  lia\ e  done  it  well,  and  I  here, 
and  now,  as  tlie  president  and  repre.sentative  ol"  the  Association  of  the  Eij^hty- 
third  Regiment  of  J'ennsyhania  Volunteers  accept  at  your  hands  this  monu- 
ment, and  in  doing  so  I  know  that  1  voice  the  sentiment  of  every  member  of 
the  association,  when  I  tender  you,  as  I  now  do,  our  most  sincere  and  heartfelt 
thanks  for  your  assiduous  and  successful  labors  in  this  behalf. 

And,  while  we  realize  that  the  heroes  whom  this  monument  commemorates, 
sacrificed  their  lives  on  the  soil  ot  Pennsylvania  in  repelling  from  her  borders 
an  invading  foe,  with  trea.son  to  her  institutions  and  six)il  of  her  property  in- 
scribed upon  its  banners,  and  that  some  tribute  to  their  memor^^  on  the  part  of 
the  Commonwealth  seems  to  be  not  only  proper  but  also  demanded,  yet,  after 
all  this,  for  the  timely  and  generous  donation  made  by  it,  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania deserves,and  is  hereby  tendered,  the  warmest  thanks  of  the  association. 

We,  therefore,  now  dedicate  this  monument  and  the  statue  with  which  it  is 
adorned,  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  erected,  asset  forth  in  the  several 
inscriptions  thereon.  We  further,  now  turn  it  over  to  the  cu.stody  and  care  of 
the  monumental  a.s.sociation  here  having  jurisdiction,  and  have  only  to  add 
that  we  are  proud  of  the  work  which  we  present,  and  proud  of  what  it  com- 
memorates. We  present  it  with  the  hope  and  expectation  that  it  will  remain 
as  long  as  the  institutions  in  defense  of  which  the  men  named  upon  it  died, 
are  respected  and  revered;  and  as  long  as  those  institutions  shall  endure,  as 
the  evidence  "  that  the.se  dead  have  not  died  in  vain." 


ADDRESS  OF  O.  W.  NORTON 

WHAT  man  is  there  of  all  this  as.sembly  whose  thought  does  not  go  back 
to-day  in  tender  remembrance  of  one  or  more  of  those  four  hundred 
and  thirty  brave  hearts  who  gave  up  their  lives  on  some  one  of  these 
thirty-one  battle-tields,  from  Yorktown  to  Ap]x)mattox.  or  in  some 
hospital,  where,  alter  the  battle,  he  was  carried,  sutVering  from  wounds  that 
made  him  envy  the  fate  of  comrades  to  whom  the  instant  summons  came  with 
the  sharp  crack  of  the  rebel  rifle  or  the  .shriek  of  the  bursting  shell? 

Is  there  one  who  has  not  .some  morning  shared  his  colfee  and  hard  tack  with 
a  dear  friend;  gone  on  the  cold  and  muddy  march,  oi-  along  the  dusty  weary 
wa}^  with  him.  laughing,  chatting,  singing  the  old  marching  songs  to  lighten 
the  .step,  and  at  night,  after  the  battle,  lain  down  alone  in  the  bivouac,  the 
voice  of  that  comrade  hushed  forever,  bis  body  only  waiting  to  bo  laid  with 
other  fallen  heroes  in  that  long  trench? 

Is  there  one  who  has  not  been  appealed  toby  the  wife,  the  mother  or  the 
sister  of  the  dear  one.  for  .something  more  definite  than  the  brief  official  report. 
•'  Killed  at  Gaines'  Mill  ;"   Killed  at  Malvern  Hill  :""   Killed  at  Ciettysburg?" 

Is  there  one  whose  heart  has  not  bled  with  sympathy  for  the  friends  of  his 
comrade,  strangers  to  him  perhaps,  as,  seated  under  his  shelter-tent  with  a 
cracker-box  for  a  table,  he  tried  to  write  .something  that  would  comfort  the 
sad  hearts,  telling  how  bright  and  cheerful  their  dear  one  had  been  that  last 
day  :  how  gloriously  be  fought  until  struck  down  :  how  often  he  had  spoken 


Pennsylvania  at  Gclh/shfirg.  431 

orthe  loved  oues  at  home,  and  asked  in  tlic  j)lna.se  that  put  deatli  I'ar  away, 
that  they  might  be  written  to  if  "  anytliing  liappened  to  liim  f  " 

Have  the  years  that  have  passed  since,  })rouglit  to  us  any  stronger  I'liondships 
than  those  iormed  by  us  who  "  drank  from  the  same  canteen  ?  ""  Those  were 
glorious  days,  when,  the  l)lo()d  of  youth  coursing  through  our  veins,  we  conse- 
crated ourselves  to  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  devoted  our  lives  to  the  preser- 
vation of  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  i)eople.  We 
were  all  willing  to  die  if  need  be.     vSome  were  taken  and  others  left. 

It  is  meet  that  wc  come  to  this  holy  ground,  consecrated  to  freedom  by  the 
life-blood  of  a  host  of  fallen  comrades,  and  bring  our  wives,  our  sons  and 
daughters,  that  with  us  they  may  feel  the  spirit  of  tJiis  place,  may  know  what 
here  their  fathers  did,  and  what  their  mothers,  whose  hearts  were  on  this  licld, 
sufiered,  and  while  we  renew  our  vow  of  undying  allegiance  to  the  governuKMit 
saved  by  blood,  make  their  vow  to  preserve  it  when  wc  liave  gone  to  Join  our 
comrades. 

What  shall  we  say  to-day  of  those  who  fell  in  the  struggh^  ?  A  year  would 
not  be  long  enough  to  mention  by  name  the  more  than  Ibrty  men  of  each  com- 
pany, and  recount  the  glorious  deeds  of  each.  Military  rank  was  an  accident 
or  incident  of  the  service.  It  has  perished.  Privates,  corporals,  captains, 
colonels,  are  melted  into  an  army  of  heroes.  Each  did  his  duty  in  his  place, 
and  has  gone  to  his  reward.  AVe,  pri\ates  and  officers,  meet  to-day  with  rank 
abolished,  and  as  citizens  and  heirs  of  the  rich  inheritance  they  left  us,  honor 
their  memory. 

Each  of  us  has  in  his  heart  the  memory  of  some  comrade  who  fell,  dear  to 
him,  but  pei'haps  unknown  to  most  of  the  tweutj'-two  hundred  and  .seventy 
men,  who,  from  first  to  last  make  up  the  Eighty-third.  Not  four  ^'ears  of  ser- 
vice could  suflice  to  make  all  the  men  of  the  regiment  personally  known  to  each 
other,  but  that  service  did  sulfice  to  inspire  in  tlie  heart  of  every  member  a 
feeling  of  security  and  invincibility  in  the  line  of  battle,  when,  standing  to 
defend,  or  advancing  to  attack,  he  knew  that  the  men  on  his  right  and  left  wore 
on  their  caps  those  silver  letters  "88  P.  V.,"  and  that  touching  ell)ows  with 
the  last  one  on  the  flank  was  that  otheroiicof  ■  IJuttertieUrs  twins.""  tlie  Forty- 
fourth  New  York. 

Some  few  of  the  hundreds  who  fell,  by  reason  of  official  position,  came  into 
personal  relation  witli  all.  Is  there  one  here  to-day  of  the  thousand  stalwart 
bayonets  who  followed  the  gallant  McLane  across  the  Long  Bridge  on  the  first 
entrance  of  the  Eighty-third  into  Virginia,  who  can  ever  forget  him,  or  cease 
to  mourn  his  lintimely  fate".''  His  noble  presence  ah)ne  was  an  inspiration. 
His  faithful  drilling  of  the  regiment  during  the  weary  months  at  Hall's  Hill 
had  much  to  do  with  its  later  efficiency.  When  passing  along  that  restle.ss  line 
at  Gaines'  Mill,  he  replied  to  the  men  who  ^vere  tired  of  watching  for  the  enemy 
that  would  not  come,  "  Boy.s,  you  will  see  enough  of  them  before  night  :  ""  his 
words  seemed  a  prophecy  of  his  own  fate. 

Who  can  forget  the  gentle  Naghel,  who  died  l)esi(le  McLane.  l)cfoie  hi-  liad 
time  to  more  than  begin  making  a  name  as  major  ol"  tlie  Eighty-thinl. 

To  those  who  saw  Lieutenant  Plympton  White  at  Craines"  Alill,  when  the 
regiment  was  almost  surrounded  and  summoned  to  surrender,  and  heard  his 
scornful  "  Hell,  the  Eighty-third  Pennsylvania  never  surrenders. ""  worthy  of 
Victor  Hugo's  Cambronne  at  Waterloo,  his  sad  dcatli  in  tlie  j)iison  li(is])it.il  at 
Charleston  will  be  a  teixler  m<nioi  \ . 


432  Pcinisf/lraiiia  at  Geltiidmrg. 

In  raising  lioro,  oui  nionument  of  granite,  to  transmit  to  those  who  Ibliow  us 
the  story  of  the  deeds  ol'the  Eighty -third,  we  crown  it  with  a  tribute  in  endur- 
ing bronze  to  the  one  man  who  above  all  others  seems  to  personify  the  sjiirit  of 
the  regiment,  of  the  l)rigade,  of  the  armj',  of  the  peojile,  that  poured  out  its 
treasure  and  its  blood  that  this  might  be  forever  a  free  nation.  Tlie  Commis- 
sioners of  the  State  very  properly  refused  to  permit  an 3' personal  allusions  or 
inscriptions  to  be  placed  on  the  Pennsylvania  monuments.  They  stand  to  com- 
memorate the  common  deeds  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Commonwealth.  In  their 
description,  this  statue  stands  as  "  The  figure  of  a  Union  officer."  When  the 
survivors  of  the  Eighty-third,  or  of  any  regiment  of  the  old  Third  Brigade  at 
Gettysl)urg,  think  of  a  Union  officer,  whose  figure  shall  be  symbolic,  the  name 
of  Vincent  springs  to  the  front.  AVe  honor  ourselves  in  honoring  him.  He  was 
our  ideal.  Without  previous  military  training,  he  seemed  a  born  soldier. 
Turning  aside  from  the  ranks  of  civil  life,  in  a  few  months  he  was  the  more 
than  competent  commander  of  a  brigade.  Strict  in  discipline,  yet  loving  his 
men  and  jealously  guarding  their  rights,  he  inspired  in  them  confidence,  love 
and  trust.  To  him  the  etiquette  of  the  serVice  was  a  means,  not  an  end.  He 
knew  how  to  ride  over  it  when  occasion  required.  When  at  Chancellorsville, 
tlie  brigade  was  sent  to  the  extreme  right  and  })laced  in  position  to  protect  the 
flank,  with  what  magnificent  insubordination  bedashed  up  to  the  brigade  com- 
mander who  ordered  him  to  recall  his  men  from  their  work  of  getting  timbers 
for  a  rifle-pit  to  *'  Dress  back  about  three  feet,"  the  left  of  the  crooked  line  of 
hastilj-  stacked  rifles,  and  saying  with  a  curt  salute,  "  J  must  not  lose  a  mo- 
ment, sir,  in  fortifying  my  po.sitiou,"  dashed  back  to  stimulate  and  direct  his 
men,  leaving  his  superior  officer  muttering  a  reluctant  assent. 

When,  as  the  rear  guard  of  that  sorrowful  retreat  from  Chancellorsville,  we 
cro.ssed  the  river  to  find  the  roads  over  which  the  army  had  passed,  turned  to 
fathomless  mud,  how  he  scorned  the  rule  that  required  him  to  keep  his  place 
in  line,  and  led  the  Eighty-third  through  woods  and  fields,  reaching  camp  in 
time  to  have  supper  cooked  and  the  men  ready  to  sleep  before  the  balance  of 
the  brigade  appeared. 

Who  can  forget  the  cheers  that  broke  tlirough  the  solemn  decorum  of  dress 
parade  when  the  order  was  ])ublished  announcing  the  resignation  of  his  pre- 
decessor and  assigning  liini  to  the  command  of  the  brigade. 

What  superb  generalship  he  showed  at  Goose  creek  in  gauging  the  morale 
of  the  enemy,  and  when  tlie  flanking  manoeuver  that  had  driven  Iiim  across 
the  Loudoun  valley  failed  at  last,  because  tlie  creek  was  too  deep  to  ford,  })utting 
lum  to  rout  by  dashing  at  the  ])ridge  with  sword  flashing  in  air,  and  before  a 
man  had  moved,  shouting  .so  as  to  be  plainly  heard  by  the  enemy,  "  There  they 

go  boys,  now  give  them !  "     Well,  the  rebels  did  not  wait  for  the  balance  of 

the  remark.  The  bridge  was  cleared,  the  cavalry  thundered  over  and  th(> 
enemy  did  not  stoj)  his  retreat  until  lie  leached  the  plain  at  the  foot  of 
Ashby's  (lap. 

ill  July,  18fi3,  on  this  ground.  \\c  were  making  history.  Assembled  here 
to-day  we  ar(!  making  hi.story  still.  The  correct  story  of  Gettysburg  has  never 
Ix'cn.  will  never  be,  written.  None  but  th(!  actors  on  the  field  can  tell  the  story, 
and  each  one  can  tell  of  his  own  knowledge  but  an  infinitesimal  part.  Many 
conscientious  historians  have  attempted  to  weave  a  symmetrical  whole  from 
such  discoiuicctcd  threads  as  tlicy  can  gather,  but  their  accounts  vary  as  their 
sources  of  inlbrmation.     Every  man  owes  to  the  memory  of  those  who  died  here, 


Pennsylvania  al  Getlyshnnj.  433 

his  best  endeavor  to  tell  truly  the  story  ot  their  deeds,  that  tlie  liistoriati  of  the 
lutiire  may  have  tlie  material  out  of  wliich  to  lasliioii  a  truer  story  of  (lettys- 
burg. 

We  may  fairly  say,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  and  without  taking  a  leaf 
from  the  laurels  of  other  heroes,  that  the  genius,  the  devotion,  the  heroism, 
the  cousummate  skill  of  Vincent,  prevented  the  turning  of  our  left  flank  .Tuly 
•J.  held  the  enemy  as  in  a  vise,  and  preserved  to  our  army  possession  of  Little 
Round  Top,  the  loss  of  which  would  have  meant  the  loss  of  our  Avhole  position, 
and  a  victory  for  the  enemy  instead  of  the  defeat  wliieh  Avas  the  beginning  of 
the  end. 

Full  justice  has  never  been  done  him  in  any  account  that  I  have  seen.  The 
Comte  de  Paris,  in  his  admirable  history,  says  that  General  Warren,  who  from 
his  position  with  the  signal  corps  had  observed  the  ai^proach  of  the  column  sent 
by  Longstreet  to  occupy  this  height,  hastened  to  General  Sykes  near  tlie  wheat- 
lield,  urging  the  necessity  of  placing  troops  there,  and  that  Sykes  sent  Vin- 
cent's Brigade.  General  Doubleday,  in  his  account,  says  that  General  War- 
ren, .seeing  Barnes'  Division,  which  Sykes  had  ordered  forward,  standing  formed 
tor  a  charge  to  relieve  De  Trobriand,  took  the  responsibility  of  detaching  Vin- 
cent's Brigade  and  hurried  it  back  to  take  post  on  Little  Round  Top.  Neither 
is  entirely  correct,  and  Doubleday  almost  put  in  the  mouth  of  Warren  the  very 
words  used  by  Vincent.  Although  a  iwivate  soldier,  my  duty  as  Vincent's 
bugler  and  bearer  of  his  brigade  flag  that  day  and  during  all  the  period  of  his 
command  of  the  brigade,  gave  me  better  opportunities  than  even  the  ofiicers  of 
his  statr  enjoyed  to  see  and  hear  what  occurred  and  was  said,  for  the  reason  that 
they  were  busy  transmitting  his  orders,  while  I  never  left  him,  but  was  always 
near  enough  to  hear  all  verbal  orders  given  and  received.  The  incidents  of 
that  day  are  burned  into  my  memory,  and  I  am  glad  to-day  of  the  opportunity 
of  giving  you  my  recollections  of  it.  After  a  long  time  of  waiting  for  orders  in 
that  position  in  the  low  ground  near  the  Weikert  house,  listening  to  the  terri- 
ble roar  of  artillery^  and  musketry  in  our  front,  an  officer  came  galloping  toward 
us  from  the  direction  of  the  wheatfield.  Vincent,  with  eyes  ablaze,  spurred  to- 
wards him,  and  as  he  approached  near  enough  to  speak,  said  in  his  impetuous 
Avay,  '■  Caijtaiu,  Avhat  are  your  orders?"  Instead  of  answering,  the  othcer  in- 
quired, "Where  is  General  Barnes?"  If  Vincent  knew,  he  did  not  answer. 
I  had  not  seen  him  since  morning.  He  was  not  at  the  head  of  his  division. 
If  he  gave  an  order  during  the  battle  to  any  brigade  commander  I  fail  to  lind 
a  record  of  it  in  any  account  I  have  read.  The  other  ])rigades  of  the  division 
Ibught  heroically  in  the  line  along  the  wheattield,  but  the  orders  appear  to  have 
been  given  by  Colonel  Tiltonand  Colonel  Sweitzer.  Vincent  repeated  his  ques- 
tion Avith  empha.sis:  '"  What  are  j^ours  orders?  Give  me  your  orders.  "  The 
cajDtain  replied,  "  General  Sykes  told  me  to  direct  General  Barnes  to  send  one 
of  his  brigades  to  occupy  that  hill  yonder."  Without  an  instant's  hesitation 
Vincent  replied,  '"  I  will  take  the  responsibility  of  taking  my  bi'igade  there,"  , 
and  ordering  Colonel  Rice  to  follow  as  rapidly  as  possible,  he  dashed  at  full 
speed  for  the  hill.  The  Eighty-third  know  how  little  time  there  was  to  spare. 
Military  men  would  not  have  criticized  him  had  he  directed  that  staff  olflcer  to 
General  Barnes  and  waited  calmly  for  the  order  to  move  to  be  sent  him  through 
the  regular  channels.  Some  might  censure  his  assumption  of  resiwnsibility. 
but  had  he  waited,  that  advancing  column  of  tlie  enemy  would  have  been  in 
possession,  and  not  even  the  Third  Brigade  could  have  dislodged  it. 
28 


434:  Pennsylvania  at  GeUysbunj. 

Kiding  rapidly  lo  the  suiniiiit  lu'  came  out  on  t}ic  liltl(>  jdateauiii  icai- of  the 
position  held  later  by  the  Sixteenth  Michigan.  I  lollowed  with  the  flag.  A 
battei-y  which  had  been  firing  at  the  signal  flags  a  little  further  to  our  right, 
opened  on  us,  and  he  directed  me  to  retire  behind  the  rocks.  lu  a  few  nroments 
he  dismounted  and,  giving  ]ue  the  bridle  vein  of  Old  Jim,  went  back  on  foot  ex- 
amining the  ground.  When  the  head  of  the  brigade  appeared,  its  position  Avas 
read}'.  Pi'ofessional  soldiers  hav(>  pronounced  the  jiosition  chosen  by  him  the 
finest  .selected  by  a  volunteer  ofiicc  r  during  the  war.  Many  an  officer  ordered 
to  occupy  a  hill  would  have  lormeil  his  nuiin  line  along  the  summit,  as  did 
Bragg  at  Missionary  Kidge,  but  he,  knowing  that  the  bravest  men  may  some- 
times waver  belbre  an  impetuous  (diarge,  placed  them  lower  down,  leaving  a 
rallying  point,  and  a  position  above  lor  reserves,  should  a  .second  line  be  re- 
(j^uired.  The  recoil  of  the  Sixteenth  Michigan  when  assaulted  in  front  and 
flank,  and  the  repul.se  of  that  assault  by  the  timely  arrival  of  tlu'  One  lumdred 
and  fortieth  New  York,  in  tlie  ])lace  he  had  left  for  it.  prove  the  wisdom  of  hi.s 
choice. 

The  line  was  held,  but  at  what  a  cost.  Throwing  liiiuself  into  the  breach 
he  rallied  his  men.  but  gave  up  his  own  life.  Comrades  and  friends,  that  was 
not  a  bauble  thrown  away.  In  the  very  flower  of  his  young  manhood,  full  of 
the  highest  promise,  with  the  love  of  a  young  wife  filling  his  thought  of  the 
future  with  the  fairest  visions,  proud,  gentle,  tender,  true,  he  laid  his  gift  on 
his  country's  altar.  It  was  done  nobly,  gladly,  Xo  knight  of  the  daysof  chiv- 
valry  Avas  ever  more  knightly.  When,  a  few  hours  before,  as  we  tramped  along 
the  dusty  road  in  the  night,  marching  to  Getty.sburg,  then  unknown  to  fame, 
the  old  flag  was  unfurled  and  fluttered  in  the  breeze,  he  reverently  bared  his 
head,  and  with  the  premonition  of  the  morrow  in  his  heart,  and  said  solemnly, 
•'  what  more  glorious  death  can  any  n;an  <l(sirc  than  to  die  on  the  soil  of  old 
Pennsylvania  fighting  for  that  flagr"' 

Some  of  us  wished  that  those  words  might  lie  placeil  upon  our  monument, 
but  the  Commissioners  would  allow  nothing  but  the  cold  transcript  of  records 
in  the  War  Department.  May  we  kee])  them  giavcu  in  oui-  licaits  and  teach 
them  to  our  children. 

This  place  is  holy  groumi.  I'he  glory  of  ihe  Christ  is  that  he  died  fn  men. 
He  died,  and  we  know  he  is  not  dead.  May  we  not  rexerently  say  that  those 
who  have  gladly  died  for  nun  :ii(,'  not  dead,  but  are  with  us  to-day:  more  liv- 
ing than  when  they  stood  to  stem  the  tide  of  invasion.  If  we  are  ])roud  to  say 
that  we  were  in  that  line  on  Little  Round  Toj),  think  you  they  regret  it? 
With  clearer  vision  than  ours  Iheireyes  .see  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
They  see  this  broad  laud  a  nation;  not  an  aggregation  of  petty  sovereign  states. 
They  look  down  the  coming  years  and  see  it  jjeopled  with  a  host  of  freemen, 
rejoicing  in  the  result  of  their  sacrifice.     They  are  content. 

Let  ns  li.sten  to  them  to-day.  God  forbid  that  this  fair  land  should  ever  need 
.another  such  sacrifice,  but  if  it  fails  lo  ]irize  its  heritage,  and  must  again  be 
purified  by  fire,  may  we  and  our  childicTi  be  able  to  sing  as  they  sani;-: 

III  the  beauty  of  the  Hlies  (Jlirist  was  born  acrcss  tliesea; 

With  a  frlory  in  liis  l)osom  that  tninsligures  you  and  me. 
As  lie  (lied  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men  free, 
M'liile  (;<)(!  is  niareliint;-  on. 


Pennsi/lvarna  <if  (rcfff/shunj.  435 


ORATIC^N  OF  RKV.  THEODORE   1'.   ]'Rl  DDEiN,   I).   1). 

Ml;.  Cliainuaii  and  soldiers  ot' the  ICisilii^-third  Ivcgimeut: — Tiie  wonls  of 
any  mau,  nut  of  your  regiment,  seem  .snpertluous,  il"  not  intrusive,  on 
this  historic  ground,  where  nu^moriesare  sj)eakiug  to  you;  where  God 
and  the  nation  once  spoke,  and  where  even  the  winds  rustling  throufih 
tlie  trees,  as  well  as  these  monuments,  are  saying,  "  other  men  labored," 
together  with  you,  '"  and^ye  have  entered  into  their  labors."' 

The  most  impressive  thought  connected  with  the  war  is,  to  my  mind,  not 
battles  nor  hard- won  victories,  but  the  personal  sacrifice  ot"  vast  masses  of  men. 
Tbat  is  so  stupendous  that  I  wonder  how  it  ever  could  have  been  made. 

Fmagine  that  now.  as  in  1861.  you  busy  home-loving  men  heard  again  that 
appeal  of  doom,  calling  you  from  dear,  delightful  homes  to  the  hardships  and 
dangers  of  war,  and  you  can  estimate  .something  of  what  that  sacrifice  was. 
Doubtless  some  of  you  would  see  visions  of  possible  glory,  and  feel  the  contagion 
of  each  other's  example,  while  amid  the  sound  of  rife  and  drum,  and  jokes  and 
.songs,  you  made  your  response.  But  recall  what  it  was  when  parents  bade 
their  .sons  enlist  as  they  would  bid  them  go  and  <lie,  or  left  their  young  fami- 
lies, none  too  well  jn'ovided  for,  and  went  themselves;  when  husbands  .said  to 
their  wives  "We  must  go,"  and  brave  women  encouraged  them,  though  their 
hearts  were  breaking;  and  when,  after  anxious  jjrayer  that  this  cup  might  pass, 
from  them,  the  solemn  '"  frod's  will  be  done  ""  was  said. 

Think  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men,  and  you  among  them,  leaving  busi- 
ness and  homes  to  tramp  their  beat  at  night  and  their  marches  by  day  ;  to  go 
without  luxuries,  to  transform  themselves  into  machines,  obedient  unto  death, 
and  to  live  under  demoralizing  influences;  all  in  a  mi.ssion  which  we  glorify 
by  calling  it  "serving  the  country,"  but  which  was  none  the  less  a  mission  to 
destroy  life,  to  be  instruments  of  ruin  and  desolation,  to  burn  and  batter  cities, 
to  transform  fruitful  fields  into  deserts,  and  to  endure  as  well  as  to  cause  pain 
and  wounds  and  death.  Kemember  what  it  was  and  must  have  been,  when 
men  were  full  of  life  as  we  ai'e  in  the  morning,  and  at  night  lay  dying  on  the 
ground  ;  when  company-  after  company  marched  up  to  be  targets  for  cannon, 
and  "  food  for  powder,"  as  if  they  did  not  love  their  lives,  or  had  more  than 
one  to  lo.se  ;  when  they  received  and  obeyed  orders  whi<'h  meant,  to-day.  and 
at  once,  you  must  die,  or  when  they  felt  sickness,  moredeadly  than  t)n]lcts  coil- 
ing about  them,  and  said  "  there  is  little  hope." 

This  battle-field  to-day  is  like  a  pic-nic  ground,  where  une  most  sensitive 
to  snftering  might  walk  without  a  shudder,  but  it  recalls  to  you  a  picture,  of 
men  not  of  a,notherrace  nor  history.  Imt  like  us  ;  killing  and  being  killed,  and 
lying  here  under  the  sun  and  rain.  Conceive  of  the  thoughts  of  many  a  man 
whom  you  knew,  as  he  looked  up  at  the  distant  stars  and  realized  that  before 
they  faded  in  the  .sunlight  the  .shadow  feared  of  men  would  fall  on  him.  or  as 
his  thought  flew  towards  home,  and  he  knew  that  he  could  not  even  leave  his 
dust  with  those  be  loved,  and  all  that  they  would  ever  know  would  be  that  he 
was  killed  in  such  a  battle,  and  buried  in  the  long  trench  of  a  common  grave. 
The  shot  and  shell  had  not  expended  its  force  when  it  took  away  some  life  here. 
It  .sped  far  away  to  ruin  families  and  blight  other  lives.  Standing  here  and 
reading  that  list  of  battles  on  your  monument,  I  think  not  only  of. scenes  of 
battle,  'out  of  homes  made  desolate,  where  there  was  no  outward  clianire.   no 


436  Pennsylvania  oJ  (refti/sburg. 

coflin.  no  I'liiicral,  only  the  comiug  of  a  telegram  saying  '•  your  lather,  or  sou, 
or  brother  is  dead,'"  and  then  the  weary  days  went  on  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. I  think  of  poverty  taking  the  place  of  abundam;e,  because  the  bread- 
winner was  gone,  and  of  the  inheritance  of  privation  which  many  a  soldier  left 
to  his  children.  I  think  of  wounds  and  shattered  health,  and  wrecked  ambition. 
and  the  many  whose  i)rospects  the  war  blighted,  but  who  made  no  complaint. 
and  I  say  "  how  awful  was  that  sacrifice." 

There  is  a  patriotism  which  is  expressed  in  talk  about  our  national  greatness, 
in  working  for  our  party  in  an  election,  in  waving  ^the  flag  or  in  exploding 
powder.  But  there  comes  before  me  to-day,  the  vision  of  patriotism  very  dif- 
ferent as  I  think  of  .some  soldier  asking,  "  What  will  America  be  to  me  when 
I  am  dead  ?  "  and  then  facing  death,  thinking,  "  What  are  this  united  nation 
and  these  homes  that  I  should  pay  my  life  for  them  ?  "'  and  yet  paying  it.  I 
do  not  count  the  number  of  slain,  nor  limit  the  cost  to  those  who  died,  but  as 
Mount  Blanc  or  the  IVIatterhoru  lifts  its  head  above  the  other  peaks  of  the  Alps, 
so  it  seems  to  me  human  sacrifice  lifts  its  head  aJ)ove  every  other  summit  in 
this  mountain  range  of  war. 

And  the  glory  of  the  .sacrifice,  coloring  it  as  the  sunset  colors  .some  snowy 
mountain  top,  is  its  unselfishness.  On  the  slope  of  this  hill  men  risked  and 
lost  all,  not  for  themselves,  not  even  for  a  good  in  which  thej^  would  share,  but 
for  benefits  in  which,  just  because  they  died,  they  could  not  share.  That  the 
homes  and  lives  of  others  might  be  rich  they  became  poor  as  the  grave.  For 
the  security  of  other  passengers  on  our  .ship  of  state  they  offered  themselves  to 
the  flames  that  would  consume  it.  The  ship  was  .saved,  and  it  sails  on,  but 
they  Avere  left  behind. 

A  hero  can  receive  no  higher  praise  than  to  say  that  he  gave  or  oflered  his 
life  for  a  great  cause. 

In  that  almost  divine  self-abnegation  with  which  an  individual  encounters 
■death  for  the  sake  of  the  body  to  which  he  belongs,  there  is  a  sort  of  mediatorial 
function  that  consecrates  war,  and  spreads  a  covering  of  sublimitj-  even  over 
its  carnage.  This'  devotion  of  an  individual  to  the  whole,  overwhelms  and  ap- 
pals us.  That  the  nation  may  rise  the  man  sinks  out  of  sight,  vanishing  in  the 
earth  like  a  drop  of  water,  and  Avithout  a  murmur.  The  nation  moves  on  to 
honor  and  prosperity  like  some  victorious  Cicsar,  l)ut  the  man  is  gone.  He  be- 
came a  ste^)  up  which  it  climbed  to  its  throne.  llv  .said  in  eftect,  "  T  must 
perish  that  thou  may  est  increase.'" 

Sacrifices  and  unselfishness  are  represented  by  that  monument,  )>ut  so  no  less 
is  the  heroic  virtue  of  allegiance  to  duty  at  whatever  cost.  Our  wishes,  hopes, 
amintions,  are  many,  and  of  dazzling  beauty.  Duty  is  homely  in  features  and 
harsh  of  voice.  But  when  a  man  hears  the  thunder  of  duty's  awful  orders,  or 
feels  its  grasp  upon  his  arm,  and  then,  turning  away  from  all  enticing  syrens, 
obediently  enters  the  rough  path  where  dutj'  bids  him  walk,  even  though  he 
die,  there  is  .seen  the  matchless  majesty  of  manhood. 

It  does  not  take  much  imagination  to  .see  how  the  voice  of  duty  came  to  you 
of  the  P>ighty-third  liegiment,  and  to  many  others.  First,  gently  saying  "Per- 
haps you  will  be  called  on,"  and  then  louder  and  louder  in  its  imperatives.  L 
can  ]»icture  the  holding  back  wjiile  love  and  home  entered  their  eloquent  pleas. 
1  can  fancy  the  debates  of  a  man  with  his  duty,  urging  arguments  that  would 
be  convincing  anywhere  else.  But  the  grip  of  duty  closes  on  him.  Its  voice 
rises  into  an  awful  "you  ought,"  into  a  resistless  "you  must,"  and  he  voluir 


Pennsylvania  at  (refiiishnrij.  437 

teer.s  uuder  it.  to  liglit.  to  snlVtir.  and  perhaps  to  die.  Uljedience  to  duty  de- 
cides the  war.  Tliis  inonuinent  is  to  men,  wlio,  had  they  sliirked  duty,  michfc 
liave  been  alive.  .\nd  this  was  after  all  their  highest  courage,  displayed  uot 
imly  in  the  e.xcitement  of  battle.  l)ul  in  the  uninsi)ired  monotony  of  daily  life. 
As  a  bronze  figure  surmounts  the  granite  base  and  gives  itmeaningand  glory, 
so  it  seems  to  me  unselfish  sacrifice,  loyalty  to  duty,  and  coui-age  surmount  all 
other  characteristics  of  th(' soldiers,  and  of  llieni  this  day  and  this  nioiuinient 
are  the  memorials. 

But  there  is  another  thought  that  presses  to  tlie  front,  and  that  is,  did  this 
loss  and  sacrifice  jmy  ?  Did  it  pay,  not  merely  you,  who.  though  you  gave,  .still 
live  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  your  victories,  but  did  it  pay  men  who  took  their  last 
view  of  earth  through  the  smoke  and  .shots  oa  this  Little  Round  Top?  If  the 
silent  lips  of  that  statue  representing  your  general  could  speak,  I  do  not  doubt 
that  they  would  say  with  startling  emphasis  :  "  Yes,  it  did  pay  :  ''  and  "  In 
like  circumstances  I  would  do  the  same  again."  "  It  did  j»ay.'"  I  doubt  not 
you  say,  after  all  these  years,  even  while  your  fingers  fumble  the  empty  sleeve 
and  your  hand  grasps  the  familiar  crutch.  But  it  paid,  it  jmid,  let  us  not  for- 
get it.  only  because  ''  No  man  liveth  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself  alone."  If 
the  chief  object  of  life  which  it  pays  each  man  to  seek  is  his  own  individual 
success  and  happiness,  then  it  did  not  pay.  If  that  object  be  to  live  as  many 
years  as  possible,  or  for  each  one  to  get  profit  for  himself  and  let  others  who 
are  weaker  look  out  for  themselves,  then  the  sacrifice  made  by  the  soldiers  who 
died,  did  not  pay  them.     They  bartered  what  is  be.st  for  what  is  inferior. 

But  it  did  pay  them,  because  there  are  other  attainments  higher  than  that 
■which  they  gave  up.  It  paid  them  and  you,  becau.se,  first,  obedience  to  duty  is 
})etter  than  ease  or  a  long  life.  If  they  lost  the  latter  they  gained  the  former. 
It  paid,  second,  because  they  rose  up  and  clutched  the  courage  and  self-sacrifice 
which  fly  high  out  of  the  reach  of  those  who  live  only  for  themselves.  It  paid 
tliem  and  you,  because,  third,  it  is  true  that  the  welfare  of  the  many  is  worthier 
than  the  welfare  of  any  one  individual.  Once  admit  that  our  own  private  inter- 
ests are  superior  to  those  of  the  public,  and  you  might  as  well  chisel  on  that 
monument  the  words  "  They  made  a  fatal  mistake,"  Because  the  contrary  is 
true  ;  because  no  man's  self  is  supreme,  they  made  no  mistake. 

Only  a  contracted  view  of  what  life  is  for  .says  nothing  pays  which  does  uot 
add  to  oneself,  and  counts  all  sacrifice  a  loss  which  does  not  briug  back  to  oue- 
.self  money,  or  ease,  or  glory.  A  broader  view  .sees  that  nothing  pays  but  serv- 
ing a  good,  or  a  cause  that  is  greater  than  oneself.  It  pays  to  sow  a  field  that 
thousands  may  reap  with  joy,  though  we  never  reap  our.selves,  and  may  suffer 
in  the  sowing.  It  pays  to  plant  a  tree  under  who.se  .shade  the  wayfarers  of  the 
future  may  sit.  There  is  a  good  of  men  and  of  the  nation,  and  they  who  in- 
vest their  lives  therein,  save  them.  There  is  a  good  of  one's  own  little  self, 
and  they  who  invest  their  lives  wholly  therein,  lose  them.  The  highest  who 
ever  trod  this  earth  gave  Himself  in  service  of  the  many.  Xo  deeds  pay  so 
well  as  those  that  have  some  likene.ss  to  His. 

It  paid  tho.se  who  died  and  you  who  live,  fourth,  because  it  pays  to  be  a  nuin 
and  bear  a  man's  burdens;  though  one  be  crushed  beneath  them.  It  never 
pays  to  save  one's  life  at  the  expense  of  one's  manhood.  Between  acting  like 
men  and  .shirking,  ihey  had  to  choose.  Xo  words  can  express  the  aw^ful  price 
Avhich  the  choice  cost  them,  but  they  kept  their  manhood.  What  could  have 
paid  them  for  its  lo.ss? 


438  Pcinisi/lvania  af  Getty nlmrg. 

It  paiti  lluiii  and  you,  as  it  always  ]>ays,  lifth.  fo  uuviiitain  a  trust,  and 
especially  such  a  trust  as  you  sohlicis  had.  It  <'inl)udied  the  welfare  ol'  mil- 
lions. It  was  a  trust  that  eontained  all  tor  which  our  lathers  fought  and 
labored,  and  therefore  all  of  our  inheritance  from  the  past  and  onr  hopes  for 
the  future.  Often,  I  think,  its  greatness  must  have  almost  overwhelmed  you. 
But  given  the  tru.st,  nothing  could  pay  but  to  guard  it.  The  dust  of  the  earth 
has  blinded  our  eyes  if  we  cannot  see  a  higher  gain  in  loyalty  to  such  a  trust, 
than  in  gold  or  land.s  or  length  of  life.  We  only  show  our  inappreciation  of 
\  alues  when  w-e  esteem  that  highest  which  they  lost,  and  that  lowest  which  they 
gained. 

It  paid  them  and  you  because  this  is  a  ('ountry  with  ])rinciples  and  institu- 
tions that  are  worth  dying  lor.  ■  But  they  are  not  the  country  aud  could  not 
have  been  harmed  by  disunion.  We  are  proud  of  its  wealth  and  commerce, 
but  all  the  wealth  of  i)rairies  and  cities  would  not  paj'  a  man  to  lay  down  his 
life.  But  when  we  say  "  our  country  "  we  mean  the  freedom  of  every  indivi- 
dual, we  mean  the  principle  of  representative  government  "of  the  people,  by 
the  people,  and  for  the  people."  We  mean  the  institutions  which  our  fathers 
planted  and  gave  to  us  to  tend.  We  mean  the  tree  of  civilization,  as  yet  a 
.sapling,  whose  shade  and  whose  fruit  will  be  a  rest  and  refreshment  to  future 
luillious.  We  mean  the  highest  well-being  of  citizens,  living  without  war,  set- 
tling their  differences  at  the  ballot-bo.\,  and  rearing  their  children  in  security, 
and  the  fear  of  (Jod. 

The.se  are  the  real  meaning  of  our  tiag.  It  was  these  that  tieneral  Vincent 
saw  emblazoned  in  its  stars,  and  written  across  its  stripes,  when  he  said,  "  what 
more  glorious  death  could  anj'  man  have  than  to  die  on  the  soil  of  Pennsyl- 
vania fighting  for  the  old  flag?" 

What  more  glorious  indeed!  Estimate  other  things  which  men  may  have 
gained  when  life  ends;  pleasure,  business,  success,  even  homes  and  love.  They 
are  beautiful.  I  do  not  belittle  them  in  the  least.  General  Vincent  had  tasted 
them.  But  are  they  more  glorious,  or  more  .satisfying,  than  what  is  repre- 
sented by  our  flag?  Nothing  endures  that  does  not  reach  outside  of  ourselves. 
'"That  which  is  seen  is  tempoi'al,  that  which  is  unseen  is  eternal."  The  civil- 
ian dies  as  surely  as  the  soldier  ;  but  mankind,  liberty,  civilization,  righteous- 
ness, abide.  Lives  given  to  them  are  built  into  the  eternal  temple  of  hu- 
manity. They  are  not  wasted  when  they  die.  Dust  and  a.shes  are  not  all  that 
remain.  In  the  shelter  of  that  temple  will  gather  generations  who  never  knew 
of  the  war.  There  they  will  worslii]>  at  its  altars;  they  will  be  lifted  upas 
they  breathe  its  .sacred  air.  It  pays  to  I)uil(l  mortal  lives  into  flu'  walls  of  tliat 
('iiduriiig  .structure. 

If  those  w  ho  fell  here  or  (ilsewhere,  behold,  as  1  believe  they  do,  the  peace 
that  rests  upon  our  land  as  if  with  Heaven's  own  benediction,  the  inviolate 
Constitution,  the  irnion  welded  as  it  never  was  before,  the  influences  steadily 
working  to  lift  up  and  benefit  men;  if  they  see  how  .self-government  and  free 
institutions  would  liave  suffered,  and  the  worth  of  citizenship  have  depreciated 
had  the  Union  been  broken;  if  they  si-e  Ibis  they  may  say,  "  It  was  at  a  dread- 
ful co.st  tliat  this  good  was  gained,  but  we  did  not  sacrifice  in  vain." 

.Vnd  so  let  me  say  to  you  now  in  the  ])rcsence  of  this  monument  and  while 
you  reverently  think  of  what  nun  did  and  dared,  that  it  is  the  soldierly  virtues 
and  (jualities  which  are  needed  m  this  land  to-day.  Not  money,  not  railroads, 
not  more  business,   not  guns  and  swords  to  defend  the  Hag.     Thank  God  !  that 


renn.siiivanla  <it  (ieUyslmiuj.  439 

fliiy  flouts  oil  a  peacffiil  breeze,  over  Nortli  and  South,  and  its  stars  glisten  as 
if  in  the  i)roud  eoiisciousness  of  security.  We  need  the  (jiialities  of  the  ideal 
jsoldior  as  we  think  of  liini  to-day,  the  man  who,  recognizing  the  value  of  liis 
country,  is  willing  to  work  and  sacritice  that  every  real  reform  and  every  higher 
excellence  may  be  established.  Now,  as  truly  as  wlien  the  Southern  army  en- 
tered Pennsylvania,  there  is  need  of  soldierly  courage,  fine-grained,  and  ready 
to  stand  uj>  for  right,  and  opjiose  wrong,  tlrat  dares  to  b<>  witli  a  minority,  that 
will  not  compromise  witli  evil,  and  that  is  the  chamnion  of  integrity  and  truth, 
iiud  a  pure  citizenship. 

Xow,  no  less  than  tlien.  there  is  -a.  need  of  soldierly  un.sellisline.ss  that  places 
the  public  welfare  above  one's  individual  gain  or  i>arty.  In  battle  each  one 
of  you  wa.s  inspired  by  an  idea  that  lifted  you  out  of  yourself.  How  little  any 
private  schemes  seemed  then  I  That  same  soldierly  (luality,  transplanted  into 
times  of  ])eace,  asks  not  what  do  1  like,  but  what  is  Ijest  for  this  jjeojde?  Not 
always,  what  can  I  get,  l)ut  what  can  1  give  :  not  whai  will  exalt  me.  but  what 
will  exalt  every  thing  for  which  the  old  Hag  stands?  The  nnsoldierly  ])laciug 
ourselves  tirst,  and  thinking  how  we  may  get  all  \\c  can  frf)n\  the  country',  is 
the  spirit  of  your  old  friend,  the  army  sutler,  of  unblessed  memory,  whose  aim 
Avas  simply  to  gain  as  much  as  j)ossible,  l)ut  keep  himself  safe.  If  such  a  .spirit 
had  animated  yon  at  Gettysburg,  it  would  have  made  cowards  of  you  all. 

There  is  need  of  soldierly  loyalty  to  duty  now  as  well  as  in  \HH\.  If  homes, 
and  society,  and  xjolitics  are  to  keep  jiurc  or  lo  grow  better,  somebody  must  en- 
list in  their  service  and  pay  the  cost.  There  is  need  of  .soldierly  patriotism 
that  looks  at  America  with  a  lover's  eyes,  and  sees  how  beautiful  and  generous 
she  is,  and  .so  is  vigilant  lest  she  be  harmed,  resjjonds  to  bci-  ajjpeals.  and  would 
labor  tor  h<-r  honor  and  adornment. 

Think  not  because  there  is  no  danger  of  our  country's  dismemberment  that 
it  has  no  foes.  AVhatever  harms  homes,  and  society,  and  modesty,  and  intel- 
ligence, is  a  foe  of  the  nation,  because  it  injures  and  corrupts  its  citizens.  Do 
you  not  see  ignorance,  intemperance,  vices,  political  corruption  and  all  im- 
morality with  their  hostile  flag?  Do  jou  not  recognize  them,  even  under  the 
disguise  of  friends?  They  are  no  less  dangerous  than  men  armed  with  cannon 
.shooting  at  our  flag.  Their  raids  are  more  deadly  and  ])er.sistent  than  that  one 
which  was  turned  back  at  Gettysburg. 

Think  not  because  our  Constituticm  is  secure,  that  there  is  nothing  more  to 
gain.  The  welfare  of  the  nation  consists  in  the  moral  character  of  its  citizens. 
There  is  that  to  gain  and  to  keep.  A  hostile  flag  is  unfurled  when  bribery  be- 
comes a  round  of  the  ladder  up  to  victory  in  an  election,  or  a  citizen  does  him- 
self what  would  make  this  a  land  of  drunkards  and  liberti!i(>s  and  corrupters, 
if  done  by  all. 

The  welfare  of  the  nation  lies  in  the  conscience  of  the  peojde,  for  that  is  the 
citadel  of  its  honor,  without  which  great  riches  may  easily  become  its  curse. 
The  welfare  of  the  nation  depends  upon  education,  without  which  a  citizen, 
like  a  baby,  may  not  be  able  to  distinguish  his  friends  from  his  foes.  It  de- 
pends upon  the  environment  in  which  boys  and  girls  grow  up,  which  being  of 
one  kind  may  make  them  a  blessing,  or  being  of  another  kind  may  make  them 
a  reproach. 

"  Peace  has  her  victories  no  less  r<-nowued  than  war.''  The  heroic  age  did 
not  end  at  Appomattox.  It  will  not  end  till  the  Kingdom  of  God  has  fully 
come.     In  the  present  war  you  may  -ee  again  tho.se  characters  .so  well-known 


440  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

twcuiy-Hve  years  ago.  The  enemy,  with  uiilnrled  flag  and  wearing  the  uni- 
I'orm  of  dishonor  to  liomes  and  manhood;  the  stayers  at  home,  who  do  not  en- 
list, but  valiantly  criticise  the  soldiers  and  blame  them  because  the  war  is  not 
over,  and  the  copperheads,  sympathizing  more  or  less  openly  with  the  enemy; 
the  neutrals,  ready  to  cheer  for  whichever  side  wins;  and  then  the  soldiers  ex- 
ciianging  shots  with  every  oi)en  evil,  and  throwing  up  breastworks  about  every 
national  virtue. 

As  I  look  into  your  faces  1  believe  that  you  were  soldiers  with  the  soldierly 
spirit  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  that  you  are  such  still.  Alas  !  it  is  possible 
for  the  ex-hero,  the  ex-soldier,  who  once  risked  his  life  for  his  country,  to  now 
sit  still  while  the  enemy  triumphs,  nay,  even  to  be  active  in  the  ranks  of  tliose 
who  would  harm  and  degrade  the  people. 

You  never  stand  so  near  where  you  stood  when  you  fought  bravely  on  this 
or  some  other  memorable  field,  as  when  you  tight  for  righteousness  and  purity 
now.  You  never  stand  so  far  away  from  those  who  died  a  soldier's  deatli  in 
battle,  as  when  you  ser\e  any  vice  or  corruption. 

Think  not.  honored  veterans,  that  the  occasion  for.soldierliness  is  past.  God 
has  given  us  this  country  to  be  cared  for.  It  is  like  a  farm.  Y''ou  cleared  away 
forever  that  century -old  weed  of  disunion.  But  other  weeds  will  grow  where 
the  soil  is  rich.  A  sterile,  worn-out  farm  might  be  neglected,  but  one  like  this 
of  ours  requires  constant  and  careful  cultivation. 

You  have  met  to  dedicate  this  montiment  in  memory  of  your  fallen  com- 
lades.  and  of  your  own  glorious  history.  I  congratulate  you  upon  your  monu- 
ment; its  elegance,  its  massiveness,  its  appropriateness.  Its  granite  will  not 
be  .so  enduring  as  the  results  for  which  you  tbught.  It  itself  is  not  more  solid 
than  the  Union  of  States.  Standing  here,  through  the  .storms  of  j'ears,  it  will 
exemplify  how  you  stood  in  times  that  tried  men's  souls.  That  figure  of  Gen- 
eral Vincent,  the  ideal  soldier,  counting  not  himself  as  he  uusheaths  his  sword 
for  his  country,  typifies  no  less  the  ideal  citizen  and  patriot  now. 

I  congratulate  you  on  your  monument,  but  I  congratulate  you  more  ttpon 
your  history,  Avhich  even  the  long  record  of  your  battles  only  faintly  describes. 
Of  that  the  United  States  are  your  living  monument.  Here  you  place  a  rich 
and  costly  tribute  to  jour  comrades  who  sleep  their  long  sleep.  But  am  I  not 
right  in  saying  there  is  a  l)etter  tribute  than  even  this,  namely,  the  cherishing 
lovingly  the  land  and  the  people  for  Avhich  they  died?  So  long  as  right  and 
wrong  shall  meet  and  clash,  so  long  it  seems  to  me  the  soldiers  rising  from 
their  graves  might  say,  "'Your  best  response  to  our  sacrifices  for  the  public 
good  is  vigilance  and  sacrifices  for  the  public  good.  You  best  appreciate  our 
services  by  rendering  the  best  .services  to  the  .same  cause.  Honor  to  the  dear 
'  country  is  honor  to  us.  Injury  or  the  suffering  of  injury  to  it,  is  dishonor  to 
us.  We  saved  the  .ship  from  pirates  once,  it  is  yours  therefore  to  keep  it  from 
rocks  and  guide  it  on  a  more  prosperous  voyage.  ^Ye  died  to  unite  the  TTnion. 
You  live  to  inake  it  fragrant  with  honor,  Idooming  with  intelligence,  strong  in 
integrity,  and  a))undant  in  righteousnes.s. '' 


PMCT6.    Of  W.   H.    TIPTON,    GETTYSBURG. 


PRINT  :    TML    F.    GUTEKUNST    CO..    PHILA. 


Pennsylvania  at  (Tetfi/.sburfj.  441 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

84™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

Septemhkr  1 1,  iSSy 
ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  THOMAS  E.  MERCHANT 

SOLDIERS  of  the  Eighty-fourth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Veteran  Volun- 
teers:—If  the  feeling  with  which  these  words  of  salutation  are  heard  and 
accepted,  is  like  unto  the  feeling  that  prompts  their  utterance,  then  are 
we  fully  compensated  in  our  coming  together.  We  name  the  old  regi- 
ment, aud  what  recollections  crowd  in  upon  us;  memories  of  the  camp,  the 
march,  and  the  field.  Some  fond — many  weighted  with  the  touch  of  sorrow 
felt  in  its  heavy  burden  even  until  now,  through  all  of  so  much  of  time.  In 
the  presence  of  these  recollections  I  could  not  hope  to  control  your  thought.  I 
would  not  ask  you  simply  to  follow  words  as  I  speak  them,  but  rather  that  you 
be  all  of  memory,  all  of  feeling,  thinking,  listening  the  while  if  you  can,  but 
surely  thinking.  For  in  thought  you  can  cover  more  ground  in  moments  than 
I  could  travel  for  you  in  days.  Together  you  comprise  the  whole  book,  the 
turning  of  whose  pages  wakens  memory  to  every  detail,  while  from  the  one  in- 
dividual you  can  have  no  more  than  the  head-lines  to  the  volume  whose  con- 
tents you  are  so  familiar  with.  Together  you  know  what  our  regiment  was; 
alone  I  can  but  outline  to  you,  and  that  roughly,  a  meagre  part  of  the  full 
story  of  the  Eighty-fourth.  Its  history  could  be  found  only  in  the  evei-ythino- 
that  could  be  told  by  each  of  all  the  hundreds,  living  and  dead,  who  numbered 
its  total  strength.  But  where  your  special  individual  interest  lies  it  is  not  pos- 
sible for  me  to  tread.  I  wish  I  could  tell  the  story  of  every  company  relate 
the  incidents  of  every  mess,  and  note  the  experiences  of  every  individual. 

Many  the  time  we  have  recalled  our  comradeship,  more  especially  with  tho.se 
with  whom  we  were  brought  in  the  closer  association.  It  would  be  a  pleasant 
theme  were  I  at  liberty  to  name  the  latter  and  their  never-forgotten  deeds,  that 
I  might  place  on  record  my  keen  appreciation  of  their  kindlj^  acts  at  a  time 
when  kindness  was  most  to  be  valued,  and  fidelity  most  to  Ije  prized.  But  in 
whatever  I  do  upon  this  occasion,  I  stand  reminded  that  I  am  not  to  tread 
over  again  my  individual  walk,  nor  .speak  again  my  personal  conversation. 
What  is  said — what  is  done — shall  be,  so  far  as  may  be.  of  all  for  all. 

Not  manj'  of  us  had  the  opportunity  to  know  very  much  outside  the  limits 
of  the  company';  and  fewer  of  us  beyond  the  limits  of  the  regiment.  And  it 
was  well  for  good  service  that  the  majority  of  .soldiers  were  content  with  tlie 
work  assigned  them,  and  gave  but  little  heed  to  the  details  of  location  of  armies 
or  corps,  and  but  little  thought  to  the  place  of  divisions  or  brigades. 

Who  was  the  best-po.sted  man  on  the  news  ?  Who  the  readiest  army  talker? 
Who  the  general  of  the  camp?  The  soldier  who  was  not  to  be  found  in  the 
place  his  enlistment  called  for  at  the  time  when  his  presence  would  have  told 
the  most.     It  was  well  for  the  .service  that  he  did  not  number  many. 

The  good  soldier  ought  not  to  think  it  strange,  that  while  in  evervthino  he 
did  his  duty  well,  he  does  not  know  much  of  what  was  done  by  regiments  other 
than  his  own,  and  would  be  at  a  lo.ss  to  name  the  number  of  his  brigade.  Nor 
must  he  think  that  the  comrade  who  stood  side  V)y  side  with  him  is  the  only 


442  Pennsylvania  at  Getti/.s/nny. 

one  nnstakcii  as  to  the  occnrrences  of  tlie  day.  It  would  not  always  be  well 
to  accept  a  soldier  of  F  Conipanj'  as  a  conclusive  witness  of  what  took  place  in  E.if 
there  was  dispute  as  to  the  Ijearing  of  the  line,  or  question  as  to  who  were  the 
tii-st  to  advance  ;  and  v'et,  no  one  will  Ijend  the  ear  more  gladly  than  myself  to 
the  recitals  of  a  soldier  in  fact,  because  I  know  he  gives  us  the  truth  as  he  be- 
lieves it.  And  if  from  the  data  thus  gathered,  I  count  that  his  regiment  was 
killed,  or  permanently  disabled,  twice  over,  I  attribute  the  outcome  to  a  lack 
somewhere  in  the  arithmetic,  and  not  to  a  vice  in  the  teller.  And,  in  this  con- 
nection, we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  of  the  years  that  have  rolled  by. 

Twenty-four  years  and  upward  in  the  circle  of  time  measures  the  distance  of 
our  close,  very  close,  comradeship.  Yeai's  more  than  many  of  us  had  numbered 
prior  to  the  beginning,  four  years  belbre,  of  the  long  campaign.  The  time  that 
preceded  and  that  which  has  followed,  make  up  the  life  ordinary.  The  long 
four  years  was  the  life  within  the  other  life.  In  it  was  contained  the  greatest 
of  all  wars  from  the  world's  beginning— the  war  against  the  rebellion  of  '61. 

Hirelings  were  not  upon  either  side.  It  was  man  against  man  in  the  fight. 
Soldier  pitted  against  soldier.  Each  individual  fighting  the  issue  which  so 
nearly  concerned  himself  It  was  the  greatest  of  rebellions  against  the  grandest 
of  governments.  If  successful,  to  the  world  it  would  have  been  the  greatest 
and  grandest  of  revolutions. 

It  was  not  a  conflict  forced  merely  for  the  perpetuation  of  slavery.  It  was 
the  institution  of  the  crown,  and  not  preservation  of  the  chattel,  that  most 
moved  the  men  who  moved  the  South  from  '89  to  '61. 

One  people  in  government,  and  yet  in  sentiment  and  practices  as  far  removed 
as  two  nationalities. 

Forced  together  for  mutual  protection,  yet  from  the  beginning  thoroughlv 
divided  in  appreciation  of  the  powers  of  a  free  government. 

In  human  direction,  it  was  birt  a  run  of  time  when,  as  a  government  for  the 
whole  people,  the  central  power  would  be  called  upon  to  assert  itself  by  the 
power  of  might. 

Neither  of  the  existing  conditions  would  have  won  to  the  United  States  a  con- 
stitution for  their  government  such  as  was  fixed  upon  and  has  come  along,  in 
its  working,  thiough  all  of  a  hundred  years,  without  a  break  in  any  of  its  pro- 
visions. Every  line  of  it,  as  to  matters  upon  which  men  could  differ,  was  agreed 
upon  for  submission  to  the  states,  because  necessity  admitted  of  no  other  course 
for  them,  and  live.  Well  was  it  for  .stability  of  government  that,  when  the 
substance  had  pa.ssed  the  gauntlet  of  discussion,  the  words  had  been  so  well 
])laced  that  not  a  letter  was  found  astray  when  the  great  test  came.  No  docu- 
ment of  state  has.  or  ever  will,  surpa.ss  it  in  sublimity  of  thought,  arrangement 
of  detail,  clearness  of  expression  or  force  of  powei'. 

In  the  assertion  of  the  binding  powers  of  this  constitution,  the  Eighty-fourth 
had  a  part,  and  you  were  a  part  of  the  P^ighty-fourth. 

Your  regiment  was  to  you  the  command  which  centered  your  soldier  life. 
And  well  content  mayyou  be  in  the  fact  that  its  character  secured  for  it  a  repu- 
tation which,  to  everyone  of  us  has  been  a  thing  of  justandaflcctionate  pride. 
I  studied  that  character  at  a  time  when  I  felt  it  was  ever^'thing  to  me.  Mv 
varied  experiences  in  the  sev(;ral  i)ositions  in  company  and  regiment,  which  I 
occupied,  enabled  me  to  found  a  Judgment  which  has  been  very  clearly  and 
most  positively  strengthened  l)y  every  knowledge  since  acquired.  The  tenor 
of  that  judgment  vou  will  gatlier  as  I  ))rocecd,  in  an  imperfect  way.  to  tell  you 
a  part  of  what  you  did  in  tiirce  years  and  nine  months  of  .soldier  life. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  443 

In  the  month  of  July.  ISKL  authority  was  jiranted  directly  by  the  Secretary 
of  War,  to  recruit  in  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania  the  Mountain  Brigade, 
to  be  composed  of  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery;  and  upon  its  organization 
to  be  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States.  Among  the  persons  named 
in  the  order  was  one  J.  Y.  James,  who  was  to  be  assigned  tf)  tlie  command  of 
the  troops  when  thus  organized.  The  recruiting  camp  for  the  infantry  was  lo- 
cated three   miles  out  of  the  town  of  Huntingdon,  on  the  Warm  Springs  road. 

In  accordance  with  the  purpose  that  the  recruiting  and  organization  of  the 
])rigade  should  be  under  the  direction  of  a  regular  army  oflicer.  Captain  Cros- 
man,  of  the  Quartermaster's  Department,  United  States  Army,  was  detailed  by 
the  W"ar  Department  for  that  duty,  hence  the  name  given  to  the  camp  to  which 
the  early  recruits  of  the  Eighty-fourth  ever  looked  back  as  their  original  soldier 
home,  and  the  birth-place  of  the  regiment.  The  projectors  of  the  brigade  had 
reached  out  to  three  regiments  of  infantry,  to  be  numbered  respectively  eighty- 
four,one  hundred  and  ten,  and,  somewhat  uncertain,  but  said  to  be.  thirty-nine. 

I  have  given  the  numbers  in  the  order  named,  ^ilacing  the  Eighty-fourth  at  the 
head,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  its  commander  was  to  be  the  ranking  regimental 
officer  of  the  brigade.  William  G.  Murray,  Blair  county,  was  .selected  as  the 
■colonel  of  the  Eighty-fourth  :  William  D.  Lewis,  of  Fhiladelphia,  as  colonel  of 

the  One  hundred  and  tenth  ;  and Curtis,  of  Philadelphia,  as  Colonel  of 

the  third  regiment.  Whatever  was  done  toward  the  building  up  of  the  last- 
named  regiment,  came  to  naught  by  the  promulgation  of  an  order  transferring 
its  recruits  to  the  One  hundred  and  tenth,  and  making  transfers  from  the  One 
hundred  and  tenth  to  the  Eighty -fourth.  While  the  reason  for  this  double  trans- 
fer has  been  intimated,  it  is  not  so  certainly  correct  as  to  justify  its  .statement 
as  altogether  fact.  The  brigade  feature  failed  of  accomplishment.  Cavalry  nor 
artillerj-  put  in  an  appearance  ;  and  James,  the  proposed  ])rigade  commander, 
did  not  identify  himself  with  either  regiment.  But.  while  James  did  not  be- 
come commander  of  the  ^Mountain  Brigade,  the  attempt  to  .so  locate  him  did 
place  in  the  field  two  of  the  most  efficient  among  all  the  regiments  that  entered 
their  country's  service  in  the  War  of  the  Eebellion,  whether  in  the  Army  of  the 
Shenandoah,  the  Army  of  Virginia,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  or  anj'  other  of 
the  armies  of  the  Union.  Eecruiting  for  the  Eightj'-fourth  commenced  early  in 
the  month  of  August,  the  first  enlistment  date  on  the  roll  being  the  16th  of  that 
month. 

I  do  not  venture  the  name  of  the  first  soldier  of  the  regiment,  lest,  like  to 
the  naming  of  the  youngest  boy  in  the  army.  I  might  afterwards  be  met  with 
.scores  of  avowals  that  the  record  does  not  show  strictly  c!orrect.  Then,  again, 
the  serenity  of  manner,  and  mildness  of  word,  with  which  a  soldier  is  wont  to 
put  a  criticism,  makes  it  desirable  to  avoid  placing  such  a  necessity  before  him. 
if  a  simple  omission  will  save  his  feeling  upon  the  particular  point,  and  the 
service  be  in  no  way  injured  thereby. 

On  the  23d  of  October,  the  regimental  organization  waseflected.  In  Novem- 
ber, the  regiment  was  ordered  to  report  at  Camp  Curtin,  which  most  Pennsyl- 
vania soldiers  remember  so  well  as  overlooking  Harrisburg.  Here  the  enlist- 
ments were  continued,  and  on  the  ;23d  of  December  the  officers  and  men  were 
mustered  as  a  regiment  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  for  three  years, 
there  being  at  the  time  nine  companies.  "  H  '"  omitted.  Two  days  previous  to 
the  muster,  the  regiment  was  presented  by  Governor  Curtin,  on  behalf  of  the 
State,  with  the  colors. 


444 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


The  lield  and  staff  officers  were:  Colonel,  William  (;.  Murray;  lieutenaul- 
lolonel,  Thomas  C.  MacDowell;  major.  Walter  Barrett:  adjutant.  Thomas  11. 
Craig:  quartermaster.  John  M.  Kepheart;  surgeon.  Gibbouey  F.  Hoop;  assistant 
surgeon,  C.  A.  W.  Redlick;  eiiaplain.  Alexander  McLeod:  sergeant-major,  Wil- 
liam ^I.  Gwinn;  quartermaster-sergeant,  G.  A.  Ramey;  drum-major.  Foster 
Wighaman;  fife-major,  Thaddeus  Albert. 

Line  officers:  Company  A,  captain,  Robert  L.  Horrell;  first  lieuteuaut, 
Jonathan  Derno;  second  lieutenant,  Charles  Reem.  Company  B,  captain,  Har- 
rison W.  Miles;  first  lieutenant,  Samuel  Bryan:  .second  lieutenant,  George 
Ziuu.  Company  C,  captain.  Abraham  J.  Crissmau,  first  lieutenant.  B.  M. 
Morrow,  second  lieutenant.  Charles  O'Xeil.  Company  D,  captain,  Alexander 
J.  Frick;  first  lieutenant,  Uzal  H.  Ent;  second  lieutenant,  Calvin  MacDowell. 
Company  E.  captain,  Patrick  Gallagher;  first-lieutenant.  Patrick  F.  Walsh: 
second  lieutenant,  John  Maloney.  Company  F,  captain,  Robert  M.  Flack: 
first  lieutenant,  Milton  Opp;  second  lieutenant.  Jacob  Peterman.  Company 
G,  captain.  J.  Merrick  Housler;  first  lieutenant,  James  Ingram;  second  lieuten- 
ant, D.  W.  Taggart.  Company  I,  captain,  Joseph  L.  Curby:  first  lieutenant, 
Clarence  L.  Barrett;  second  lieutenant,  John  W.  Paulley.  Company  K,  captain, 
Matthew  Ogden;  first  lieutenant,  Charles  H.  Volk;  second  lieutenant.  John 
W.  Taylor. 

STKEX(i'rH    OK    CoMI'.VMES. 


A, 
B, 

C, 
D, 
E, 
F, 

I. 

K. 


Total  oflScers  and  men, . 


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766 

Murray's  selection  for  the  colonelcy  of  the  Eighty -fourth  may  be  attributed 
to  the  part  which  he  took  as  an  officer  in  the  Mexican  war,  where  he  did  hon- 
orable and  praiseworthy  service.  Several  of  the  men  had  responded  jiromptly 
to  the  first  call  lor  three-montlis'  trooi)s,  and  were  now  on  their  way  for  the 
longer  term. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  the  last  day  of  the  year  18()1,  acting  upon  orders 
received  to  report  at  Hancock,  Maryland,  the  regiment  left  Harrisburg  at  2 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  on  a  train  made  up  of  twenty-one  cars,  for  Hagers- 
town,  where  it  arrived  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  that  day. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1862,  early  in  the  morning,  began  the  first  in  the  long 
.series  of  the  weary,  footsore,  leg-tiring,  patience-testing  and  body-exhausting 
marches  which  were  to  be  taken  in  the  coming  tlnee  and  a  half  years.  The 
morning  was  cold — cold  enough  to  do  full  jn.stice  to  the  time  of  the  season  and 
the  sea.son  of  the  year.  Avhat  we  characterize  a  bitter  day.  and  a  bitter  experi- 
ence was  it  for  the  l)ovs  who  were  vet  to  learn  the  attendants  of  war.     A  driv- 


/'fintst//va/ii<i  (if   (Tcftij.sliii m.  445 

iiig  wind,  with  a  I'all  nT  snow,  iiuulc  wlial  would  liavc  heen  a  luore  tlian  un- 
comfortable bivouac  for  tlic  niglit,  wcit'  it  not  tliat  to  the  weary  traveler  there 
is  not  less  of  comfort  in  stopping  than  in  going,  it  was  the  less  for  the  greater 
hardship,  and  the  freezing  could  go  on  through  the  night  unaccompanied  by 
the  strain  of  the  marcli.  Clear  Sjjring  had  been  left  lichind  tlirougli  the  day. 
and  the  stop  at  night  was  without  tents. 

Nine  o'clock  of  the  2d  marked  the  regiment  again  on  the  way,  and  on  the 
mountain  top  at  Fairview  was  had  the  first  sight  of  secession  land,  the  Dixie 
of  the  song,  and  then  on  to  Hancock,  by  the  bank  of  the  Potomac,  the  terminal 
of  the  order  that  initiated  the  war  .service  that  started  active,  and  on  that  line 
developed,  continuously,  to  a  fuJness  sufficient  to  meet  the  hardiest  specula- 
tions of  the  most  radical  expectant.  The  National  pike  furnished  the  road- 
way from  Hagerstown  to  Hancock.  The  arrival  at  Hancock  was  in  the  even- 
ing of  the  2d.  The  regiment  was  put  in  quarters  just  vacated  by  the  Thir- 
teenth Massachusetts,  which  had  l>een  passed  on  its  way  dow ji  the  river  in 
canal  boats. 

The  day  of  arrival  at  Hancock  was  in  the  nintli  month  of  a  war  that  had  not 
been  lacking  in  vigor  ot  movement  on  the  part  of  the  foe  Avhich  the  govern- 
ment had  encountered,  and  yet  so  little  of  system  had  been  attained,  and  so 
little  of  war  wisdom  sought  after,  that  a  regiment  of  soldiers  was  traveled  from 
Harrisburg  without  arms,  and  that  to  a  point  just  across  a  river,  narrow  and 
shallow,  from  where  lie  the  forces  whose  movements  the  regiment  had  been 
sent  to  check. 

On  the  3d  the  guns  were  handed  out.  They  ^\ere  of  the  old  Belgian  make, 
containing  all  the  tallow  that  the  barrel  would  accommodate  in  addition  to  the 
several  cartridges  necessary  to  be  supplied  before  the  moistened  powder  could 
be  induced  to  ignite.  When  they  Avere  carried  over  into  Virginia,  and  the 
warmth  of  the  fire  reached  the  explosive  grain,  you  can  think  now,  as  you 
realized  then,  that  even  the  Belgian  was  not  built  to  throw  more  than  one  ball 
at  the  same  fire  without  repairs  to  one  or  the  other — the  gun  or  the  man. 

But  why  say,  or  even  think  fault  of  what  was  done,  for  what  was  not  done, 
then.  Everybody  is  wiser  now.  Through  all  its  after  course  the  regiment 
proved  itself  full  worthy  of  the  reputation  at  that  time,  so  early  in  its  history, 
at  the  very  beginning  of  its  campaign,  imjiliedly  accorded  it,  that  it  would  go 
wherever  ordered  to  go,  and  pick  up  on  the  way  whatever  could  be  found  most 
effective  for  the  best  work.  And  there  w^as  the  full  regulation  uniform.  The 
appearance  presented  in  the  dark  blue,  the  tail  coat,  the  plentiful  hat,  and  the 
extra  cap.  Who  can  saj'  that  these  things  were  not  sufficient  to  keep  Stone- 
wall Jackson  on  the  other  side,  notwithstanding  the  apparent  absence  of  arms? 
for,  competent  soldier  that  he  was,  he  could  not  have  been  induced  to  believe 
that,  in  the  ninth  month  of  the  war,  a  regiment  of  United  States  regulars  would 
have  been  permitted  at  the  front  without  all  requisite  paraphernalia  close  at 
hand.  On  the  night  of  the  3d,  the  regiment  was  crossed  over  the  Potomac  on 
scows,  and  marched  six  miles  across  the  country  to  Batli.  the  summer  resort 
known  as  Berkeley  Springs.  Here  were  met  Captain  Russell's  company  of  First 
Maryland  Cavalry,  two  companies  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Illinois  Infantry,  and  a 
section  of  artillery,  two  guns,  with  which  force  the  Eighty-fourth  was  to  co- 
operate, with  Colonel  Murray,  the  ranking  officer,  in  command.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  4th,  from  out  of  Bath,  up  on  the  mountain  top,  and  there  formed  in 
line.     From  this  point  the  rebel  array  could  be  plainly  seen  advancing  along 


44(!  Ptnns//fr<iniu  at   Geityslmitj. 

tiie  liircc- roiuls:  .lack.soirs  lbr<<:  of  ten    tliousaiid,  con^^isliug  of   1", Willi's,  Long- 
street's  and  1-^arly's  brigades,  suiipleniented  by  Ashby's  ravah\-. 

A  detail  iVom  the;  regiment  was  thrown  out  as  pickets  or  skirniisliers.  It  is 
liardly  retjuirexl  1o  say  that  these  were  forced  back  as  the  enemy  moved  on, 
until  our  small  force  was  almost  surrounded.  Sufficient  show  of  strength  was 
kept  up  to  deter  Jackson  from  moving  faster. 

About  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  word  was  had  that  the  artillerj-  had  ex- 
hausted their  ammunition,  and  jMurray  concluded  to  fall  back.  The  regiment 
could  not  return  by  the  way  it  had  come.  A  guide  was  sought.found  and  pressed 
into  the  service.  His  inclination  was  much  toward  the  other  side,  and  he  .soon 
showed  himself  more  desirous  of  coming  np  with  Ashby  than  of  pointing  out  a 
safe  approach  to  the  river.  At  one  point  he  came  so  near  the  accomplishment 
of  his  purpose,  that  iliirray  gave  him  a  gentle  caution  in  about  these  words:  11^ 
one  of  my  men  Icses  his  life  by  yotrr  movement,  your  o  \vn  life  will  be  the  forfeit. 
Thtis  kindly  admonished,  the  guide  changed  the  course  of  the  march  and  con- 
ducted the  regiment  to  Sir  John's  run,  six  miles  up  the  river,  from  w^iich 
point  the  way  "was  along  the  i-ailroad,  under  the  high  bluffs,  to  the  old  mill 
opposite  Hancock.  The  problem  now  presented  was  how  to  avoid  attack  while 
lecrossing.  Upon  Captain  Jvussell's  suggestion  the  two  companies  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Illinois  were  placed  in  ambush,  while  he  so  disposed  his  men  as  to  draw 
Ashby  on.  The  manoeuvre  worked  well,  and  A.shby  was  so  much  surprised  liy 
the  tmexpected  lire  as  to  de.sist  from  further  attempt.  Some  of  the  men,  to 
avoid  the  delay  attending  the  slow  navigation  of  the  ancient  feriy,  adopted  the 
alternative  of  wading  the  stream,  trusting  to  the  artillery  tire  of  the  enemy  to 
warm  them  up  by  the  time  they  reached  the  other  side.  In  the  crossing,  one 
man  "was  lost  to  the  regiment — whether  to  the  world  is  to  this  hour  a  (juestion. 

As  an  addendum  to  the  story  of  the  muskets,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  regi- 
ment crossed  the  river  without  belts,  cartridge  boxes  or  cap  pouches,  carry- 
ing the  cartridges  in  one  pocket  and  the  caps  in  the  other.  This  omission  was 
for  want  of  time  to  adjust  the  belts.  It  seems  incredible  that  less  than  a 
thou.sand  men  w<'re  thus  successful  in  holding  so  many  thousand  in  check  for 
an  entire  day.  and  without  death,  Avouud  or  capture  of  a  man.  However,  the 
good  .service  was  in  fact  done,  and  history  is  no  more  remiss  as  to  this  event 
tlian  it  is  as  to  the  deprivation,  toil  and  lighting  of  all  the  i-amjiaign  in  the 
valley  to  July  of  18G:>. 

On  the  night  of  the  Itli,  (iiiieral  j.andcr  arrived  at  llaneoek  and  assumed 
command  of  all  the  troops. 

The  regiment  that  was  to  go  sitle  liy  side  with  the  Eighty-fourth  for  the  com- 
ing eighteen  months,  now  composed  a  ])art  oftlielbree  at  Hancock,  the  One 
hundred  and  tenth  Pennsylvania.  The  enemy  ke]it  up  the  artillery  lire  from 
the  bluffs  oppo.site  until  midnight. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  under  cover  of  a  llag  of  truce,  Ashby  came  over 
the  river  and  was  met  at  the  bank  ))y  Colonel  .Murray,  .\shby  was  blindfolded 
and  conducted  to  tlie  quarters  ol'  '•!;■"  company,  into  a  loom  occupied  by  the 
captain,  lirst  lieutenant  and  first  sergeant,  'i'lie  liandage  1)eing  removed,  Ashby 
put  the  que.stion:  ''  Who  did  you  say  is  in  command  here  ?  "'  ^Murray  replied. 
■•  I  do  not  think  I  said  who  isin  command."'  Asiiby'sexpert  question  not  bring- 
ing the  expected  reply,  he  then  delivered  to  IMurray  the  mes.sage  he  had  from 
Jackson,  a  demanil  of  the  commanding  officer  of  the  troops  for  the  surrender  of 
the  town  "within  two  hours,  or  he  would  shell  i(.      Muiray  turned   Ashby  over 


l'('nnsiilvanl<t  at  GeUi/shi/rg.  447 

to  the  care  of  Sergeant  Mather,  while  he  went  to  IJeneial  Lauder  to  repeat 
Jackson's  demand.  Lander  was  desirous  of  knowing  how  long  our  men  would 
stand  under  fire,  and  upon  being  assured  l)y  ^lurray  that  thej-  had  acted  very 
well  the  day  before,  he  refused  the  demand,  in  terms  much  emphasized,  with 
the  suggestion  that  if  Jackson  wanted  the  t  own  lie  would  have  to  take  it.  When 
Murra}^  had  delivered  Lander's  reply  to  Ashby,  he  reconducted  the  latter  to  the 
li  ver  bank  and  Ashby  recrossed.  The  details  of  this  incident  are  given  as  sliow- 
ing  the  aptness  of  the  commander  of  the  Eighty-fourth  for  a  sudden  and  trying 
occasion.  Notice  was  given  to  the  citizens  ol'  the  threatened  shelling,  and  they 
were  not  long  in  getting  beyond  artillery  limits.  Our  men  were  placed  in  the 
streets  at  points  best  adapted  for  checking  any  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  cross. 
At  the  appointed  time  the  lire  commenced  and  continued  through  the  day.  On 
the  (3th,  the  artillery  tire  was  mostly  from  our  side.  On  the  7th  and  8th  rein- 
forcements arrived.  This  mid-winter  movement  of  .lackson  from  Winchester 
was  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  the  stores  at  Romuey,  Virginia,  by  surprise  of 
the  small  force  stationed  there.  As  soon  as  Lander  became  aware  of  Jackson's 
purpose  he  started  off  in  a  two-hor.se  wagon,  accompanied  only  by  his  adjutant: 
drove  as  rapidly  as  he  could  along  the  National  pike  to  Cumljerland.  then  across 
the  river  and  from  there  to  Romney,  in  time  to  prevent  the  hoped-for  surprise, 
and  to  get  the  troops  away  with  all  the  stores  that  could  be  removed,  destroy- 
ing the  remainder. 

On  the  10th,  started  from  Hancock,  in  company  with  the  One  hundred  and 
tenth  Pennsylvania,  and  .Vndrews"  Independent  Comi)any  of  sharpshooters, 
marched  eighteen  miles,  stopping  at  half-past  two  the  next  morning.  .\  detail 
from  the  regiment  boarded  a  canal  boat  loaded  with  ammunition,  as  a  guard  to 
Cumberland.  Their  saving  of  a  march  was  somewhat  offset  by  a  keen  appreci- 
ation of  the  situation,  knowing  that  a  well-directed,  or  even  stray,  shot  would 
destroy  the  boat  and  all  of  the  boat  load.  The  hoofs  of  the  motive  power  were 
muffled  to  deadeu  the  tramp  of  the  mule.  Continued  on  the  11th,  along  the 
National  pike,  the  last  contingent  reached  Cumberland  on  the  12th,  and  closing 
a  forced  march  of  forty  miles.  Jackson,  baffled  in  his  purpose,  returned  to  Win- 
chester. His  Georgia  troops  especially  suffered  severely  from  their  winter 
march. 

On  the  IGth,  from  Cumberland  to  North  Branch  bridge  on  the  Virginia  side. 
On  the  17th,  at  3  p.  m.,  review  of  all  the  troops  On  the  ■25th,  lirst  muster  for 
pay,  and  on  February  .5,  first  pay  drawn.  On  the  6th,  at  (3  a.  m.,  taken  on 
cars  to  South  Sranch  bridge,  this  being  the  beginning  of  the  movement  to  re- 
open the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  from  Cumberland  down.  On  the  itth. 
reached  Paw-Paw  tunnel,  and  bivouacked  in  the  snow.  On  the  10th,  put  up 
tents  along  the  river,  known  as  Camp  Cha.se,  and  on  the  II th,  reviewed  by 
Colonel  Kimball.  On  the  13th,  all  the  troops,  excepting  the  Eighty-fourth 
Pennsylvania  and  Seventh  Virginia,  left  for  Winchester,  along  with  the  artil- 
lery. On  the  21st,  first  battalion  drill.  22d,  review  by  General  Lander.  28th, 
ordered  to  be  ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  On  March  2,  at  Paw-Paw, 
occurred  the  death  of  General  Lander  from  wound  received  at  IJall's  Bluff. 
Colonel  Kimball  succeeded  to  the  command.  On  the  3d,  obsequies  attending 
General  Lander's  death.  On  the  Gth.  marched  as  far  as  Back  creek,  eight  miles 
below  Hancock,  on  the  Virginia  side.  At  this  creek  the  regiment  cro.ssed  on 
a  suspension  bridge  of  two  wire  ropes  with  boards  laid  thereon,  sixty  feet  above 
the  water.     At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  arrived  at  Martinsburg. 


448  Pt'itnsijlvunid  ot  Gettysburg. 

t)ii  the  stli.  by  order  of  the  I'resident,  the  troops  operating  in  Virginia  were 
chis-sed  iu  live  army  oorps — the  Fifth  C()iui)rised  of  Banks'  and  Shields'  Divisions, 
the  Eighty-fourth  being  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade  (Carroll),  Second  Divi- 
sion (^Shields),  Fifth  Corps  (Banks). 

On  the  11th,  from  Martinsburg  at  s  a.  m..  reaching  Bunker's  Hill  at  4  p.  m.. 
from  there  at  11  p.  m.,  halting  at  .'i  a.  m.  of  the  12th,  eighteen  miles  from  Mar- 
tiusburg  and  four  from  "Winchester.  At  8  a.  m.  advanced  one-half  mile  and 
formed  line.  Winchester  occupied  by  Union  troops.  Artillery  fire  kept  up 
through  the  day  of  the  13th.  On  the  night  of  the  14th,  tents  arrived  and  Avere 
put  up  on  the  ground  known  as  Camp  Kimball,  two  miles  north  of  Winchester. 
On  the  18th,  moved  at  11  a.  m.,  through  Winchester,  marching  fourteen  miles 
in  the  direction  ofStrasburg.  On  the  19th,  marched  through  Strasburg  and 
three  miles  beyond,  when  it  was  learned  that  Jackson  had  burned  the  bridge 
at  Cedar  creek.  Returned  to  within  one  mile  of  Strasl)urg,  and  on  the  20th, 
our  troops  took  up  the  march  for  Winchester,  covering  the  distance,  twenty-one 
miles,  through  mud  and  rain  without  a  halt,  and  reaching  Camp  Kimball  at 
8  p.  m. 

Banks  now  supposed  that  Jackson  had  departed  with  his  army  from  the  valley, 
and,  in  that  belief,  moved  all  his  force,  with  the  exception  of  Shields"  Division, 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and,  on  the  morning  of  the  22d,  himself  started  for  Wash- 
ington. Only  a  few  hours  later,  4  p.  m.,  and  Ash^y's  artiller3Mnade  known  to 
Shields  that  Jackson  had  returned.  Shields  immediately  advanced  a  part  of 
his  division,  commanding  in  person,  with  orders  to  Kimball,  whose  brigade  in- 
cluded the  Eighty -fourth,  to  follow  with  the  remainder  to  a  point  on  the  pike 
two  miles  south  of  Winchester.  It  was  at  4.30  when  the  regiment  received 
orders  to  "  fall  in."  Shields  was  brought  back  wounded,  having  been  struck 
by  a  piece  of  shell.  This  placed  Kimball  in  immediate  command  on  the  field, 
though  Shields,  from  his  quarters  in  the  rear,  continued  through  the  remainder 
of  this  and  the  following  day  to  receive  information  of  the  situation,  and,  as 
far  as  he  possibh'  could,  direct  the  course  to  be  taken.  Between  five  and  six 
o'clock  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  side  of  the  road  and  there  laid  through 
the  night.  At  the  close  of  the  day  Jackson's  whole  Ibrce  was  about  half  way 
between  Winchester  and  Kernstown.  Again  the  error  was  committed  iu  sup- 
posing that  Jackson  was  out  of  the  way. 

On  the  morning  of  Sunday  the  23d,  the  regiment  was  ordered  into  camp  on 
the  left  of  the  Kernstown  road,  and  it  was  while  Colonel  Murraj'  was  engaged 
in  laying  out  the  ground,  word  came  that  a  battle  was  at  hand,  and  immedi- 
ately the  order  was  given  to  ''  fall  in."  The  artillery-  lire  oi)eiied  about  eleven 
o'clock.  The  regiment  was  ordered  to  take  position  on  the  extreme  right  of 
the  division  line,  and  about  2  p.  m.  was  ordered  to  tlie  center  in  support  of 
Clark's  Regular  and  Robinson's  Ohio  batteries.  The  attack  on  the  left  of  the 
division  at  this  time  was  successfully  met  by  Sullivan's  Brigade.  After  this 
repulse,  Jackson's  attention  was  directed  to  our  right.  Passing  his  troops  along 
our  front,  under  cover  of  the  woods,  he  took  a  position  commanding  the  right 
of  the  division  and  with  a  view  to  turning  that  flank  and  getting  to  our  rear. 
To  aid  in  this  movement,  with  his  men  well  protected,  he  started  a  furious  fire 
from  his  guns  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile.  About  4  o'clock  the  order  came 
from  Kimball  to  Murray  to  charge  straight  up  to  the  battery  and  take  it  if  pos- 
sible. The  ))lace  of  the  battery  was  the  very  key  to  the  enemy's  position.  That 
hour,  near  the  close  of  that  March  day.  the  23d,  made  for  the  Eighty-fourth 


PeniiHylvania  at  Gettyshurg.  449 

Pennsylvania  a  reputation  which  was  never  for  a  moment  blurnul  in  any  ot"  its 
after  course.  The  regiment  equaled  itself  on  other  fields,  at  other  times,  l)ut 
it  never  could  have  had  the  opportunity  to  surpass  the  gallantry,  the  true 
bravery,  the  manly  courage,  the  noble  heroism,  the  devotion  to  country,  dis- 
played at  Winchester,  its  first  battle. 

As  it  did  then  so  did  it  always.  Wlierever  ordered  to  go  it  went.  Through 
forest,  across  open  field,  was  no  matter  in  the  execution  of  the  order  to  go.  Its 
soldiers  never  stopped  to  estimate  the  probable  result.  Casualties  were  noted 
only  after  the  battle,  when  they  went  upon  the  roll  asunaltera))le  fact.  On  this 
day,  over  the  intervening  space,  went  the  regiment,  and  Murray  with  it.  No 
doubt,  then,  of  the  moral  worth  of  their  commander.  No  waver  of  thought 
then  as  to  the  true  courageof  their  leader.  But  for  one  moment  following  upon 
the  contest,  in  which  for  officers  and  men  to  have  spoken  to  him  the  word  which 
would  have  been  their  every  assurance,  that  in  the  sure  test  of  a  soldier  he  had 
proved  himself  all  that  could  have  been  asked  for,  and  more.  But  time,  this 
.side,  with  him,  had  stopped,  ere  the  regiment  cros.sed  the  line  of  its  victory. 
Where  the  regiment  Avas  to  strike  his  line,  the  enemy  was  in  strong  position 
on  the  edge  of  a  wood,  behind  natural  breastworks  of  rocks  and  hillocks,  and 
with  two  hundred  yards  of  open  space  to  his  front. 

The  moment  the  order  to  charge  was  received,  the  regiment  started  oft'  by 
the  flank,  the  pioneer  corps  in  the  advance  to  take  down  fences.  Down  the 
hill,  over  the  meadow  ground  and  through  the  w-oods  to  the  opening,  all  the 
time  exposed  to  the  rebel  artillery  fire.  Unsupported  on  either  flank,  the  regi- 
ment pressed  forward  in  line,  up  the  slope,  two-thirds  of  the  distance  acro.ss  the 
open  space,  and  halted  just  before  reaching  the  toji. 

Colonel  Murray  knew-  that  the  regiment  could  not  stay  where  it  was.  To 
his  adjutant  he  said:  "We  cannot  hold  this  place:  we  must  either  advance  or 
retreat,  and  we  will  not  retreat." 

Both  his  field  officers  were  absent.  His  horse  had  been  killed,  as  liad  also 
that  of  his  adjutant,  and  he  was  now  dismounted.  Waiting  only  long  enough 
for  his  adjutant  to  make  known  his  purpose  to  the  company  commanders,  Mur- 
ray gave  the  order  to  "charge  !  "  Promptly  the  order -was  obeyed,  and  he 
and  his  regiment  were  well  on  the  way,  when  he  fell,  without  a  word,  in- 
stantly killed,  his  forehead  pierced  by  a  ball,  seemingly  gnided  in  its  course  by 
the  flash  of  the  figures  eight  and  four  upon  his  cap,  through  which  the  bullet 
crashed  on  its  way  to  claim  the  life  which  thus  far  had  led  the  regiment  that 
was  to  turn  the  tide.  Inspired  as  the}'  were  by  so  noble  an  example,  even  .so 
great  a  loss,  at  so  critical  a  moment,  did  not  stop  the  regiment  in  its  course. 

Without  a  field  officer,  on  they  went,  until  within  twenty  paces,  or  less,  of 
that  well-protected  line,  and  there  stood,  firing  and  receiving  the  greater  fire, 
never  thinking  to  go  back,  not  knowing  but  that  they  were  there  to  stay,  either 
.as  .soldiers  fighting  in  the  ranks,  or  lying,  lielpless.  cheering  their  comrades 
on — or  dead. 

The  Fonrteenth  Indiana  coming  up,  aided  in  forcing  the  enemy's  line,  and 
Tyler's  Brigade  having  Ibrced  the  line  behind  the  stone  fence  in  their  front, 
the  battle  was  over.  The  enemy  was  pursued  a  mile  or  more,  and  under  cover 
of  night  Jackson  started  his  whole  army,  which  before  morning  vvsis  in  full  re- 
treat up  the  valley,  leaving  the  victory  of  Winchester  to  Shields'  Division. 

The  Eighty-fourth  numbered  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  the  battle.  At  its 
close  it  numbered  ninety-two  less.  Three  officers  and  eighteen  men  killed. 
29 


450  Pennsylvania  at  (rettt/sbur(j. 

Two  olli(.'(!is  and  .sixty-niue  men  wounded.     Captain  (iallagliLT.  Company  E, 
and  Lieutenant  Keem,  Company  A,  were  among  the  killed. 

The  aceount  of  the  battle  in  the  New  York  World,  as  reported  by  its  cone.s- 
pondeut,  contained  the  Collowing: 

The  Eighty-fourth  Pennsylvania  suffered  more  tluui  any  other.  This  regiment,  of 
which  there  were  only  three  hundred  engaged  [proper  number  two  hundred  and  fil'tj- 
live],  lost  twent3--three  killed  and  sixty-three  wonnded  from  the  bullets  of  the  enemy, 
among  them  Colonel  Murray. 

In  "General  Ordei-  No.  riO,  Harrisburg,  Ajiril  4,  18()3, "  Governor  C'urtin 
spoke  as  follows: 

The  example  of  the  gallant  Colonel  Murray,  of  the  Eighty -fourth,  who  fell  at  the  head 
t)f  his  regiment  in  the  condict  at  Winchester,  with  that  of  the  noble  men  of  his  com- 
mand, who  there  gave  their  lives  a  willing  sacrifice  to  their  country,  must  stimulate  all 
who  have  enlisted  in  the  service  to  increased  devotion,  while  their  memory  will  be 
cherished  by  every  ]>atriot  and  add  honor  to  the  arms  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Union. 

On  the  day  after  Winchester,  Banks  with  part  of  his  corps  went  past  in  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy,  now  on  their  way  up  the  valley. 

On  the  25th,  the  regiment  marclied  to  Cedar  Creek  and  return,  twenty-four 
miles.  On  the  2(}th,  detail  ordered  to  bury  the  dead.  On  the  27th,  marched 
twelve  miles  to  P.erryville,  arriving  at  1  o'clock,  and  the  regiment  assigned  to 
provost  duty. 

On  April  o,  General  Jianks  was  assigneil  by  the  War  Department  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  General  McDowell  to  the  De- 
partment of  the  Jiappahannock. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  MacDowell  joined  the  regiment,  for  the  first  time,  at 
Berryville,  but  remained  only  a  short  time,  owingto  the  condition  of  his  health. 

On  April  22,  the  regiment  went  from  Berryville  to  Winchester,  arriving  at 
.")  p.  m.  Order  of  General  Shields,  congratulating  the  troops  on  their  bravery 
at  Winchester,  was  read.  (Jeneral  Bleuker,  passing  through  Winchester  with 
his  (command,  pers(mally  complimented  the  Eighty-fourth  for  the  part  taken 
in  the  l)attle. 

On  May  4,  regiment  oidered  to  join  the  division  as  soon  as  relieved,  and  on 
the  10th,  relieved  1)y  live  companies  of  the  Tenth  ISIaine.  The  regiment  was 
now  a  i)art  of  the  I'-ourth  Brigade,  Second  Division,  old  Filth  Corps.  On  the 
lltli.  started  at  11  a.  m.  and  marched  to  Cedar  Creek,  tifteen  miles.  On  the 
12th,  started  at  .^  a.  ni.  and  moved  four  miles  to  west  of  Strasburg.  On  the 
i:>th,  2  J),  m..  mo  veil  from  Strasburg  to  Middletown,  six  miles,  arriving  at  G  p. 
m.  On  th<;  14th,  (!  a.  ni..  to  Front  h'oyal,  fording  the  Shenandoah,  twelve 
miles.  (Quartered  in  rebel  hospital.  On  the  loth,  Avhole  of  Shields'  Division 
at  Middletown.  On  \\\i-.  Kith,  nuirched  with  the  supply  train  over  the  Blue 
Kidge,  ten  miles,  toward  Warrenton,  .stopping  a1  (i  ]).  m.  On  the  17th,  marched 
from  (j  a.  m.  to  (i  p.  m..  fifteen  miles.  On  the  ISth,  (i  a.  m.  passing  through 
Warrenton;  stoi)ped  at  (>  p.  ni.,  twelve  miles.  On  the  l!)th,  6  a.  m.,  arrived  at 
Duryea's  camp  11  a.  n\..  nIx  miles.  <  >ii  ilit^  2(tth,  at  Catlett's  Station.  On  the 
21st,  6  a.  m.,  eighteen  miles.  22d,  (>  a.  m..  fourteen  miles,  stopping  at  ^  p.  m. 
Went  into  cami>  opposite  Fredericksburg.  23d,  j)or1i()n  of  army  reviewed  l)y 
I'resident  Lincoln.     Eighty-fourth  not  in  review. 

As  soon  as  Lee  learned  ol'tlic  withdrawal  <il  Shields'  Division  iVom  the  \  al- 
ley, he  .started  .lackson  after  Banks.  Kwell  and  .Jackson,  combined,  numbered 
over  twenty  thousand.  Banks  had  about  four  tlKtnsand  men.  The  first  at- 
tack was  at  Winchester,  (n\  i\w  2'A\\.  and  Banks  was  i)ressed.  without  regard 
to  convenience  of  movement,  until  he  w:is  ovei-  tlie  I'otomac. 


PennsyJrarn'a  af  (r<if//,sh2irg.  451 

Shields"  Division  liad  heeii  in  iVont  ol'  Fr('(l('rii-ksl)urg  but  three  clays,  whei), 
on  the  25th,  at  ;>  p.  ni.,  they  were  again  on  Ihe  march  back  to  the  valley,  to 
stop  the  new  trouble;  eight  miles  covered  the  tirst  diy.  Ou  th«!  2Gth.  (I  a.  m., 
twenty-two  miles,  to  within  one  mile  of  Catlett's  Station,  arriving  at  10  p. 
m.  On  the  37th.  (•hanged  position,  two  miles.  On  the  38th,  twelve  miles  to 
Haymarket.  On  the  2})th,  (i  a.  m..  tifteen  miles  to  Rectortown,  pitched  tents, 
and  at  7  p.  m.  started  lor  I'rout  Koyal,  marched  all  night,  and  leached  there  G 
p.  m.  Ou  the  30th,  the  Louisiana  and  Oeorgia  troops  had  been  driven  out 
through  the  day  by  Colonel  Nelson's  Khode  Island  Cavalry.  On  the  31st,  2  p. 
m.,  went  four  miles  out  ou  the  Winchester  j)ike,  skirmishing  with  the  enemy, 
accompanied  by  two  pieces  of  artillery. 

By  this  time  Jackson  was  aware  of  the  situation,  which  he  had  not  appre- 
hended when  he  was  bent  on  routing  Banks.  He  now  realized  that  Banks  was 
))eyoud  capture  and  safe;  that  he  must  leave  the  Potomac  to  his  rear;  that  iu 
so  doing  Banks  would  have  the  advantage  of  ijursuing  a  retreating  column; 
that  on  his  retreat  he  would  probably  run  against  Fremont,  and  could  not 
evade  Shields.  He  knew  that  he  had  but  one;  way  to  go.  He  knew  there  was 
but  one  way  of  escape,  and  that  over  the  bridge  at  Port  Republic. 

June  1,  Shields'  Division  took  up  its  part  of  the  programme  and  went  ten  miles 
toward  Luray,  and  on  the  2d,  fifteen  miles  further  iu  the  same  direction.  On 
the  4th,  arrived  at  Columbia  bridge,  near  Lvrray.  On  the  the  5th  and  6th,  re- 
mained at  Columbia  bridge,  and  on  the  7th,  marched  during  the  night,  reach- 
ing Port  Republic  on  the  morning  of  the  8th. 

The  advance  of  Fremont's  forces  had  struck  the  rear  guard  ot'  Jackson,  in  re- 
treat, on  the  1st,  five  miles  from  Stnisburg,  which  liroughton  skirmishing,  and 
on  the  7th,  four  miles  beyond  Harrisonburg,  a  fight  took  place  between  the 
advance  of  Fremont's  Corps  and  Jack.son's  rear  guard,  and  on  the  8th  was 
Ibught  the  battle  of  Cross  Keys,  between  Fremont's  Corps  and  Jackson's  troops, 
lasting  from  1 1  a.  m.  till  4  p.  m. 

Thus  far  the  Massanutten  Mountains  had  separated  Jackson  and  his  immedi- 
ate pursuers  from  Shields.  This  mountain  range  stops  just  before  reaching 
Port  Republic.  The  only  troops  in  the  town  were  the  four  regiments  of  Car- 
loll's  Brigade,  First  Virginia,  Seventh  Indiana,  Eighty-fourth  and  One  hun- 
dred and  tenth  Pennsylvania,  about  sixteen  hundred  strong. 

■'  .\t  this  point, '"  read  the  orders  to  General  Shields,  ""you  will  intercept  Jack- 
son and  cut  off  his  retreat."  With  the  bridge  standing,  Carroll's  force,  or  even 
the  entire  division,  would  be  a  mere  handful  against  the  toe  now  almost  at 
hand.  The  efi'ectual  cut-oft"  would  haxe  been  the  destruction  of  the  bridge,  and 
had  there  been  but  one  man  there,  in  place  of  a  brigade,  he  would  have  de- 
stroyed it.  Did  Shields  order  Carroll  to  l)urn  the  bridge '.•'  And,  if  so.  did 
Carroll  think  it  would  be  more  .soldierly  to  right  the  whole  rebel  army '/ 

Whatever  the  answer,  the  fact  remains  that  the  bridge  was  not  burned. 
When  the  attempt  was  made  it  was  too  late.  Over  the  bridge  was  Jackson"s 
only  way  ot"  escape  from  Fremont.  When  he  fottnd  Carroll  there  he  moved  up 
his  advance,  under  cover  of  the  night,  quietly  posted  twenty  guns  where  they 
would  command  the  way  over  the  river,  and  opened  them  at  daylight.  Tlie 
rire  was  too  much  to  .stand  again.st,  and  over  the  bridge  came  Jackson's  cavalry, 
followed  by  his  columns  of  infantry,  and  having  forced  our  .small  command 
back  the  Luray  valley  to  Conrad "s  store,  and  burned  the  bridge  to  avoid  l"ur- 
ther  trouble  with  Fremont,  he  had  a  good  free  road  to  Richmond,  \\liere  he 
met  with  a  cordial  welcojne  from  Lee. 


452  Peniisylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

The  loss  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  killed  and  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  wounded  showed  the  disposition  of  Carroll's  Brigade  to  fight,  as  also  the 
character  of  the  rebel  fire,  and  the  five  hundred  and  fourteen  prisoners  testified 
to  the  character  of  the  pursuit  in  getting  Carroll  out  of  the  way. 

Ewell  was  liberal  enough  to  concede  three  Confederates  to  one  National,  in 
number,  and  voluntarily  said,  "  It  Avas  a  most  gallant  fight  on  the  part  of  the 
latter."     The  regiment  lost  one  man  killed  and  ten  wounded. 

On  the  loth.  Shields'  Division  reached  Luray,  and  on  the  15th,  was  again  at 
Front  Royal.  On  the  18th,  at  Manassas  Junction,  and  on  the  25th,  arrived  at 
Camp  Pope,  near  Alexandria.  On  the  26th,  by  order  of  the  President,  the  forces 
under  Fremont,  Banks  and  McDowell  were  constituted  the  ' '  Army  of  Virginia, ' " 
Pope  in  command,  Fremont  assigned  to  the  First  Corps,  Banks  the  Second,  and 
McDowell  the  Third.  Fremont  withdrew  from  the  service  because  thus  made 
sulwrdiuate  to  au  officer  whose  commission  post-dated  his  own.  The  career  of 
Shields'  Division,  as  such,  was  now  ended,  the  First  and  Second  Brigades  being 
sent  to  McClellan  on  the  Peninsula.  Carroll's  Brigade  was  now  to  be  a  part 
of  Eicketts'  Division,  McDowell's  Corps. 

A  glance  at  the  map,  with  a  view  to  locating  the  places  to  which  reference 
has  been  made  by  name,  will  make  clear  the  importance  of  the  work  in  which 
the  Eighty-fourth  was  engaged  thus  early  in  its  career.  It  will  also  make  plain 
that  all  of  danger  to  Washington  did  not  lie  across  the  Long  bridge. 

Length  of  consideration  is  not  needed  to  incline  to  the  opinion  that  Jackson,  in 
Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  in  the  early  days  of  '62,  would  have  produced  a 
feeling  throughout  the  North  not  calculated  to  lessen  the  weight  of  the  conflict. 
Operations  by  other  troops  in  the  eastern  part  of  Virginia  would  have  been 
impossible  had  Jackson  overcome  the  forces  in  the  valley.  Against  him  Shields' 
Division  played  an  effective  part.  It  was  Shields'  Division,  and  not  the  "other 
fellows,"  that  Jackson's  men  least  desired  to  meet. 

At  the  time  of  McClellan's  Peninsular  campaign,  the  people  did  not  under- 
stand the  situation  about  Winchester  and  other  points  in  the  valley,  and  have 
not  cared  to  learn  it  since. 

It  was  well  for  Pennsylvania,  it  was  well  for  the  Union,  that  the  fiat  against 
Shields  had  not  gone  forth  before  June  of  '62.  He  was  the  first  to  strike  Jack- 
son Avith  defeat,  and  no  one  did  it  afterward.  This  noble  division  of  Shields' 
marched  promptly  and  fought  Avell,  and  therein  they  had,  and  have,  their  com- 
pensation, without  being  sung  in  lines  of  rhyme,  or  spoken  in  the  pages  of  story. 

On  the  21st  of  June,  Samuel  M.  Bowman,  late  major  P"'ourth  Illinois  Cavalry, 
was  commi.ssioned,  and  on  the  25th  mustered,  (a)lonel  of  the  Eighth-fourth. 
Major  Barrett  was  promoted  to  the  lieutenant-colonelcy, MacDowell  having  been 
discharged  for  disability  in  July.  And  Adjutant  Craig  was  promoted  to  the 
majority. 

Immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  the  regiment,  Colonel  Bowman  determined  to 
add  to  the  effective  strength  of  the  command  by  sending  recruiting  parties  t« 
several  localities  in  Pennsylvania,  and  also  by  securing  the  active  interest  of 
citizens  of  the  State  who  were  not  then  in  the  service. 

While  at  Camj)  I'ope  the  requisite  details  were  made,  and  while  numbers  at 
home  were  thus  l)eing  added  to  the  rolls,  the  regiment  continued  its  active 
service  in  the  field,  marching  out  from  Cam])  I'ope,  in  July,  to  join  Pope's 
army,  which  was  always  to  "look  before,  and  not  behind,"  and  which  was  to 
"  subsist  upon  the  country  in  which  their  operations  were  carried  on." 


Pennsylvania  at  (xeJtyshurg.  453 

While  McClellan  was  moving  against  the  capital  of  the  Conledcracy,  it  was 
Pope's  part  to  keep  secure  the  capital  oi"  the  Union. 

On  August  9,  was  fought  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  in  which  the  Eiglity- 
fourth  was  not  directly  engaged,  excepting  as  a  reserve  force.  The  official  record 
gives  one  officer  and  eight  men  wounded  from  the  rebel  fire  of  shot  and  shell 
after  dark.  Following  upon  the  battle  the  rebel  force,  numbering  about  25,- 
000,  retreated  across  the  Rapidan,  Pope  ))ursuing  and  occupying  the  north  side 
of  the  river. 

While  at  this  point,  the  regiment,  for  the  first  time,  placed  ten  companies  in 
line.  "  H  "'  Company  had  been  recruited  during  the  spring  and  early  summer, 
and  left  Camp  Curtin,  under  orders  to  join  the  regiment  on  the  14th,  arriving 
on  the  16th. 

Pope  did  not  remain  in  this  position  long.  At  this  period  of  the  war,  it  was 
looked  upon  at  the  North  as  the  worst  of  generalship  to  permit  any  rebel  troops 
to  get  between  our  forces  and  the  seat  of  government,  and  it  was  well-known 
on  the  other  side  that  any  movement  that  threatened  such  a  condition  would 
cause  the  quick  packing  of  the  tents  and  the  immediate  tramp  of  whatever 
Union  force  was  charged  with  the  protection  ot  the  capital.  Later  on  came  a 
change  in  this  regard.  Jackson  threatened  Washington  by  starting  a  movement 
to  Pope's  rear,  passing  around  his  right  flank. 

On  the  19tb,  commenced  Pope's  backward  march.  On  the  21st,  Pope  was 
safely  across  the  Rappahannock,  and  immediately  Jackson  was  along  the  south 
side  of  the  river.  Raj)pahannock  Station  was  the  central  river  point,  the  line 
stretching  fifteen  miles. 

In  '62,  an  ordinary  river  stemmed  the  current  of  pursuit  more  eftectually 
than  it  did  in  '64. 

On  the  22d,  the  rebel  cavalry  struck  Catlett's  Station,  and  on  the  33d,  tlie 
bridge  across  the  Rappanannock  was  burned,  and  the  station  abandoned  by  Pope. 

On  the  28th,  Ricketts'  Division  was  at  Thoroughfare  Gap,  sent  there  to  check 
the  advance  of  Longstreet's  Corps  on  its  way  to  join  Jack.son  at  Manassas.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  McClellan's  failure  in  front  of  Richmond  had  become  a  fixed 
fact  before  this  movement  of  Jackson's  was  determined  upon,  and  now  Lee's 
troops  at  Richmond  were  relieved  from  pressiire.  The  march  to  the  gap  was 
too  late  for  effective  service  and,  on  the  same  night,  Ricketts  marched  his  di- 
vision from  Thoroughfare  Gap  to  join  the  main  army. 

On  the  29th,  the  regiment,  with  the  division,  was  on  the  right  flank  of  the 
army,  at  Groveton. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th,  the  second  day  of  the  l)attle,  the  regiment  was 
exposed  to  a  severe  fire  of  grape  and  canister.  In  the  afternoon,  Ricketts'  Di- 
vision was  attacked  by  the  enemy  with  masses  of  troops,  but  held  its  part  well 
until  ordered  back  by  Pope  about  7  p.  m.,  after  the  final  break  along  the  Union 
line. 

From  that  part  of  the  line  which  has  been  so  successfully  held  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  day,  and  night  being  yet  an  hour  olf,  there  was  afforded  a  clear 
view  of  flying  artillery  and  flying  infantry,  all  moving  to  a  common  center — 
Centerville. 

While  it  was  not  strictly  a  walk,  yet,  in  view  of  the  situation,  in  good  order 
the  regiment  went  back  about  a  mile  and  took  position,  with  other  regiments 
of  the  brigade  in  an  open  field,  in  fact  facing  the  enemy,  yet  not  knowing  whom 
we  faced.     Here  occurred  the  incident  which  almost  (a  minute  of  time  made 


454  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

the  diflerenee)  disposed  ol"  the  Eighty-fourth.  Just  daylight  enougli  left  to  dis- 
cern a  line,  a  full  brigade  front,  advanc-ing,  yet  not  enough  to  distinguish  the 
color  of  the  uniform,  or  to  make  sure  the  tiag.  On  they  came,  a  perfect  line, 
marching  as  if  on  review.  "Who  are  you?"'  thrice  repeated,  brought  no  re- 
sponse. Not  a  word  was  spoken  in  their  ranks,  but  on  they  came.  A  few 
minutes  liefoie,  Lieutenant  Nixon  liad  been  ordered  to  jxist  a  detail  of  pickets, 
but  had  not  had  time  to  go  out.  "  I  will  learn  who  they  are,"  said  Nixon. 
Twenty -five  stej^s  to  the  front,  and  he  was  half  way.  Then  came  from  him  the 
words  which  .seem  to  .sound  upon  my  ear  every  time  the  incident  occurs  to  me. 
'■  They  are  the  enemy,  boys  !"  And  then,  for  it  was  dark  now,  upon  the  in- 
stant was  seen  that  tiash  of  light  along  the  whole  line  of  that  rebel  brigade.  I 
see  it  now  as  I  saw  it  then.  With  the  flash  came  the  whir  of  the  thousands 
of  bullets,  but  the  darkness  in  the  aim  saved  the  objects  for  which  they  were 
intended.  The  tire  was  the  vengeance  of  the  failure  to  capture.  Night  being 
fully  on,  our  small  force  had  accomplished  all  that  it  had  been  left  on  the  field 
for — the  checking  of  pursuit — and  was  now  not  long  in  getting  to  the  Center- 
ville  side  of  Bull  Run. 

On  the  night  of  September  1,  the  regiment  was  at  Fairfax  Station. 

On  September  2,  back  to  the  defenses  of  Washington,  a  part  of  the  Second 
Brigade,  Third  Division,  Third  Corps.  At  first  in  camp  at  Alexandria.  Then 
a  long  march  on  the  Virginia  side,  across  the  Potomac,  on  through  Georgetown, 
and  back,  locating  on  Arlington  Heights,  where  the  regiment  awaited  the  three 
hundred  and  fifty  recruits,  the  outcome  of  Colonel  Bowman's  eflbrts  inaugurated 
at  Camp  Pope.  Some  were  received  in  small  detachments,  others  as  orga- 
nized companies,  places  being  provided  by  the  consolidation  of  old  companies, 
or  as  partial  organizations,  and  placed  with  old  companies.  This  was  the  more 
readily  accomplished,  owing  to  the  retirement  of  many  of  the  old  line  officers. 
Of  the  twenty -seven  line  officers  mustered  in  with  the  regiment,  two,  Gallaghei- 
and  Reem,  had  been  killed,  twenty  had  resigned  before  the  end  of  1862,  leaving 
only  five — Bryan,  Opp,  Zinn,  Peterman  and  Ingram.  Of  the  original  field 
officers,  Murray  oidy  had  done  active  service,  and  he  had  been  killed.  Mac- 
Dowell,  lieutenant-colonel,  had  been  discharged  for  disability,  in  July.  Barrett 
had  been  promoted  lieutenant-colonel,  and  resigned  in  September.  Adjutant 
Craig  had  l)een  promoted  major  and  lieutenant-colonel,  and  resigned.  None  of 
the  field  officers  left,  the  adjutant  gone,  and  not  one  of  the  original  captains  of 
companies  remaining.  Of  the  five  line  officers  remaining,  Opp,  Bryan  and  In- 
gram had  entered  the  service  as  first  lieutenants,  and  Zinn  and  Peterman  as 
second  lieutenants. 

Opp  obtained  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  in  coiuiuand  ol'the  regiment, 
and  was  mortally  wounded  at  the  Wihh'rness.  Bryan  became  major,  and  Zinn 
rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  with  the  brevet  of  brigadier-general.  Peterman  be- 
came captain  and  was  killed  at  Chancellorsvillc.  Ingram  resigned  in  tlie  early 
part  of  18«3. 

Of  all  the  original  officers,  field,  staff  and  line,  only  two,  Zinn  and  Bryan, 
.served  with  the  regiment  until  the  clo.se  of  the  war,  and  thej^  are  still  among 
us.  Of  the  after  line  oflicers,  thirty-two  were  promotions  from  the  ranks,  and 
also  two  of  the  three  adjutants.  Fribley  to  second  lieutenant,  first  lieutenant 
and  captain  of  the  Eighty-fourtli,  and  colonel  Eighth  U.  S.  Colored  Troops. 
Dougherty,  Steinman,  Farley,  Nixon,  Samp.son  and  Rissel,  to  second  lieutenant, 
lir.st  lieutenant  and  captain.     Delehunt  and  Lamberton  to  .second  lieutenant 


Pennsylvania  at  Getit/sinuy.  455 

and  captain.  Thornton  to  first  lieutenant  and  captain.  Mather  to  adjutant. 
Merchant  to  .second  lieutenant,  fir.st  lieutenant  and  adjutant,  with  the  l)revet 
of  captain.  Mummey,  Wells  and  I.arish  to  first  lieutenant.  Smith,  Mitchell, 
Lewis,  Taylor,  Jury  and  Ferguson  to  second  lieutenant  and  first  lieutenant. 
Gwinu,  Wingate,  Piper,  Moore,  Hays,  McMaster.  Wolf.  Ilursh.  Wilson.  Wei- 
densall  and  Davidson,  to  second  lieutenant. 

As  newly  organized,  "C"  Company  was  eousolidated  with  .V,  and  the  new 
company  from  Westmoreland  county,  Captain  Logan  and  Lieutenant  Wirsing, 
took  the  place  of  the  original  C  Company.  B  Company  received  recruits  under 
Lieutenant  Young.  D  Company  received  recruits  under  Lieutenant  Hunter. 
Lieutenant  Zinn,  B  Company,  was  commissioned  captain  of  D.  A  company,  of 
about  seventy  men,  under  Captain  Dobbhis  and  Lieutenant  Johnson,  was  added 
to  E,  Lieutenant  Steinman,  of  the  old  organization,  remaining.  F  Company 
was  added  to  by  recruits  under  Lieutenant  Forrester.  G  Company  received 
recruits  under  Captain  Piatt  and  Lieutenant  Brindle.  H  Company  received 
recruits  under  Lieutenant  Jackson.  Many  of  the  old  men  of  I  Company  were 
transferred  to  K,  and  I  Companj-  reorganized  by  a  large  detachment  under  Cap- 
tain Comfort  and  Lieutenant  Ross.  K  Company  was  materially  strengthened 
by  the  transfeis  from  I. 

In  the  latter  part  of  October  the  regiment  left  its  camp  at  Arlington  Heights, 
and  joined  the  armj'  under  McClellan  at  Berlin,  still  constituting  a  part  of 
Carroll's  Brigade,  which  had  been  assigned  to  Whipple's  Independent  Division. 

On  November  7,  by  order  from  the  War  Department,  McClellan  was  relieved 
from  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  succeeded  by  Major-Gen- 
eral  Burnside. 

On  November  17,  the  advance  of  the  army  arrived  at  Falmouth,  opposite 
Fredericksburg,  and  again  the  whole  army  was  confronting  Lee. 

On  December  11,  Frederick.sburg  was  subjected  to  a  heavy  artillery  fire,  to 
cover  the  laying  of  a  pontoon  bridge. 

The  battle  of  Frederick.sburg  was  Ibught  on  the  13th,  the  rebel  troops  hav- 
ing been  forced  out  of  the  town  to  their  fortifications  on  the  heights  in  the  rear. 
The  regiment  was  severely  engaged.  General  Griffin  called  on  Whipple  for 
Carroll's  Brigade,  and  it  was  promptly  moved  up  through  the  town  under  fire 
of  shot  and  shell.  Stopping  in  a  cut  of  the  Richmond  railroad,  then  climbing 
the  steep  embankment,  the  brigade  rushed  on  and  was  .soon  at  the  very  front. 
Two  companies  went  on  in  advance  of  the  line  of  battle  and  had  to  be  recalled. 
During  the  night  the  enemy  attempted  to  force  the  part  of  the  line  occupied 
by  the  Eighty-fourth  and  One  hundred  and  tenth  Pennsylvania,  but  was  re- 
puLsed.     Seven  men  killed  and  twenty-four  wounded. 

Colonel  Bowman,  Eighty-iburth,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Crowther,  One  hun- 
dred and  tenth,  were  specially  mentioned  in  the  brigade  commander's  report. 

After  the  battle,  the  regiment  went  into  camp  at  Stoneman's  switch  on  the 
Falmouth  and  Aquia  Creek  railroad,  aboyt  two  miles  from  Falmouth. 

In  the  meantime,  on  the  1st  of  October,  1862,  Captain  Oi)p  had  been  pro- 
moted major,  and,  on  December  23,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Barrett  and  Craig 
having  both  re.signed,  Captain  Zinn  was  promoted  major,  October  2. 

On  January  18,  1863,  Sergeant  blather.  Compan}^  B.  was  promoted  adjutant. 

On  January  19,  Burnside  started  the  army  for  a  second  attempt  on  Freder- 
icksburg, but  the  heavy  rain  converted  the  movement  into  a  "  Mud  March," 
and  it  was  abandoned. 


456  Pennsylvania  at  Gettyshurg. 

Tlie  outcome  ol"  Deieinbcr  13  aud  January  19,  was  tlie  removal  of  Burnside, 
on  Jauuur}'  2(3,  Ironi  the  command  of  the  army,  aud  the  substitution  of  Major- 
General  Hooker.  These  were  experimental  days,  and  rotation  in  office  of  C()ri)s 
and  army  commanders  largely  practiced,  but  tlie  experiments  were  harsh  in- 
deed to  the  boys  wlio  did  the  tramping  aud  tlie  tigliting. 

On  February  5,  by  order  of  General  Hooker,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
reorganized,  aud  Reynolds  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  First  Corps;  Couch, 
the  Second  ;  Sickles,  the  Third  ;  Meade,  the  Fifth  ;  Sedgwick,  the  Sixth  ;  How- 
ard, the  Eleventh,  and  Slocum,  the  Twelfth;  the  cavalry  under  Stoneman. 

The  Eighty-fourth  and  One  hundred  and  tenth  Pennsylvania  and  Twelfth 
New  Hampshire  constituted  the  Second  Brigade,  Third  Division,  Third  Corps, 
with  Bowman  commanding.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Opp  in  command  of  the  regi- 
ment. Picketing  along  the  Pappahannock,  by  details  of  regiments,  was  the 
principal  duty  from  .January  to  April  "29.  when  the  army  Ijroke  camp  and 
started  on  a  campaign  intended  to  be  brief,  but  sharp  and  decisive,  fruitful  of 
great  and  important  results.  It  was  Hooker's  plan,  most  intelligently  con- 
ceived and  thorough  in  its  details.  Without  Jack.son  on  the  other  side,  it 
would  have  gone  down  in  history  as  the  battle  of  the  war,  and  Hooker  would 
have  been  the  lieutenant-general.  No  rebel  army  would  thereafter  have  crossed 
the  Potomac  to  make  a  Gettysburg.  The  Gettysburg  of  the  war  would  have 
been  on  Southern  soil. 

The  regiment  pai'ticipated  in  the  feint  to  the  lel"t  of  Fredericksburg,  and  on 
the  1st  of  May  moved  toward  Chancellorsville.  the  place  of  the  campaign,  cross- 
ing the  Rappahannock  at  United  States  Ford. 

On  the  2d,  late  in  the  afternoon,  Sickles  was  orilered  to  send  two  divisions, 
the  Second  and  Third,  in  the  direction  of  the  old  furnace,  to  cut  off  the  march 
of  rebel  troops  toward  the  right  of  our  line.  Jackson,  however,  as  was  his  cus- 
tom, had  alreadj'  passed  by  aud  out  of  the  way,  excepting  a  regiment,  which 
was  captured.  While  two-thirds  of  Sickles'  Corps  Avas  in  this  exposed  posi- 
tion, .Jackson  literally  fell  on  the  Eleventh  Corps,  away  to  the  right  of  the 
Union  line,  at  a  time  when  the  whole  ot  that  corps  was  lying  in  supposed  se- 
<-urity,  doubled  it  up,  and  in  this  way  substituted  the  field  plan  of  Lee  for  the 
camp  study  of  Hooker;  and  Chancellorsville  was  become  a  ground  to  fight  on 
but  not  a  place  of  victory.  In  the  words  of  that  memorable  order,  the  "  enemy 
was  in  a  bag."  But  where  was  the  string?  However,  there  was  virtue  in 
the  situation,  in  that  it  furnished  the  grandest  test  that  could  have  been  pre- 
.sented  to  the  Armj'  of  the  Potomac.  Most  fully  defeated,  yet  not  alarmed. 
Line  broken,  yet  not  pursued.  Hooker's  army  was  a  body  of  positive  .soldiery. 
who  knew  not  on  that  2d  of  May,  nor  until  well  back  on  sure  ground,  how 
n(;arly  Lee  had  gained  what  Hooker  .started  out  to  accomplish.  Back  from  llic 
old  furnace  came  the  two  divisions  of  Sickles',  while  Keenaii,  with  his  battal- 
ion of  cavalry,  held  the  whole  rebel  force,  to  make  time  for  the  ])lanting  of  the 
guns,  and  lessen  the  time  for  the  falling  of  the  night,  which  was  to  l)e  the  safe- 
guard of  our  army. 

The  next  morning  found  our  brigade  too  far  out,  and  where  it  would  not 
have  remained  through  the  night  had  its  position  aud  number  been  known  ta 
the  occupants  of  the  woods  along  the  line  of  which  it  was  jjosted.  The  brigade 
wasdra\>'u  back  in  the  direction  of  the  Chancellor  House,  and  put  behind  a 
.short  line  of  light  breastworks,  in  an  isolated  position,  without  any  support  to 
the  right  or  left.     We  had  l»een  clo.sely  followed  in  our  withdrawal  of  the  moru- 


Pennsylvania  at  (Teiti/shurfj.  457 

ing,  and  were  now  luvnl  pressed  by  the  enemy  forcing  in  npon  our  front,  while 
a  large  force  could  be  seen  moving  some  distance  on  our  left,  which,  within  a 
half-hour,  coming  through  the  woods  and  over  the  rise  to  our  rear,  were  imme- 
diately at  our  back  before  their  coming  was  known. 

For  some  time,  such  of  the  Union  troops  as  could  be  seen  from  the  position 
occupied  by  the  regiment,  had  been  giving  way  aud  falling  l)ack  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  numerous  guns  posted  in  front  of  the  Chancellor  House,  and  which 
had  not  yet  opened  lire.  The  Union  line  did  not  seem  to  be  holding  anywhere. 
The  killed  and  wounded  of  the  regiment  had  been  added  to  at  every  lire. 
Pres-sed  to  the  front  and  rear  by  forces  too  large  to  contend  with,  with  one  flank 
closed  and  the  other  nearly  so.  it  was  now  only  the  question  of  escape  or 
capture. 

When  the  colors  of  the  regiTuent  were  planted  behind  the  inner  works,  twice 
the  fingers  of  the  hands  counted  the  total  (jf  the  officers  and  men  who  stood 
with  them. 

Out  of  three  hundred  and  ninety-one.  one  officer.  I'eterman,  captain  of  Com- 
pany K,  and  five  men  had  1)een  killed;  five  officers  and  fifty-four  men  wounded, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  captured  and  missing.  General  Whipple  was 
killed  just  to  the  right  of  the  regiment,  on  the  4th. 

On  the  night  of  the  .4th,  rain  came  down  in  a  flood,  so  that  the  Rappahannock 
was  much  swollen.  About  midnight,  Hooker's  army  commenced  crossing  to 
the  north  side,  and,  by  the  night  of  the  5th,  all  were  back  on  the  old  camp 
ground.  Many  of  the  dead  had  been  left  on  the  field  where  they  fell,  and  many 
of  the  wounded  left  to  rebel  care.  Death  had  come  to  .some  of  the  wounded 
from  the  fire  in  the  woods,  caused  by  the  shelling  on  the  Md.  The  great  lo.ss 
to  the  rebel  side  came  a  few  days  after,  in  the  death  of  Jackson,  who  had  been 
mortally  wounded  on  the  night  of  the  2d. 

Following  on  Chancellorsville,  owing  to  the  death  of  Whipple  and  the  num- 
erous casualties,  the  division  was  broken  u])  and  the  regiments  assigned  to 
other  commands. 

The  Eighty-fourth  and  One  hundred  and  tenth  had  been  together  up  to  this 
time,  but  from  now  on  were  to  be  parted.  The  Eighty-fourth  went  to  the  First 
Brigade  (Can's i.  Second  Division  (Humphreys'),  and  the  One  hundred  and 
tenth  to  the  Third  Brigade,  First  Division. 

In  the  early  part  of  June,  it  became  clear  that  the  officials  of  the  Confederacy 
were  so  much  encouraged  by  the  result  of  Hooker's  campaign,  that  they  had 
determined  upon  sending  Lee  into  Pennsylvania.  A  reconnaissance  by  the 
cavalry  under  Buford  and  Gregg,  south  of  the  Rappahannock,  delayed  Lee  for 
a  few  days.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  Lee  was  on  the  way,  the  people  of 
Pennsylvania  felt  what  the  con.sequence  could  be,  and  feared  whatit  might  be. 
The  State  was  divided  into  two  military  districts.  The  Department  of  the 
Monongahela,  west  of  the  Laurel  Ridge  mountains,  was  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Brooks,  headquarters,  Pittsburg;  and  the  Department  of  the  Susquehanna 
by  General  Couch,  headquarters,  Cham1)ersburg. 

On  June  14,  Milroy  was  forced  out  of  Winchester,  leaving  behind  siege  guns, 
eight  field  jiieces,  six  thousand  muskets,  ammunition  and  stores. 

June  \'},  the  President  called  on  Maryland  and  West  Virginia  for  ten  thou.s- 
and  militia,  each;  Ohio  for  thirty  thousand,  and  Pennsylvania  for  fifty  thou- 
sand, for  six  months'  service. 

June  16,    Jenkins'   rebel  cavalry,  nine  hundred  and  fifty  strong,   occupied 


458  Pennsylvania  (it  Getty simrg. 

Chunibersbiirg,  and  withdrew  on  the  18th.  19th,  portion  of  liodcs'  relxd 
cavalry  entered  McConnelsburg  and  sacked  the  town.  21st,  Pleasonton  drove 
Stuart  beyond  Middleljnrg,  through  Upperville  and  Ashby's  Gap.  2;}d,  rebel 
forces  again  occupied  Chanibersburg,  tlie  Union  troops  in  the  town  falling  back. 
26th,  rebel  advance  reached  Carlisle,  the  militia  under  General  Knipe  retiring. 

Lee's  forces  were  Avell  under  way  down  the  valley  when  Hooker  took  down 
his  tents  opposite  Fredericksburg.  From  the  start  to  the  finish  it  was  a  race, 
but  not  from  the  foe.  There  were  no  obstacles  worth  the  mention  for  Lee  to 
encounter,  none  for  Hooker.  Lee  went  upon  that  side  of  the  mountain.  Hooker 
u])()u  this.  Across  the  Potomac  went  Lee,  and  across  the  Potomac  came  Hooker, 
at  different  points. 

The  Arm}^  of  the  Potomac  had  marched  before,  but  never  before,  nor  after,  as 
it  did  through  the  night  alter  crossing  into  Maryland.  Along  the  tow-path, 
dark,  wet  and  slippery  ;  strength  all  gone,  and  the  muscles  expanding  simply 
to  get  rid  of  the  contraction. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  march,  that  at  times  the  nearest  comrade  on 
the  walk  would  not  he  within  ten  paces  to  the  front  or  rear.  What  had  been 
lost  at  the  start  must  now  be  made  up.  for  Lee  was  well  on  toward  every  Penn- 
sylvania soldier's  home. 

On  Juue  28,  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  the  order  was  promulgated  assigning 
Major-General  Meade  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  Hooker 
thereby  relieved. 

On  the  night  of  Jirue  HO,  at  Taneytown,  came  the  order  detailing  the  regi- 
ment to  guard  the  supply  train.  The  next  morning,  Colonel  Opp,  knowing 
that  his  men  were  averse  to  such  duty,  made  special  request  of  the  brigade  com- 
mander to  revoke  the  order,  but  without  success. 

July  1,  started  with  the  train,  which  was  then  moving  with  the  column  from 
Taneytown  on  the  road  to  Emmitsburg,  and  while  on  the  way  word  came  that 
the  cavalry  and  the  First  Corps  had  encountered  Lee  at  Getty.sburg,  and  that 
Eeynolds  liad  been  killed.  Immediately  following  this  announcement  came 
the  order  for  the  supply  trains  to  report  at  Westminster.  The  supply  trains 
were  an  important  factor  in  army  organization.  They  did  good  service  in  tlie 
camp,  along  the  march  and  on  the  field.  Without  them  even  Gettysburg  would 
not  have  been  a  field  of  monuments.  At  least  twenty  regiments  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  did  guard  duty  with  the  trains  on  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  of  July, 
1863.  That  duty  was  quite  as  necessary  of  performance,  fully  as  important, 
carrying  with  it  as  much  of  possible  danger,  as  was  actually  encountered  by 
rcgin\ents  engaged  on  the  field,  and  as  much  of  actual  danger  as  did  not  fall  to 
the  lot  of  several  of  the  regiments  who  were  no  more  on  the  field  than  were  the 
troops  with  the  trains,  and  which  legiments  wrote  (iettysburg  on  their  battle- 
Hags  without  a  (juestiou  as  to  its  being  rightly  there. 

When  the  State  of  Peunsylvania  placed  upon  her  statute;  books  the  act  that 
gave  to  every  I'ennsylvania  command  having  a  part  in  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg 
a  memorial  stone,  I  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  Eighty-tburtli  coming  within  the 
terms  of  the  act,  and  no  doubt  as  to  the  duty  of  its  soldiers  to  see  that  its  mon- 
ument was  placed. 

The  regiment  had  been,  fiom  the  time  of  its  entry  into  the  service,  a  part  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  even  belbre  all  the  troops  in  Virginia  were  so  desig- 
nated, and  continued  to  lie  till  the  end  of  the  Avar.  Failure  of  recognition  under 
this  law  of  the  Commonwealth  as  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  would 


Penn.syfvayiia  at  Gettyshunj.  459 

have  left  tlie  regiment  unrecordetl  to  the  world  as  of  any  army  np  to  and  in- 
cluding the  time  of  Gettysburg.  But  comment  of  our  own  is  unecessary.  The 
statement  of  General  Carr,  the  brigade  commander,  covers  all  i>oints,  and,  com- 
ing from  an  individual  thoroughly  competent  to  iiaiss  judgment,  and  yet  free 
from  the  slightest  degree  of  interest  that  might  possibly  induce  bias,  ought  to, 
and  does,  answer  all  question  and  resolve  all  doubt. 

(The  loUowiug  letter  was  written  by  General  Carr  in  response  to  a  communi- 
<;ation  asking  simply  lor  a  statement  by  him  of  the  duty  on  which  the  regiment 
was  ordered  in  connection  with  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg. 

The  tribute  thus  tendered  to  the  regiment  not  only  evidences  the  high  regard 
had  by  General  Carr  for  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Eighty-fourth,  but  is  in- 
dicative of  the  feeling  entertained  and  expressed  by  Shields,  Carroll,  Ricketts, 
Whipple,  Pierce,  Mott  and  other  general  officers,  in  whose  immediate  command 
the  regiment  was  placed  between  October,  '61  and  July,  '65.  \ 

Office  of  American  Chain  (^able  Works, 

Troy,  N.  Y.,  October  '^S,  1887. 

General  John  P.  Taylor,  President, 

Board  of  Comissionerg  Qetty^hunj  Moniuneiits,  Philadelphia,  Pa.: 

Sir: — I  have  the  honor  to  present  the  following'  statement,  in  reference  to  the  part 
taken  by  the  Eighty-fourth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  in  the  Gettysburg  cam- 
paign. 

The  Eighth-fourth  Regiment  was  in  the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division,  Third  Corps, 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  during  the  movements  of  that  army  from  Fredericksburg,  Vir- 
ginia, to  Emmitsburg,  Maryland.  On  the  raornmg  of  the  1st  July,  the  regiment  was 
detailed  by  an  order  from  headquarters  to  guard  the  supply  train  that  was  theu  located 
between  Emmitsburg  and  Gettysburg.  The  regiment  remained  on  duty  with  the  train 
until  relieved  by  another  regiment,  on  the  6th  July,  when  it  reported  to  me  for  duty 
while  at  Williamsport. 

The  duty  performed  by  the  Eighty-fourth  Regiment  during  the  three  days'  tighting 
was  as  essential  and  important  as  that  of  any  other  regiment  of  my  command ;  it  was 
a  duty  they  were  ordered  to  perform  over  which  they  had  no  control,  but  as  good  sol- 
diers obeyed  the  command.  When  Colonel  Opp  received  the  order  he  sent  his  adjutant- 
Lieutenant  Mather,  to  me  with  a  request  to  have  the  order  rescinded,  which  of  course 
was  not  granted. 

The  Eighty-fourth  Regiment  was  one  of  my  best  and  most  reliable  commands.  The 
officers  and  men  were  always  ready  and  wiliing  to  do  their  duty. 

To  deprive  this  regiment  of  the  recognition  it  is  entitled  to,  upon  that  memorable 
battle-field,  would,  in  my  opinion,  be  a  very  great  injustice.  I  would  respectfully  sug- 
gest that  the  monument  be  erected  at  a  point  near  where  my  headquarters  were,  pre- 
vious to  the  second  days'  engagement.  It  was  near  the  Emmitsburg  road,  directly  in 
front  of  the  Roger's  House,  as  you  will  see  upon  the  map  of  the  field.  The  inscription 
should  state  the  whereabouts  of  the  regiment  on  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  of  July,  186:3,  and 
rhe  actual  duty  it  was  performing. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Joseph  B.  Cark. 

This  statement  is  a  monument  in  itself.  No  regiment  ever  received,  or  could 
have  had,  more  emphatic  endorsement  of  its  service. 

The  State  Commission  on  Gettysburg  monuments  had  no  doubt  of  the  full 
right  of  the  Eighty-lburth  to  participate  with  all  other  Pennsylvania  regiments 
that  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  promptly  said  so. 

On  the  night  of  the  4th,  the  regiment  was  ordered  from  Westminster  to  re- 
join the  brigade,  and  reported  to  General  Carr  on  the  6th. 

While  at  Westminster,  there  was  constant  apprehension  of  attack  ))y  rebel 
cavalry,  and  the  picket  guards  were  under  strict  orders  to  be  continually  on 
the  alert  to  avoid  surprise. 


460  l^ennsylvania  at  (rettysburg. 

During  the  night  oi  the  l:>th  :incl  the  morning  ol'  the  14th  Lee  crossed  }iis 
army  over  the  Potomac  at  Willianisport,  closely  followed  by  the  Union  cavalry, 
the  advan(;e  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 

On  July  24,  the  regiment  took  part  in  clearing  the  gap  atWapping  Heights, 
the  rebels  contesting  every  step  until  forced  into  the  valley,  when  they  went 
on  a  run,  and  we  returned  through  the  gap  to  rejoin  the  column.  The  return 
was  much  like  the  going,  excepting  that  there  was  not  the  necessity  for  haste, 
and  with  this  difterence  of  feeling.  The  rebel  army  had  started  north  elated 
b\^  Chancellorsville;  it  returned  depressed  by  Gettysburg.  The  Union  army 
had  not  been  depressed  by  Chancellorsville  (it  never  wac  by  any  defeat),  but 
was  more  than  pleased  with  Gettysburg.  The  walk  did  not  stop  until  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  was  again  between  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Rapidan. 

July,  August  and  September  having  passed  by,  and  October  being  well  under 
way,  Lee,  having  nothing  to  gain  by  remaining  quiet,  again  put  his  army  in 
motion,  this  time  bound  for  the  road  that  led  to  his  country's  capital,  but  not 
with  patriotic  intent. 

By  this  time  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  become  well  grounded  in  the  ups 
and  downs  which  lie  lietween  the  Rapidan  and  the  Potomac.  Foraging  had 
become  a  thing  of  the  past  in  this  now  agricultural  and  animal  fonsaken  por- 
tion of  our  land.  In  fact,  at  the  time  when  anything  was  to  be  found  here,  it 
was  not  permitted  to  be  taken.  It  was  not  until  later  on  that  the  conclusion 
was  arrived  at  that  Union  armies  were  not  organized  and  maintained  to  guard 
crops  for  rebel  army  use  and  the  sitsteuance  of  a  Southern  Confederacy. 

Thousands  of  Union  soldiers  might  lie  in  unknown  graves,  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands might  be  sent  home  cripples  for  life,  but  not  an  ear  on  the  stalk,  or  a 
grain  in  the  crib,  an  animal  on  the  hoof,  or  his  parts  in  the  smoke-house,  must 
be  taken  by  the  Union  .soldier,  lest  treason  might  not  have  abundance. 

All  that  was  left  of  what  once  had  been,  were  the  names  of  the  places  along 
the  route — Rappahannock  Station,  Catlett's,  BrLstoe,  Manassas,  Thoroughfare, 
Haymarket,  Union  Mills. 

Meade  became  aware  of  Lee's  purpose  too  late  to  make  the  following  a  walk, 
or  even  an  easy  run.  It  was  so  closely  parallel,  at  times,  that  it  was  not 
<!ertain  which  army  was  in  the  pursuit,  and  when  at  Bristoe  Station,  on 
October  14,  the  Second  Corps  and  a  portion  of  the  Fifth  were  attacked, 
while  marching  by  the  flank,  by  a  portion  of  Hill's  Corps  under  Heth,  Warren 
did  a  service  for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  liis  country,  which  should  have 
avoided  the  decree  of  April,  1865,  removing  him  from  his  command.  It  was 
the  only  infantry'  engagement  of  moment  in  the  movement,  and  had  the  effe(;t 
of  making  this  the  last  in  the  series  of  Lee's  running  campaigns  on  Washington. 

On  his  way  back,  starting  on  the  19th,  Lee  destroyed  the  railroad,  which 
Meade  rebuilt  as  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  advanced  leisurely  to  the  Rappa- 
hannock. 

On  November  7,  Meade  forded  the  river  at  Rajjpaliaunock  Station  and  Kelly's 
Ford,  the  battling  at  both  points  being  severe,  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
no  more  came  back  until  without  a  foe. 

November  8,  Lei;  crossed  the  Rapidan,  and  he  never  came  back.  Meade's 
army  went  into  camp,  the  Eighty-fourth  to  the  left  of  Brandy  Station,  on  land 
of  John  Minor  Botts,  and  immediately  commenced  the  erection  of  winter  quar- 
ters. Picket  duty  and  the  ordinary  engagements  of  the  camp  followed,  until 
Noveralxjr  25,  when  the  army  marched  the  lew  miles  Uj  the  Rapidan,  crossed 


Pennsylvania  at  Getty dnirg.  461 

over,  and  the  rebels  fell  back,  coutestiug  all  the  way,  imtil  Locust  Grove  was 
reached,  on  the  27th,  where  the  regiment  was  warmly  engaged.  Here  occurred 
the  incident  which  clearly  proved  the  fastness  of  llu-  colors  of  the  Eighty- 
fourth. 

The  whole  line  to  the  right  and  left  gave  way.  This  forced  the  regiment  to 
retire,  and  there  was  every  indication  of  a  precipitate  retreat.  The  regiment 
had  gone  but  its  flags  were  still  there.  The  adjutant  came  promptly  to  the 
direction  of  the  colors,  and  the  two  flags  in  the  hands  ol  the  hearers,  supported 
by  the  color  guard,  marched  oft'  the  field  to  the  ordiuary  step,  and  in  as  orderly 
manner  as  when  passing  from  the  parade  ground  to  headquarters.  The  flags 
might  have  been  captured,  aud  the  adjutant  and  guard  with  them,  but  it  would 
have  been  a  capture  to  which  no  discredit  would  have  attached.  One  officer 
and  eight  men  wounded.  From  the  field  of  liocust  Grove  to  Mine  Run.  and  a 
sight  of  the  defenses  of  Lee. 

On  the  night  of  the  28th,  orders  were  given  to  charge  the  enemy's  works  the 
next  morning  at  8  o'clock,  and  by  daylight  the  army  was  in  line,  awaiting  the 
order  to  advance.  It  was  well  the  order  of  execution  was  not  given.  The 
slaughter  that  would  have  ensued  would  have  been  without  its  fellow  in  the 
tales  of  the  war.  Pickett  at  Gettysburg  was  a  thing  of  jiarade  compared  with 
what  this  would  have  been.  The  troops  would  have  gone  over  a  space  which 
thereafter  would  have  been  noted  as  the  field  of  death.  Meade  thought  one 
way;  Warren  the  other.  Warren  was  right,  and  Meade  saw,  in  time,  that  he, 
himself,  was  wrong.  This  act  of  Warren  did  not  call  for  what  was  done  liiTu 
at  Five  Forks. 

The  day  passed,  and  in  the  night,  the  pickets  cautioned  to  keep  the  fires 
going  and  then  left  to  take  care  of  themselves,  Meade  had  his  army  quietly 
.slip  away  from  out  of  sight  of  the  defenses  the\'  had  only  looked  upon,  aud 
then,  without  hurry,  back  to  the  old  camp  at  Brandy  Station,  where,  from  the 
2d  of  December,  1863,  to  May  ?>,  1864,  the  camp  life  of  winter  was  unbroken, 
save  for  a  day  or  two,  taken  up  by  the  march  to  the  Rapidan  on  February  6, 
as  a  caution  to  Lee,  who  was  somewhat  restless  to  learn  what  the  army  in  front 
of  him  was  doing. 

Also  the  re-enlistments  for  the  veteran  three  years,  accompanied  by  the  fur- 
lough tor  thirty  days.  But  during  this  time  there  occurred  what  was  to  sub- 
ject all  elements  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Union  to  harmony  of  action,  and  thus, 
in  good  time,  end  the  attempt  at  the  destruction  of  the  Union,  and  thereby 
cease  the  struggle  for  its  maintenance. 

By  special  act  of  Congress  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general  was  revived,  and, 
by  the  President,  conferred  on  Major-General  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  with  assign- 
ment to  the  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  Halleck  being  re- 
lieved as  general-in-chief.  and  a.ssigned  to  duty  in  Washington  as  army  chief 
of  staff. 

After  the  severe  experiences  of  three  years,  the  Executive  and  Legislative 
<lepartments  had  come  to  the  common  agreement,  that  the  rebellion  could  be 
put  down  with  one  army,  but  never  with  a  score,  with  ten,  nor  even  two. 
.Starting  anew,  there  would  be  one  captain  of  the  host.  The  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  now — Second  Corps,  Hancock;  Fifth  Corps,  Warren;  Sixth  Corps, 
Sedgwick;  cavalry,  Sheridan;  and  Hunt,  chief  of  artillery;  Meade  in  command 
of  the  whole,  but  Grant  always  present. 

The  Eighty-fourth  was  assigned  to   the  Second   Brigade,   Fourth   Division 


462  Pennsylvania  ai  Getty shunj. 

(Mott),  Seeoiul  Corps  t_Haui;ock),  aud  iVoni  this  on  the  relereuces  to  tlic  Sccoiul 
Corps  will  be,  mainly,  our  account  of  the  J'^ighty-toiirth. 

Soon  after  midnight,  May  3-4,  1864,  was  inaugurated  Grant's  campaign — 
the  longest,  but  the  last,  of  the  war.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  muved  off  their 
live  months'  camping  ground,  thereafter  to  realize  that  armies  could  move 
without  regard  to  seasons.  Pontoons  were  thrown  across  the  Eapidau,  princi- 
pally at  Germanna  and  Ely's  fords.  Passed  over  the  battle  ground  of  just  a 
year  before,  at  Chancel lorsville.  and  came  well  into  the  wilderness  on  the  oth. 
At  9  o'clock,  Hancock  was  ordered  to  the  support  of  Gettj^'s  Division,  the  Sec- 
ond of  the  Sixth  Corps,  who  had  run  against  the  enemy  on  the  Orange  Plank 
and  Turnpike  roads.  The  woods  aud  narrow  roads  prevented  Hancock  from 
getting  into  position  until  4  o'clock,  when  he  sent  Birney's  and  Mott's  divi- 
sions to  Getty's  support,  and  saved  him  I'rom  a  rout.  Fighting  continued  until 
ilark. 

Grant's  disiK)sition  of  the  troops  placed  Hancock  in  command  of  about  one- 
half  the  line,  and  thus  located,  he  was  ordered  to  attack  at  4  o'clock  the  morn- 
ing of  the  6th,  subsequently  changed,  at  Meade's  suggestion,  to  5  o'clock.  The 
movement  was  prompt,  and  to  the  left  of  the  Orange  Plank  road. 

By  the  end  of  the  first  hour  of  the  desperate  fighting  of  that  morning,  it  was 
(irant's  belief,  that  '"  if  the  country  had  been  such  that  Hancock  and  his  com- 
mand could  have  seen  the  confusion  and  panic  in  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  it 
would  have  been  taken  advantage  of  so  effectually,  that  Lee  would  not  have 
made  another  stand  outside  the  Richmond  defenses." 

The  enemy  got  close  upon  a  portion  of  the  Second  Corps  before  being  .seeu, 
owing  to  tlie  den.sity  of  the  woods,  and  they  were  so  suddenly  forced  back  as 
to  compel  the  retirement  of  Mott's  Division  also  to  the  intrenched  position  of 
the  morning.  The  battle  was  kept  up  from  5  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
night,  and  all  the  time  within  a  width  of  space  averaging  not  over  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile.  During  the  night  all  of  Lee's  army  withdrew  within  their  iii- 
trenchments.  Grant  said  '"that  more  desperate  lighting  had  not  been  wit- 
ne.ssed  on  this  continent,  than  that  of  the  5th  and  6th  of  May."  The  Eighty- 
fourth  was  in  the  very  thick  of  the  fight.  Nine  men  killed,  two  officers  aud 
thirty-nine  men  wounded. 

The  character  of  this  lighting  ground  is  a  thing  of  history.  Heavy  timber, 
close,  thick  underbrush,  impossibility  of  knowing  where  the  enemy  was  until 
close  at  hand,  the  burning  breastworks,  all  present  factors  in  the  fight,  gave 
Grant  to  know  that  he  had  an  army  on  whom  he  could  rely  for  the  veiy  best 
of  service. 

Grant  had  the  faith  belbre  he  had  applied  the  test,  for,  on  the  otli,  all  the 
bridges  over  the  Pajndan  had  been  taken  up  except  the  one  at  Germanna  lord, 
showing  that  he  had  no  thought  of  necessity  for  recrossing  the  river. 

Among  the  wounded  of  the  Eighty-fourth  was  its  commander,  Lieutenaut- 
(Jolonel  Opp,  .shot  through  the  lung.  He  .sufiered,  and  how  bravely,  until  the 
ytli,  when  he  died.  And  it  but  honors  every  soldier  of  the  regiment,  from  the 
highest  in  rank  to  the  lowest,  when  it  is  said,  that  with  his  going  out  there 
was  made  a  vacancy  in  the  regimental  household,  which  we  have  felt  from 
then  to  the  presc^nt,  and  will  ever  feel,  until  we  greet  him  in  our  reunion  when 
\\i:  gather  together  in  that  other  time  which  shall  follow  upon  this. 

In  the  closing  weeks  of  1862  the  regiment  had  sought  and  found  new  life, 
and  with  the  beginning  of  1863  had  started  off  anew,  cleared  of  all  that  might 


Pennsylvania  al  (JeM//slmrt/.  463 

have  held  il  l)aek  in  the  then  coming  lime.  Milton  Upp  was  then  the  second 
officer  of  the  regiment.  He  was  possessed  oC  an  ambition  worthy  of  all  the 
praise  that  grateful  men  could  well  hestow;  ambitious,  not  for  himself,  but  for 
his  regiment.  In  command  from  January,  1863,  to  the  time  of  his  death,  the 
very  examjile  of  his  manner,  his  bearing,  whether  with  belt  on  or  ofi;  was  such 
as  to  bring  up  the  tone  of  every  soldier  of  the  Eighty-fourth.  The  lowest  in 
the  regiment  was  higher  because  of  the  presenc(!  of  Milton  Opp.  No  regi- 
mental headquarters  surpassed  his  in  integrity  of  purpose,  lirmness  without 
severity  of  action  or  sense  of  duty  in  everything  that  was  calculated  to  incline 
a  regiment  of  soldiers  to  be  a  credit  to  themselves,  and  an  honor  to  their  State. 
How  much  the  situation  did  for  the  general  tone  of  the  regiment  has,  perhaps, 
been  more  thought  of  since  than  during  the  time  of  its  service,  .\ided  from  the 
beginning  by  a  most  faithful  and  altogether  most  competent  adjutant.  Colonel 
Opp  brought  the  regiment  up  to  a  standard  of  discipline  from  which  his  suc- 
cessors in  command  never  saw  it  depart,  from  which,  good  and  able  officers 
that  they  were,  they  would  not  have  ijermitted  it  to  depart.  Between  their 
task  and  his,  and  it  detracts  not  one  whit  from  them  to  think  it  or  to  say  it, 
there  was  this  difierencc,  he  made  it  the  easier  for  them  to  carry  out  well,  as 
they  faithfully  did,  what  he  had  so  well  provided.  He  was  the  most  loved  by 
those  whose  acquaintance  with  him  was  the  most  intimate.  A  gentleman,  a 
Christian  man. 

How  we  would  all  welcome  liim,  could  we  greet  him  now.  And  by  none 
\vould  he  have  been  welcomed  among  us  with  more  of  good,  earnest  feeling, 
Ihan  by  him  who  .so  well  succeeded  to  the  command  which  was  lett  by  Milton 
<  )pp  on  the  6th  of  May,  1864.  , 

The  battle  of  the  Wilderness  had  been  fought.  When  the  soldiers  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  learned  that  a  drawn  battle  could  be  made  in  its  results 
a  great  victory,  when  they  learned  that  Grant  not  only  commanded  the  masses 
of  the  troops,  but  had  firm  control  of  the  official  elements,  and  forty -eight  hours 
was  .sufficient  for  the  lesson,  is  it  any  wonder  that  "the  greatest  enthusiasm 
was  manifested  by  Hancock's  troops,"  when,  on  the  7tli  of  Maj'^,  Grant  rode 
behind  the  Second  Corps,  lying  on  the  Brock  road,  'inspired."  says  Grant. 
■'  no  doubt  by  the  fact  that  the  movement  was  .south." 

No  more  exhibitions  of  jealousy  among  commanders  of  corps.  Such  conduct 
was  now  to  send  a  major-general  to  the  rear  as  a  u.seless  incumbrance. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  Grant's  order  had  gone  out  for  a  night 
march  to  Spotsylvania.  An  encounter  with  Earl\'  detained  the  Second  Corps 
at  Todd's  Tavern,  and  kept  it  from  Spot.sylvania  on  the  8th.  Having  got  rid 
of  Early,  at  noon  on  the  9th  Hancock  was  ordered  up  from  Todd's  Tavern,  ex- 
cepting Mott's  Division,  which  followed  later  in  the  day.  Sedgwick,  com- 
manding the  Sixth  Corps,  was  killed  on  the  morning  of  tlie  !)th.  by  a  rebel 
sharpshooter. 

On  the  loth,  Hancock  was  ordered  to  attack  with  the  Second,  Fifth  and 
Sixth  Corps.  The  assault  was  made  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Avith  not 
altogether  satisfactory  result.  Mott's  Division  was  on  the  left  of  the  Sixth 
Corps. 

On  the  11th,  the  only  movement  was  by  Mott's  Division,  acting  under  orders 
to  develop  a  weak  spot  in  the  enemy's  line.  The  outcome  of  this  reconnais- 
sance was  Grant's  order  of  the  11th,  for  an  assault  at  precisely  4  a.  m.  of  the 
12th,  ''with  all  possible  vigor,  the  preparations  to  be  conducted  with  the  ut- 


464  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

uioii:t  secrecy,  and  veiled  entirely  from  the  enemy.'  The  heavy  fog  delayed 
the  start  one  hour.  The  objective  jwiut  was  the  salient,  where,  after  the  con- 
llict,  laj'  Lee's  soldiers  piled  one  upon  another,  just  as  they  fell.  The  rebel 
captured  numbered  four  thousand,  among  them  jMajor-General  Edward  John- 
son, division  commander,  and  Brigadier-General  Steuart,  commanding  a  bri- 
gHrde;  a  score  of  guns,  with  horses,  caissons  and  ammunition,  and  several  thou- 
sand small  arms.  Loss  to  the  regiment,  nine  men  killed,  one  officer  and 
twenty-seven  men  wounded.  It  was  on  May  13  that  Grant,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary'  of  War,  made  use  of  the  memorable  words,  "I  propose  to  fight  it  out 
on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer." 

On  the  13th,  Grant  recommended  our  old  brigade  commander,  Carroll,  for 
promotion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  Mott's  Division  was  reduced  to  a 
brigade,  and  assigned  to  Birney's  Division.  Whatever  further  might  have 
been  done  in  pressing  Lee  at  Spotsylvania,  was  prevented  by  the  heavy  rain 
which  commenced  on  the  night  of  the  13th. 

On  the  18th,  Grant  gave  orders  for  the  movement  by  the  left  Hank  on  to 
Richmond.  Our  road  from  Spotsylvania  to  Fredericksburg  was  now  open  to 
Lee,  and  on  the  19th,  the  base  of  supplies  was  shifted  from  Fredericksburg  to 
Port  Eoyal. 

On  the  20th,  orders  were  renewed  for  the  left  flank  movement  to  commence 
after  night.  Hancock,  having  the  lead,  marched  easterly  to  Guiney's  Station, 
on  the  Fredericksburg  railroad,  thence  southerly  to  Bowling  Green  and  Mil- 
ford,  arriving  at  Milford  on  the  night  of  the  21st. 

On  the  22d,  the  Second  Corps  was  permitted  to  rest  through  the  day  and 
night.  • 

On  the  23d,  Hancock  moved  to  the  wooden  bridge,  west  of  the  Fredericks- 
burg railroad  bridge,  over  the  North  Anna  river,  the  rebel  guard  being  in- 
trenched on  the  north  side.  The  guard  gave  way  quickly,  but  so  rapid  was 
the  move  upon  the  bridge  that  several  of  the  rebels  were  forced  tlnough  the 
water.  Owing  to  the  late  hour  the  corps  did  not  cross  until  the  next  morning. 
Regiment  had  one  officer  and  five  men  wounded. 

On  the  26th,  base  of  .supplies  changed  from  Port  Royal  to  White  House.  All 
the  troops  south  of  the  North  Anna  were  crossed  back  to  the  north  side,  and 
moved  iinder  orders  to  proceed  to  Hanover,  a  point  within  twenty  miles  of 
Richmond. 

On  the  29th,  at  Hanover.  The  Second  Corps  moved  toward  Totopotomoy 
creek  to  discover  the  whereabouts  of  the  enemy.  He  was  found  strongly  for- 
tified. 

On  May  31  and  June  1,  the  regiment  was  engaged  with  the  enemy  at  Pleas- 
ant Hill,  known  as  the  Battle  of  Totopotomoy.  Four  men  killed,  three  officers 
and  thirteen  men  wounded.  From  June  1  to  3,  at  Cold  Harlior.  One  officer 
and  six  men  wounded. 

On  June  5,  Grant  determined  uix)n  moving  the  army  south  of  the  James. 

On  evening  of  the  13th,  Second  Corps  was  at  Charles  City  Court  House,  on 
the  James  river. 

On  the  14th,  Second  Corps  crossed  in  the  advance,  using  bridge  and  boats. 

On  the  15th,  arrived  after  dark  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and  relieved  Smith's 
troops  in  the  trenches.  ICth  to  18th,  continuous  fighting.  Two  men  killed, 
tliree  officers  and  eleven  men  wounded. 

On  the  22d,  the  Second  (k>rps  was  moved   to  the  left  to  draw  the  enemy  oat, 


Fennsylvania  at  Geftyshmy:  465 

or  to  compel  him  to  remain  within  his  lines.  He  staid  in,  and  now  began  the 
siege  of  Petersburg,  with  the  Ninth  Corps  on  the  right,  then  the  Fifth,  .Second 
Corps  next,  and  then  the  Sixth  broken  olT  to  the  south.  The  next  movement 
was  not  until  July  26,  when  the  Second  Corps  and  the  cavalry  crossed  the 
James  river  to  Deep  Bottom,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  .some  of  Lee's  forces 
to  the  north  side  of  the  James,  pending  the  explosion  of  the  mine  which  had 
been  worked  in  front  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  commencing  on  June  25.  and  was  now 
ready  to  be  fired. 

On  the  29th,  the  Second  Corps  was  brought  liack  to  the  James,  and  cros.sed 
over  at  night,  with  orders  to  proceed  to  that  part  of  the  line  where  the  mine 
was  located.  The  explosion  was  in  itself  a  succe.ss,  but  history  records  a  com- 
plete failure  in  result. 

On  August  13  and  14,  to  keep  Lee  from  sending  troops  to  the  valley  against 
Sheridan,  the  Second  Corps,  part  of  the  Tenth,  and  Gregg's  Division  of 
Cavalry,  were  crossed  over  the  James,  with  orders  not  to  bring  on  a  battle.  It 
was  quite  a  severe  move  for  the  regiment,  an  engagement  with  the  rebels  at 
Cliarles  City  Cross  Roads  on  the  15th  resulting  in  two  men  killed,  one  officer 
and  sixteen  men  wounded,  and  several  captured,  who  suffered  the  horrors  of 
Salisbury  for  many  months,  some  of  them  dying  for  want  of  food,  water  and 
.shelter. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th,  withdrew  from  the  north  side  of  the  James  river, 
and  Hancock  and  Gregg  sent  southward  to  destroy  the  Weldon  railroad. 
Reams'  Station  fought  on  the  25th.  October  1,  moved  with  the  corps  to  Yellow 
House,  and  thence  to  the  extreme  left  of  the  line.  First  line  of  enemy's 
works  charged  and  carried.  The  regiment  was  at  this  time  a  part  of  Pierce's 
Brigade,  the  Second,  Mott's  (Third)  Division,  Second  Corps. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  2d,  the  Eighty-fourth,  Avith  other  troops,  in  all  not 
a  full  regiment  in  number,  with  Colonel  Ziun  in  command  of  the  charging 
party,  moved  upon  the  second  line  at  a  point  known  as  Poplar  Spring  Church. 
As  soon  as  the  rebel  troops  became  aware  of  the  purpo.se  to  charge,  there  was 
the  disposition  to  abandon  their  position,  but  when  they  saw  the  small  number 
of  the  charging  party  they  resumed  their  places  behind  their  works,  and  held 
their  musketry  fire,  keeping  up  the  lire  of  their  guns,  until  the  charging  line 
was  within  a  few  feet,  when  they  delivered  such  a  fire,  volley  upon  volley,  as 
threatened  to  kill,  or  wound,  every  soldier  of  the  Eighty-fourth.  As  we  think 
of  that  flood  of  balls,  it  seems  incrediljle  that  none  were  killed,  and  only  eight 
wounded,  two  officers  and  .six  men.  Colonel  Zinn  was  shot,  and  would  now  be 
going  around  upon  one  natural  leg,  had  he  not  successfully  fought  the  surgeon's 
conclusion  to  take  the  other  off. 

October  4,  lay  in  rear  of  Ninth  Corps  works,  building  forts  and  slashing 
timber.  5th,  brigade  ordered  to  join  the  corps,  and  marched  to  our  old  posi- 
tion near  Fort  Hays.  6th,  regiment  sent  to  garrison  Fort  Bross,  on  Norfolk 
and  Petersburg  railroad,  in  company  with  a  section  of  Fourteenth  Massachu- 
setts Battery,  two  guns,  under  Lieutenant  George.  No  other  troops  in  the 
vicinity.     13th,  paymaster  on  hand  with  six  months'  arrears. 

October  23d,  three  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  organization  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  the  men  who  had  served  during  that  time,  and  were  not  included 
in  the  number  of  veteran  enlistments,  were  honorably  discharged  by  reason 
of  expiration  of  term  of  service,  25th,  regiment  ordered  to  report  to  division 
as  soon  as  possible.  At  1  p.  m.,  left  Fort  Bross,  and  joined  the  division  be- 
30 


466  Pennsylvania  at  (Jeff//,shurg. 

tweeu  the  fort  ami  Jerusalem  Plank  road.  Lay  massed  during  the  day  and 
night.  "^Bth,  moved  to  the  left,  pa.ssing  the  Gurley  House,  in  rear  of  our  rear 
line  of  works.  Struck  the  Weldon  railroad  a  mile  from  the  Yellow  House. 
Remained  here  until  4  o'clock  the  next  morning,  when  the  march  was  con- 
tinued toward  the  South  Side  railroad,  moving  along  a  narrow  road  and  through 
woods  until  we  arrived  about  2  p.  m.  near  Hatcher's  Unu  and  the  Boydton 
Plank  road.  During  the  last  live  miles  the  rebel  cavalry  continually  engaged 
our  own,  working  around  to  our  rear  as  we  advanced,  fighting  at  the  saw  mill 
shortly  after  we  had  passed.  Formed  line  of  battle  in  open  field.  A  break  in 
the  line  to  the  right,  owing  to  a  separation  of  divisions,  was  promptly  noted 
by  the  enemy,  who  marched  in  by  the  flank  between  Pierce's  and  McAllisters 
Brigades,  the  latter  having  been  advanced  about  half  a  mile  to  the  front  of 
Mott's  Division,  until  his  right  rested  on  the  Boydton  Plank  road.  It  was  an 
ill-advised  move  on  tlie  rebel  side.  As  soon  as  noticed  by  McAllister,  he  faced 
his  brigade  to  the  rear,  charged,  and  took  several  hundred  pri-soners.  Pierce's 
Brigade  re-took  the  two  guns  which  had  been  picked  up  by  the  enemy  at  the 
plank  road.  The  regiment  had  four  men  wounded  and  one  missing.  Six  men 
were  taken  prisoners,  l>ut  escaped.  After  dark,  threw  up  light  works  at  right 
angles  with  the  plank  road,  being  in  such  position  that  the  shells  from  our  rear 
reached  where  we  lay,  some  going  beyond  and  others  exploding  at  our  line. 
The  enemy  was  both  to  the  front  and  rear,  accounted  for  by  the  Aict  that  we 
were  stretching  out  his  extreme  right. 

At  10  p.  m..  marched  back  to  the  old  position  between  Fort  Bross  and  Jeru- 
salem Plank  road,  arii\ing  at  5  p.  m.  on  the  ;28th.  29th,  moved  to  left  and 
rear  of  Fort  Hays.  .'50th,  9  p.  m.,  deployed  along  the  works  between  Forts 
Hays  and  Davis,  the  enemy  having  relieved,  very  quietly,  about  three  hun- 
dred men  on  our  picket  line,  the  pickets  supposing  thej'  were  being  regularly 
relieved.  The  mistake  was  discovered  in  time  to  avoid  any  disadvantage 
therefrom.     Regiment  back  in  quarters  before  morning. 

November  1,  changed  position  to  right  of  Fort  Hays,  and  put  up  tents 
along  main  line  of  works,  oth,  12  p.  m.,  rebel  dash  on  picket  line,  with  no 
succcess,  but  with  lo.ss  of  forty  of  their  men  captured.  Quiet  until  the  18th, 
when  orders  were  received  to  be  ready  to  move,  but  prevented  bj'  heavy  rain. 
25th,  nu'Uiorable  as  the  day  when  the  whole  army  was  treated  to  a  Tlianks- 
giving  dinner,  supplied  by  the  people  North.  29th,  orders  received  to  move  at 
dark.  (>  p.  m.,  moved  to  near  Southall  House,  :50th,  7  a.  m.,  marched  along 
rear  line  of  works,  about  five  miles,  to  between  Forts  Emery  and  Siebert,  and 
commenced  putting  up  quarters. 

December  1,  ordered  to  change  camp,  and  on  the  2d,  moved  about  a  mile, 
and  commenced  the  erection  of  winter  quarters.  1th,  A,  C,  E  and  K  com- 
panies mustered  out  as  comi)any  organizations,  having  completed  three  years' 
service.  (Jth,  ordered  to  march  at  daylight  of  tin;  Tth.  It  was  now  quite  evi- 
dent that  the  winter  of  Hil-'t  was  not  to  be  as  other  winters  had  been. 

On  the  Tth,  Mott's  Division  marched  out  with  the  Fifth  Corps  and  the  cav- 
alry, the  whole  under  command  of  Warren,  under  orders  to  destroy  as  much 
as  pos.sible  of  the  Weldon  railroad.  Went  by  way  of  the  Jerusalem  Plank 
road,  cro.s.sed  the  Nottoway  river  at  dark,  and  bivouacked  on  the  south  side, 
twenty  miles. 

8th,  marched  at  daylight,  pa.ssed  through  Sussex  Court  House  and  Comaii's 
Well,  twelve  miles,  and  ])iv()uack(;(l  for  tlic  night  within  two  miles  of  the  Wel- 
4ton  railroad. 


Pennsi/lvama  at  Gettyshui-<i.  467 

9th,  daylight,  marched  two  miles,  striking  the  Weldon  railroad  near  Jar- 
ratt's  Station.  From  this  point  southward  to  Beltield,  a  distance  of  eleven 
miles,  the  railroad  was  effectiaally  destroyed. 

10th,  the  object  of  the  expedition  having  been  accomplished,  Warren  started 
backward  toward  Petersburg,  marched  eighteen  miles,  and  bivouacked  for  the 
night  four  miles  south  of  Sussex  Court  House. 

11th,  started  at  daylight,  again  passed  through  Sussex  Court  House,  recrossed 
the  Nottoway  river,  stopping  for  the  night  four  miles  beyond,  eleven  miles. 

12th,  off  again  at  daylight,  the  regiment  deployed  as  flankers,  and  back  at 
our  lines  at  2  p.  m.,  sixteen  miles. 

There  were  no  casualties,  except  as  will  be  stated,  no  rebel  force  having  been 
encountered. 

On  the  way  back  it  was  discovered  that  several  Union  soldiers  had  been 
murdered  by  guerrillas,  their  bodies  having  been  Ibund  in  the  woods,  off  the 
line  of  march,  horribly  mutilated.  On  the  way  down  they  had  strayed  from 
the  road  to  lie  down,  being  overcome  by  too  free  indulgence  in  the  discovery 
made  at  one  of  the  houses,  not  knowing  its  powerful  after  effect.  It  was  a  ter- 
rible sequel  to  the  over  taking  of  the  seeming  harmlessness  of  apple  jack,  to 
one  not  acquainted  with  its  ardent  qualities.  The  result  of  the  discovery  of 
the  bodies  was  the  order  given  to  ])urn  every  house  and  other  building  any- 
where near  the  line  of  march. 

13th,  moved  into  the  woods  and  took  position  in  line  for  the  purpose  of  lay- 
ing out  camp  and  putting  up  quarters. 

14th,  erection  of  winter  quarters. 

'22d,  expiration  of  three  years  since  muster  of  the  regiment  into  the  service 
of  the  United  States. 

23d,  division  paraded  to  witness  the  execution  of  John  E.  Dixon,  private 
First  Massachusetts  Heavy  Artillery,  for  desertion.  Dixon  had  made  a  break 
for  the  rebel  line,  but  not  noticing  the  direction  of  the  two  lines,  ran  into  our 
own  line  without  knowing  it,  when  it  was  learned  from  his  words  and  manner 
that  he  supposed  he  was  on  the  other  side,  and  that  his  purpose  had  been  to 
desert. 

31st,  regiment  consolidated  into  battalion  of  four  companies. 

Thi3  formation  was  preparatory  to  tlie  consolidation  of  the  regiment  with  the 
Fifty -seventh  Pennsylvania,  which  had  been  made  a  battalion  of  .six  companies. 
The  consolidation  took  place  on  .January  13,  1865.  The  consolidation  was  not 
a  merger,  save  as  to  number.  The  Fifty-.seventh  composed  the  right  six  com- 
panies and  the  Eighty-fourth  the  left  four  companies. 

I  will  venture  what  I  think  the  explanation  of  the  dropjjing  of  the  number 
eighty -four  and  the  retention  of  the  number  fifty-seven,  notwithstandin"-  it  was 
known  that  the  colonel,  major  and  adjutant  of  the  consolidated  regiment  would 
be  from  the  Eighty-fourth.  But  it  was  also  known  that  the  retention  of  tlic 
number  eighty-four  would  work  great  injustice  to  officers  who  had  earned  fur- 
ther promotion,  and  therelbre  the  natural  course  of  the  command  of  the  rei^i- 
ment  determining  the  number,  must  give  way  to  the  necessity  which  justice 
prompted. 

Colonel  Bowman  Avas  still  borne  on  the  rolls  of  the  Eighty-fourth,  though 
his  service  in  the  field  was  less  than  a  year,  and  only  half  that  time  directly 
with  the  regiment,  and  then  on  permanent  detached  service  at  Washington 
since  June,  1863.     It  was  known   that  he  would   not  return   to  field  service. 


468  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

"Witli  the  nuinber  lilt3'-seven,  ijieiiteu.ant-Colonel  Zinn  was  ijromoted  colonel; 
Ciiiitaiu  Brvau.  major;  aud  Captain  Perkins,  of  the  old  Filty-seveuth,  lieuten- 
ant-foloncl.  Captain  r>rvan  had  been  commissioned  major  of  the  Eiyhty-fourth 
in  May,  1864,  nearly  a  year  before,  but  conld  not  be  mustered  as  such  for  want 
of  the  minimum  number  admitting  of  three  held  officers,  although  there  was 
not  one  field  officer  doing  duty  with  the  regiment. 

Colonel  Bowman  continued  to  rank  as  of  the  Eighty-fourth  until  the  middle 
of  May,  when  he  was  mustered  out,  a  month  after  the  close  of  the  war.  That 
portion  of  the  inscription  on  the  monument  which  brings  the  Eighty-fourth 
down  to  the  date  of  the  muster  out  of  the  Fifty-seventh,  was  conceded  only 
alter  months  of  earnest  (ionteutiou.  The  Fifty-seventh  continued  in  Pierce's 
Brigade. 

February  5,  7  a.  m.,  marched  from  camp  and  along  Vaughan  road,  crossing 
the  picket  line  about  three  miles  to  north  side  of  Hatcher's  Kun,  and  put  up 
works.  6  p.  m.,  moved  a  mile  to  the  right,  took  position  under  very  heavy  tire 
on  left  of  the  Third  Brigade,  and  put  up  works. 

6th,  ordered  to  support  of  Fifth  Corps,  While  on  the  way  order  counter- 
manded and  returned  to  works. 

7th  and  10th,  slashing  timber  in  front  of  line. 

11th.  line  to  our  left  abandoned  during  the  night.  ">  a.  m.,  moved  within 
new  line  a!id  encamped. 

12th,  slashing  timber  in  front  of  works. 

13th,  again  putting  up  winter  quarters,  the  heavy  timbers  of  .some  of  the  tents 
being  moved  from  the  old  camp. 

25th,  daylight  heavy  firing  at  Fort  Stedman.  6  a.  m.,  ordered  to  be  packed 
up.  4  p.  m.,  advanced  outside  of  picket  line.  Put  up  slight  breast-works. 
Rebel  charge  repulsed.  Took  about  two  hundred  prisoners.  26th,  1  a.  m., 
returned  to  camp  and  again  put  up  tents. 

27th,  10  a.  m.,  on  picket.  Advanced  picket  posts  to  within  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  of  enemy's  line.     No  firing. 

28th,  received  orders  to  be  ready  to  move  at  6  a.  m.,  the  29  th. 

On  the  day  that  Lee  arranged  the  assault  intended  to  compel  Grant  to  abandon 
his  Petersburg  line,  and  thus  raise  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  Grant  Lssued  the 
order  for  the  movement  of  the  29th.  Had  Lee  met  with  success  on  the  25th, 
Grant's  programme  to  end  the  war  at  this  time  would  have  failed. 

29th,  6  a.  m.,  left  camj)  near  Humphreys'  Station,  marched  along  Vaughan 
road  three  miles,  and  formed  line  on  right  of  the  road.  Advanced  two  miles 
and  bivouacked  for  the  night. 

:50th,  7  a.  m.,  advanced  in  line  of  battle  one  mile  and  put  up  woiks. 

:Ust,  1  a.  ni.,  moved  one  mile  to  left,  aud  bivouacked  for  the  night  on  )>attle- 
field  of  27th  of  November  last. 

April  1st,  6  p.  m,,  portion  of  regiment  detailed  for  picket  duty. 

2d,  9  a.  m..  passed  through  main  line  of  rebel  woiks  and  marched  seven  miles, 
to  within  a  half  mile  of  Petersburg,  and  formed  in  line. 

Seventy  prisoners  captured  by  the  regiment.     Four  men  wounded. 

3d,  8  a.  m.,  marched  westward  on  road  to  Burk's  Station  in  ])ursuit  of  Lee, 
twenty  miles. 

4th,  7  a.  m.,  in  same  dire(;tion,  eight  miles.     6  p.  ni.,  l)ivouacked. 

5th,  1.30  a.  m.,  in  same  direcition.  Crossed  Ixichmond  and  Danville  railroad, 
and  bivouacked  one  mile  north  of  the  road,  twelve  miles. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  469 

6th,  7  a.  m.,  in  close  pursuit  of  Lee. 

Portion  of  regiment  on  skirmish  line,  continually  running  into  Lee's  rear 
guard  skirmishers,  capturing  prisoners,  and  toward  night  took  part  in  the 
capture  of  rebel  train  of  two  hundred  wagons  hastening  on  to  Lynchburg.  Pris- 
oners captured  ninety  and  one  color.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Perkins  and  fifteen 
men  wounded. 

7th,  7  a.  m.,  continued  the  pursuit.  Passed  the  Richmond  and  Danville  rail- 
road at  the  High  l)ridge,  wliich  had  been  tired  by  the  reljcls  and  partly  burned. 
Met  the  enemy  in  force  after  marching  about  eight  miles.     Two  men  wounded. 

8th,  passed  through  coal  land,  marching  seventeen  miles.  Took  forty  pris- 
oners. For  the  last  three  days  broken-down  rebel  wagons,  gun  carriages  and 
soldiers  were  a  common  sight. 

April  9th,  the  last  day.  Still  in  close  pursuit.  Went  five  miles,  driving 
the  enemy.  12  o'clock,  ordered  to  halt  until  2.  2  o'clock,  ordered  to  halt 
until  4,  before  which  hour  Lee  had  surrendered  to  Grant  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia.  The  regiment  was  with  the  advance,  and  a])Out  four  miles  east  of 
Appomattox  Court  House. 

Who  would  attempt  to  word  the  feeling  following  upon  the  announcement 
of  the  surrender  that  Sunday  afternoon,  April  9,  1865? 

April  11,  10  a.  m.,  journeyed  back  twelve  miles  to  New  Store,  away  from 
what  had  been  Lee's  army,  and  without  seeing  it. 

From  two  things  we  knew  the  surrender  had  been  made.  The  fact  of  the 
announcement  and  the  other  fact — there  had  been  no  pickets  out,  no  guard  on, 
since  the  9th.  But  there  had  been  no  parading  of  a  vanquished  foe  to  meet  the 
gaze  of  a  triumphant  army.     Grant  had  saved  them  that  humiliation. 

12th,  6  a.  m..  fifteen  miles,  iiassed  through  Curdsville.  and  then  on  to  Farm- 
ville. 

13th,  6  a.  m.,  seventeen  miles,  to  near  Burk"s  Station,  and  went  into  camp. 

15th,  10  p.  m.,  received  official  dispatch  of  the  assassination  of  President 
Lincoln  on  the  night  of  the  14th,  and  his  death  at  7.22  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  15th.  He  had  lived  to  the  last  day  of  a  labor  which  none  but  himself 
could  know  how  hard  it  had  been  to  bear.  But  now  how  absolute  his  rest. 
The  very  heaven  his  immediate  reward  for  the  saving,  under  God.  of  a  nation. 

16th,  moved  one-third  of  a  mile  to  change  camp. 

19th,  ordered  that  all  unnecessary  work  be  suspended  on  the  day  of  the  Pres- 
ident's funeral. 

25th,  regiment  paraded  to  hear  orders  relative  to  theassa-ssination.  Otlicers 
directed  to  wear  crape  for  six  months  and  colors  to  be  draped  Ibr  the  same  i)eriod. 

28th,  dispatch  received  announcing  the  surrender  of  .Tohnston,  and  then  the 
most  doubtful  knew  that  the  war  was  over. 

May  2,  marched  at  1  p.  m.,  eleven  miles  to  Getty ville. 

3d,  6  a.  m.,  to  and  acro.ss  the  Appomattox,  pa.ssing  through  Five  Forks, 
Amelia  Court  House  and  Scott's  store,  seventeen  miles. 

4th,  6  a.  m.,  marched  eighteen  miles. 

5th,  5  a.  m.,  to  Manchester  opposite  Richmond,  arriving  at  11  a.  m.,  ten  miles. 

6th,  10.30  a.  m.,  passed  through  Manchester,  crossed  the  pontoon  bridge  over 
the  James  river,  marched  through  Richmond  with  colors  fiying  and  bands  play- 
ing, passing  Libby  Prison  on  the  way.  Crossed  the  Chickahominy  river  and 
bivouacked  four  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Ri.-hmond,  on  the  Frederic  k.sburg 
pike,  eight  miles. 


470  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

7th,  C  a.  in.,  tlinmgh  Hanover  Court  House  and  across  the  Pamunkey  river, 
sixteen  miles. 

8th,  t)  a.  ni.,  sixteen  miles. 

9th,  ()  a.  m.,  seventeen  mile.s.  to  within  one-half  mile  of  Po  river. 

10th,  6  a.  m.,  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  through  Fredericksburg,  with  colors 
flying  and  bands  playing,  and  bivouacked  near  our  old  picket  line  of  '63,  and 
within  two  and  one-half  miles  of  the  old  camp  ground  at  Stoneman's  switch, 
.seventeen  miles. 

11th.  6  a.  m.,  cro-ssed  head  waters  of  Aquia  creek,  sixteen  miles 

12th,  6  a.  m.,  fourteen  miles,  to  near  Wolf  Run  shoals  and  Occoquan  river. 

13th,  5  a.  m.,  crossed  the  Occoquan,  and  then  the  Orange  and  Alexandria 
railroad,  sixteen  miles. 

15th,  6  a.  m.,  six  miles,  to  Four  Mile  Run,  being  that  distance  from  Wash- 
ington, and  went  into  final  held  camp. 

May  23,  review  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  Washington  by  President 
Johnson. 

24th,  review  of  Sherman's  army. 

The  two  days  as  one,  and  what  a  turn-out  of  veterans  ;  a  sight  the  like  of 
which  never  had  been  witnessed,  and  we  think  never  will  be  again.  From  the 
review,  back  over  the  Potomac  for  the  last  time,  and  but  for  a  few  days,  anil 
then  the  29th,  on  which  day  was  read  on  dress  parade  the  order  that  made,  a.s 
other  citizens,  save  in  the  service  they  had  completed  for  their  country,  the 
soldiers  who  comprised  the  field  survivors  of  the  Eighty-fourth  and  Fifty -seventh 
Regiments  Pennsylvania  Veteran  Volunteers. 

From  camp  near  Washington  to  Harrisburg,  there  a  closing  of  accounts  with 
the  government  that  had,  with  the  loss  of  400,000  loyal  lives  and  the  crippling  of 
300,000  Union  soldiers,  and  the  agonies  of  the  sorrow  which  never  could  be  told 
oQ",  been  made  altogether  free. 

Into  the  hands  of  each  comrade  was  placed  a  printed  copy  of  the  following 
paper : 

Parting'  as  a  band  of  brotbers,  let  us  cling- to  the  memory  of  those  tattered  banners, 
under  which  we  have  fought  togettier,  and  which,  without  dishonor,  we  have  just  now 
restored  to  the  authorities  who  placed  them  in  our  hands.  Till  we  grow  gray-headed 
and  pass  away,  let  us  sustain  the  reputation  of  this  noble  regiment. 

Fortune  threw  together  two  organizations,  the  Eightj'- fourth  and  Fifty-seventh,  to 
make  the  present  command.  Both  regiments  have  been  in  the  service  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  strife,  and  the  records  of  both  will  command  respect  in  all  coming  time 
Very  many  of  those  who  were  enrolled  with  us  have  fallen,  and  their  graves  are  scat- 
tered here  and  there  throughout  the  South.  We  sliall  not  forget  them,  and  the  people 
of  this  nation  must  and  will  honor  their  memory.    Comrades,  farewell." 

Then  with  certificates  of  honorable  muster-out,  all  matters  of  detail  faithfully 
completed,  and  the  8th  day  of  July,  1865,  at  hand,  the  "  Old  Regimental  Home" 
was  gone,  and  forever. 

The  war  is  over  !  Hut  not  so  with  its  spleiulid  achievements,  it.s  grand  and 
far-reaching  results. 

Never  was  conllict  waged  to  a  l)etter  and  surer  end.  Never  a  result  attained 
])earing  so  completely  upon  true  governmental  economy.  To  the  revolution  of 
'75  we  are  indebted  for  the  rebellion  of  '61,  The  revolution  staiuls  out  the 
more  grandly  because  of  the  resulting  text — the  rebellion.  The  rejection  of 
the  latter  was  the  upholding  of  the  principles  of  the  former  ;  posterity's  em- 
phatic endorsement  of  a  valuable  ancestry.  Victories  may  be  great  but  not 
always  just.     Conquerors  have  vaiuiuishcd  peoples  and  thereby  encompa.ssed 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburfj,  471 

countries  within  their  toils,  and  then  regretted  there  was  not  more  to  do  on  the 
same  line.  But  their  doing  was  only  the  accomplishment  ol' personal  gain,  the 
satisfaction  ol'sellish  purj-tose.  With  them  war  was  a  thing  sought  after,  not  a 
calamity  to  he  avoided. 

Justice  was  not  their  polar  star,  nor  did  they  seeek  the  moral  sphere  as  the 
place  of  their  hahitation.  With  them  war  was  a  vocation  ordinary,  and  life 
and  morals  considerations  secondary.  Pul)lic  standing  and  landed  interests 
were  made  to  depend  upon  military  record.  Conquered  territory  was  divided 
as  would  he  now  the  spoils  of  the  theft,  among  the  participators  in  the  act  and 
in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  service  done.  What  a  mistake,  how  grievous 
a  wrong,  to  review  on  the  printed  page  the  tenacity  of  an  Alexander,  or  the 
vigor  of  a  Napoleon,  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  the  wars  of  their  armies  with 
the  deeds  of  patriotism  and  of  valor  that  moved  the  six  fighting  years  of  the  rev- 
olution, or  the  four  years  of  therehellion. 

No  man  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  forced  the  revolution.  It  was  the  outcome 
of  oppression  that  ill-fitted  a  people  who  had  crossed  from  the  other  shore,  not 
to  bear  greater  burden,  but  that  they  might  be  full  free  from  the  cru.sh  of  wrong. 
In  its  beginning  not  aggressive,  but  defensive.  A  year  passed  by  before  it  was 
determined  that  the  yoke  should  be  fulh'  thrown  ofFand  absolute  independence 
moved  for. 

And  so  it  was,  when  along  in  the  after  years  came  the  overt  acts  of  treason 
that  were  to  force  .states  into  rebellion,  against  the  will  of  their  people,  every 
eflbrt,  reasonable  and  unreasonable,  was  made  to  conciliate  the  men  whose  only 
desire  was  not  Union,  but  disintegration.  So  far  did  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nently active,  and.  1  may  add.  patriotic  men  of  our  country,  go  in  their  deter- 
mination to  avoid  a  resort  to  arms,  that  the  very  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  these  United  States  that  forever  forbids  the  institution  of  slavery, 
would  have  been,  in  number,  the  amendment  that  would  have  fastened  slavery 
upon  the  country  forever,  had  it  not  been  that  just  then  treason  grasped  for  too 
much  and  thereby  lost  all.  Now.  when  all  is  .safe,  it  moves  us  to  a  condition 
of  agony  to  recall  that  in  the  winter  of  '60  and  '61,  so  weighty  was  the  power 
of  the  then  South,  that  among  the  men  of  oirr  country,  those  of  best  repute, 
were  found  so  many,  who,  to  avert  war,  were  ready  to  surrender  everything, 
save  the  theory  of  a  central  government  for  all  the  States,  and  (he  bare  privilege 
to  look  at  the  old  flag. 

Our  countrj'  is  great,  our  government  is  powerful,  but  no  thanks  are  owing 
to  compromisers  for  the  greatness  of  the  one  or  the  power  of  the  other. 

Treason's  eagerness  for  the  capture  of  all  saved  one  generation  from  the  com- 
mission of  a  wrong  that  the  good  deeds  of  all  the  coming  generations  could 
not  have  atoned  for. 

It  is  well  to  be  on  guard  always. 

And  what  of  the  present? 

The  once  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy  are  entitled,  as  individuals,  to  every 
manly  consideration  at  our  hands;  as  individuals  they  are  as  we  are,  men 
walking  the  journey  of  life,  reaching  out  to  one  common  goal.  But  their 
organized  bodies  have  no  claim  upon  us  for  recognition.  The  government 
should  have  taken  the  life  from  every  "camp"  at  the  birth,  and  its  strong  arm 
should  have  swept  from  its  soil  the  first  monument  to  rebellion,  with  the  warn- 
ing that  the  placing  of  the  second  would  be  known  as  trea.son. 

They  have  been  asking  that  the  war  be  forgotten,  and  yet  they  would  keep 
us  dailv  i-eminded  bv  the  flauntins;  of  the  Confederate  bars. 


472  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

No  inoiiumont  to  treason  sliould  have  been  permitted  a  place  on  this  or  otiier 
field,  and  being  here  should  be  returned  to  tlie  donors,  not  to  be  erected  else- 
where. 

No  government  is  strong  enough  to  glorify  treason  against  itself,  nor  to  en- 
courage  it  anywhere. 

The  individual  I  would  take  most  heartily  by  the  hand,  the  organization  I 
discard. 

There  can  be  no  true  call  for  a  union  of  the  blue  and  the  gray.  Let  all  don 
the  blue.  In  place  of  waiting  for  the  chasm  to  be  closed,  flank  it  and  locate 
upon  our  side.  The  chasm  itself  can  do  no  harm.  It  will  l)e  a  thing  well  to 
look  upon  at  times,  and  take  warning  from  as  the  divider  of  great  depth  and 
impassable  width. 

As  in  Heaven,  so  in  earth,  to  dwell  together  as  brothers,  all  must  be  of  one 
mind,  patriots  upholding  the  one  flag,  standing  fast  by  the  red,  white  and 
blue. 

When  true  history  of  our  day  comes  to  be  Avritten,  all  things  will  be  made 
plain.  With  the  faithful  historian,  it  is  not  the  question  of  the  doing,  but  of 
the  thing  done.  Just  as  when  we  look  upon  the  completed  work  of  the  sculp- 
tor, or  the  finished  touch  of  the  painter,  it  is  not  of  the  marble,  or  the  canvas 
and  the  material  laid  upon  it  that  we  think,  but  of  the  figure  before  us,  as  we 
note  perfection  in  every  line,  and  see  life  in  the  seeming  light  of  the  eye.  and 
apparent  movement  of  muscle. 

History  gives  little  heed  to  men,  save  to  designate  the  moral  character  ot 
the  age. 

And  now,  comrades,  for  the  part  taken  by  the  Eighty-fourth  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania Veteran  Volunteers  in  the  .setting  of  the  page  which  will  commemo- 
rate the  work  of  our  time,  a  grateful  Commonwealth  has  placed  upon  this  spot 
this  weight  of  granite. 

To  the  living  it  is.  and  to  tlie  people  yet  to  come  it  will  be,  the  visible  proof 
of  the  deeds  of  heroism  which  located  a  part  of  the  life  of  the  men  who  Ijore 
the  names  that  make  up  the  roll  of  a  command,  whose  record  among  the  ar- 
chives of  the  Nation  is  without  the  semblance  of  a  blur  or  particle  of  a  stain. 
Clear,  positive,  clean  cut  all  the  way  through.  Do  we  advance  sentiment  onl\% 
when  we  say  that  such  a  body  did  not,  could  not,  have  died  in  '65?  Is  there 
nothing  of  substance,  nothing  real,  to  come  out  of  the  thought,  that  as  our 
country  lives,  so  we  as  a  regiment  go  on,  living  in  the  freedom  of  a  land  and 
the  stability  of  a  government,  neither  of  which  would  now  be,  without  senti- 
ment, the  spring  of  human  life? 

The  memorial  which  is  here  placed  speaks  from  all  along  the  line,  from  T.ath 
to  Appomatto.x. 

For  the  moment  it  moves  aside,  and  where  it  was,  and  within  the  lengthen- 
ing of  its  shadow,  we  see  them  all  and  as  we  glance  from  right  to  left,  from 
front  to  rear,  one  is  taken  from  here,  another  from  th€re,  one  by  one,  from  the 
highest  in  rank  to  the  lowest,  from  the  oldest  in  years  to  the  youngest,  the  man 
and  the  boy;  first  the  two  hundred  and  thirty  in  fhe  time  of  the  war,  then  the 
many  who  have  left  us  in  the  days  that  have  intervened;  and  then  comes  ihe 
shaft  into  the  space  which  was  made  lor  it.  We  look  u])on  it  now,  and  know 
that  it  .stands  for  them.  The  time  is  coming  when  it  will  stand  for  all  who.se 
names  made  up  a  regimental  roll. 

Tlien,  and  not  till  then,  shall  we  know  tliat  our  work  here  is  fully  done. 


PMOTO.     er    w.    M.     IlPtOK,    GETrvSeuRG. 


"RfNT  :    THE    F.    i,l,T^<K.f. 


Pnin.sijIranJd  of   Geit tjsl)ii\-<j.  .473 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMFA"T 

88^"  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September   ii,   1889 
ADDRESS  OF  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  GEORCJE  E.  WACJNER 

COMRADES  of  tlie  Eighty-eighth  Regiment  and  I'eUow-citizens: — The  regi- 
ment in  whose  memory  we  are  assembled  on  tins  occasion  was  recruited 
by  Colonel  George  P.  McLean,  and  was  originally  called  the  Cameron 
Light  Guard,  in  honor  of  the  Hon.  Simon  Cameron,  tlien  Secretary  of 
War:  it  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Eighty -eighth  Regiment  Infantry  Penn- 
sylvania A'^olunteers.  It  was  composed  of  seven  companies  from  Philadelphia 
and  three  from  Reading,  in  all  about  1,000  men.  Recruited  in  September,  1861, 
re-enlisted  in  January,  1864,  and  mustered  out  of  service  June  30,  1865,  hav- 
ing served  well  and  faithfully  for  a  period  of  three  years  and  ten  months. 

During  its  term  of  service  there  were  inscribed  upon  its  roils  the  names  of 
about  2,050  officers  and  enlisted  men.  Of  the  original  complement  of  officers — 
tield,  staff  and  line — of  thirtj'^-eight,  but  two  remained  at  muster-out.  Colonel 
Louis  Wagner  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Edmund  A.  Mass,  both  of  whom  originally 
entered  the  regiment  as  first  lieutenants;  and  of  the  nearly  1,000  enlisted  men 
mustered  into  service  in  1861, but  ninety-three  were  present  with  their  commands 
at  muster-out  in  1865.  Thirty-six  of  the  original  officers  and  more  than  nine 
hundred  of  the  men  originally  enlisted  had  meanwhile  succumbed  to  wounds 
or  disease;  those  who  had  not  yielded  up  their  lives  to  rebel  bullets  or  to  the 
diseases  incident  to  a  soldier's  life,  had  been  discharged  because  of  physical 
disability  incurred  in  the  long  and  arduous  services  they  had  performed. 

To-day  we,  but  a  small  remnant  of  that  glorious  old  regiment,  are  assembled 
upon  one  of  the  many  battle-lields  on  which  it  did  and  dared,  and  it  is  a  fitting 
time  to  at  least  name  the  many  others  upon  which  it  fought  and  bled. 

Receiving  our  baptism  of  fire  on  Cedar  Mountain,  under  Pope,  came  rapidly 
Rappahannock  Station,  Thoroughfare  Gap,  Second  Bull  Run,  Chantilly,  Antie- 
tam,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Mine  Run,  Wilderness, 
Sjjotsylvania,  North  Anna,  Totopotomoy,  Bethesda  Church,  Cold  Harbor, 
Petersburg,  Weldon  Railroad,  Dabney's  Mill,  Boydton  Road,  Five  Forks,  and, 
lastly,  the  crowning  victory  at  Appomattox. 

What  wonderful  memories  these  names  awaken!  Struggles,  fierce  and 
bloody;  defeats  and  victories;  marches  b}'  day,  hy  night,  by  rain,  by  shine,  in 
summer's  heats  and  winter's  blasts,  through  clouds  of  dust,  through  oceans  of 
mud;  with  ^McDowell,  with  Pope,  with  jNIcClellan,  with  Burnside,  with  Hooker, 
with  Meade,  and,  lastlj-,  with  the  grand  commander  of  all — the  immortal  Grant, 
who,  by  his  ponderous  blows,  brought  annihilation  to  our  enemies  and  gave  us 
blessed  peace. 

I  congratulate  you,  men  of  the  Eighty-eighth,  on  your  share  in  these  mighty 
achievements  !  Let  us  rejoice  that  we,  the  survivors,  have  lived  to  see  the 
day  when  the  people  of  this  great  Commonwealth,  through  their  Governor  and 
other  chosen  officials  and  representatives,  assemble  to  do  honor  to  an  organiza- 
tion of  which  we  were  part,  and  to  drop  a  tear,  with  us,  to  the  memory  of  the 


474  Pennsylvania  uf  Getty shiir<i. 

many  of  our  comrades  who  Icll  l>y  tlic  wayside  duriiiii  those  tcirihlt-  (hiys  now 
happily  past. 

Since  the  eventful  days  in  July,  1861!,  that  made  this  sjiot  historic,  many 
pages  have  been  written  to  describe  what  hajipened  here,  all  of  which  have 
been  more  or  less  colored,  because  of  thestaudpoint  of  the  writers.  Some  would 
have  us  believe  that  Pickett's  charge  was  the  only  event  in  the  battle  worthy 
of  particular  record ;  others  unduly  extol  the  fight  in  the  Peach  Orchard ;  others, 
again,  think  that  Devil's  Den  and  Round  Top  were  the  vital  points  in  the 
tight,  while  still  another  class  claim  that  the  heaviest  and  most  important 
lighting  of  all  was  at  Gulp's  Hill,  in  the  entrenchments  of  the  Twelfth  Corps, 
on  the  right  of  the  line.  We  of  the  First  Corps  have  been  entirely  too  modest, 
or,  if  not  too  modest,  have  lacked  spokesmen;  for  to  our  minds  it  is  a  fact 
beyond  dispute  that  there  was  no  heavier  or  harder  fighting  on  any  day,  or  on 
any  part  of  the  field,  than  right  here  on  tliis  line  on  the  first  day  of  the  battle. 
The  fighting  at  Peach  Orchard,  Devil's  Den,  Round  Top,  Culp's  Hill,  Pickett's 
charge  was  like  sudden  summer  storms,  while  the  battling  for  the  jjosscssion 
of  this  ridge  was  like  a  .steady  all-day  rain.  The  summer's  storm,  gathering 
abruptly,  bursts  in  fury  with  a  heavy  down-pour,  and  perhaps  flood,  but  ceases 
as  quickly  as  it  came,  while  the  steady  pour  of  the  whole  day  swells  rivulets 
into  angrj'  streams  and  cari'ies  all  before  it.  So  it  was  ©u  the  field  of  Gettys- 
burg. The  .storms  of  the  second  and  third  days  broke  suddenly  and  with  great 
fury,  and,  while  they  lasted,  could  not  be  excelled  for  fierceness  or  destruc- 
tion, but  soon  they  ceased;  while  here,  on  the  first  day,  on  this  ridge,  the 
steady  down-pour  on  our  devoted  heads  began  early  in  the  morning,  lasted 
throughout  the  day  until  sundown,  when  we  were  completely  overwhelmed  by 
the  flood  and  carried  away. 

At  this  date  (July  1,  1863),  the  Eighty-eighth  was  attached  to  Baxter's  Bri- 
gade, Robinson's  Division,  First  Army  Corps,  all  commanded  by  General  Rey- 
nolds, who  also  liad  under  his  command  the  Third  and  Eleventh  Corps;  the 
whole  forming  the  left  wing  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

The  movements  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  and  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac bring  the  advance  of  each  to  Gettysburg  on  June  30,  our  cavalry  under 
General  Buford  reaching  there  but  a  short  time  Ijefore  the  infantry  division  of 
Hcth,  of  Hill's  Corps,  of  the  rebel  arm}';  the  advance  of  the  First  Corps  of  our 
army  being  about  five  miles  from  the  town,  the  Eleventh  Corps  at  Emmits- 
burg,  Maryland,  about  eleven  miles  distant,  and  the  other  corps  at  still  greater 
distances,  up  to  the  forty  miles  of  the  Sixth  Corps  at  Manchester, 

The  fight  opened  early  in  the  morningof  July  1,  by  an  advance  of  Heth's  in- 
fantry to  occupy  the  town,  The\'  were  met  and  engaged  hx  Buford 's  cavalry,- 
the  latter  were  greatly  outnumbered,  but  by  skilful  manceuvriug  they  con- 
cealed the  smallness  of  their  force,  and  kept  up  a  brilliant  and  successful 
defense  until  reinforcements  arrived — Wadsworth's  Division,  First  Corps, 
Heth  was  reinforced  l)y  Pender's  Division.  The  rebel  line  was  now  extended, 
and  overlapped  the  flanks  of  Wadsworth;  Rowley's  Division  of  the  First  Corps 
arriving,  one  brigade  was  .sent  to  the  right  of  Wadsworth.  and  the  other  to  the 
left.  Robinson's  Division  wjis  held  in  reserve.  Meanwhile  Rodes'  Division  of 
Hill's  Corps,  and  Early's  Division  of  Ewell's  Corps,  arrived  and  prolonged  the 
rebel  line  to  the  left,  .still  overlajjping  our  right  flank.  Two  divisions  from 
Eleventh  Corps  (Schimmelpfennig's  and  Barlow's)  arrived  in  extension  of  oi:r 
right;  this  was  the  full  line  of  battle,  as  finally  developed,  the  other  division 


/'''iii(s///r(nn'(i   a/   (rcffz/s/mrff.  475 

(Steiuwehr'.s)  of  tlie  Kloveiith  Corps  liaviiii;  takfii  i)osiLi()U  a.s  a  reserve  oii 
Cemetery  Hill. 

The  Avhole  loree  upon  the  tiold.  on  the  liist  day,  was  about  ::(>,(t<tO of  t lie  rebel 
;irmy.  and  about  17,000  of  ours. 

Meanwhile  the  fighting  was  constant  on  dilferents  parts  of  the  line,  there 
being  charges  and  counter-charges,  in  which  the  rebel  brigades  of  Archer, 
O'Neal  and  Iverson  were  badly  worsted  and  nearly  annihilated.  In  the.se 
movements  the  Eighty-eighth  Kegiment,  of  Ha.vter's  Brigade,  Kobinson's  Divi- 
sion, had  full  share. 

Bates,  the  historian  of  Pennsylvania  regiments,  .says:  "■  As  there  was  a  gap 
between  the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps,  Doubleday  ordered  Kobinson  to  send 
one  of  his  brigades,  that  of  Baxter,  to  fill  it.  The  latter  ariived  in  time  to 
meet  the  enemj-'s  advance,  but  his  small  brigade  proved  insufficient  to  measure 
the  open  space,  a:id,  though  fighting  gallantly,  driving  back  the  enemy,  and 
taking  many  prisoners  and  tliree  battle-fiags,  he  was  constantly  outflanked  and 
exposed  to  a  hot  and  enfilading  fire.''     Again  he  says: 

•'And  when  the  troops  of  Baxter  dashed  gallantly  forward,  the  rebels,  see- 
ing themselves  pushed  on  three  sides,  surrendered  in  large  numbers,  and  were 
swept  into  the  Union  lines. '" 

And  again: — 

"  Repeated  assaults  were  made  upon  Paul  and  Baxter,  .  ith  ever  fresh  troops, 
as  if  determined  to  break  through  and  bear  down  all  before  them.  But  more 
daring  and  skilful  leaders  than  Baxter,  Paul  and  Kobin.son  were  not  in  the 
whole  army,  and  their  men  were  of  the  same  spirit,  and  though  sufi'eriug 
grievously  at  every  fresh  onset,  hurled  back  the  foe  and  maintained  their 
ground  intact." 

The  portion  of  the  battle  referred  to  in  these  quotations,  occurred  upon  the 
spot  upon  which  we  now  stand.  On  arriving  here,  we  first  faced  to  the  north 
on  the  Mummasburg  road:  then  we  changed  front,  to  the  left,  at  right  angles 
to  this  road,  facing  west.  The  charge  referred  to  was  led  by  the  Eighty-eighth, 
Company  D  to  the  front,  down  that  declivity  to  the  small  stream  in  the  hollow, 
where  our  granite  tablet  now  marks  the  limit  of  advance.  Many  prisoners 
were  taken;  and  two  of  the  three  battle-flags  spoken  of  were  taken  by  this 
regiment,  that  of  the  Twenty-third  Xorth  Carolina  and  that  of  the  Twenty- 
sixth  Alabama.* 

Upon  this  spot  the  fight  raged  long  and  fiercely,  but  our  line  was  not  broken; 
unfortunately,  that  was  not  the  case  across  the  Mummasburg  road,  where  stood 
the  men  of  the  Eleventh  Corps.  Their  line  was  badly  extended  and  very  thin; 
the  distance  to  be  covered  being  too  long  for  the  number  of  men  available  to 
occupy  it.  Heavy  masses  of  the  enemy  were  thrown  against  it,  breaking 
through  and  threatening  our  right  and  rear.  The  First  Corps  had  now  been  in 
the  fight  from  five  to  six  hours,  and  had  successfirlly  maintained  itself  against 
repeated   and  constant  assaults  without  support  or   relief;  but  when  it-  was 

*  General  Iverson,  of  the  rebel  army,  whose  brigade  we  encountered  hei'e,  says,  in  his 
official  report,  "  The  enemy  *  *  *  charged  in  overwhelming  force  upon  and  captured 
nearly  all  that  were  unhurt  in  three  regiments  of  my  brigade.  "When  I  saw  white 
handkerchiefs  raised  and  my  line  of  battle  still  lying  down  in  position  I  characterized 
the  surrender  as  disgraceful ;  but  when  I  found  afterward  that  500  of  mj-  men  were  left 
lying  dead  and  wounded  in  a  line  as  straight  as  a  dress  parade,  I  e.vonerated  the  sur- 
vivors and  claim  for  the  brigade  that  they  nobly  fought  and  died,  without  a  man  run- 
ning to  the  rear.    No  greater  gallantry  and  heroism  has  Ijeen  displa.ved  during  the  war. 


476  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

known  tliat  tlic  right  of  the  corps  had  hcen  turned,  and  that  tlic  Eleventh 
Corps  was  tailing  back,  it  became  evident  that  the  position  that  liad  been  s(> 
long  and  gallantly  defended  must  be  giveu  up.  "Baxter's  Brigade,  which  had 
fought  with  stubborn  bravery  upon  the  right,  was  brought  to  the  rear  of  the 
ridge,  at  the  railroad  cut,  where  it  defended  a  battery,  and  still  held  the  enemy 
advancing  from  the  north  in  clieck." 

General  Doubleday,  the  commander  of  the  First  Corps,  describes  the  situa- 
tion at  this  time  in  these  words:  "So  far  I  had  done  all  that  was  possible  to 
defend  my  front,  but  circumstances  were  becoming  desiierate.  My  line  was 
very  thiu  and  weak,  and  my  last  reserves  had  been  thrown  in.  As  we  had 
positive  information  that  the  entire  rebel  army  was  coming  on,  it  was  evident 
enough  that  we  could  not  continue  an}'  longer  unless  some  other  corps  came  to 
our  assistance.  I  had  previously  sent  an  aide  to  ask  General  Howard  to  rein- 
force me  from  Steiuwehr"s  Division,  but  he  declined  to  do  .so.  I  now  sent  my 
adjutant-general  to  reiterate  my  request,  or  to  obtain  for  me  an  order  to  re- 
treat, as  it  was  impo.ssible  for  me  to  remain  where  I  was  in  the  face  of  the  con- 
stantly increasing  forces  which  were  approaching  from  the  west.  Howard  re- 
fused to  order  me  to  retire.  The  First  Corps  had  sutfered  severely  in  these  en- 
counters, but  by  this  additional  delay  and  the  overwhelming  odds  against  us 
it  was  almost  totally  sacrificed.  General  Wadsworth  reported  half  of  his  men 
killed  or  wounded,  and  Rowley's  Division  suffered  in  the  same  proportion. 
General  Robinson  had  two  horses  shot  under  him.  He  reported  a  loss  of  1,667 
out  of  2,500.  About  this  time  the  Eleventh  Corps  gave  way  on  the  right,  the 
Confederate  forces  made  their  final  advance  in  double  lines  backed  by  strong 
reserves,  and  it  was  impossible  for  the  few  men  left  in  the  First  Corps  to  keep 
them  back,  especially  as  Pender's  large  division  overlapped  our  left  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile.  Robinson's  right  was  turned.  Under  these  circumstances  it  be- 
came a  serious  question  how  to  extricate  the  First  Corps  and  save  its  artillery 
before  it  was  entirely  surrounded  and  captured.  Each  brigade  was  flanked  and 
assailed  in  front  and  on  both  flanks.  Robinson  was  forced  back  towards  the 
seminarj',  but  halted,  notwithstanding  the  pressure  upon  him,  and  formed  line 
to  save  Stewart's  Batter}'  north  of  the  railroad  cut,  which  had  remained  too 
long  and  was  in  danger  of  being  captured.  As  the  enemy  was  closing  in  upon 
us,  and  cra.shes  of  musketry  came  from  my  right  and  left,  I  had  little  hope  of 
saving  mj'  guns,  but  I  threw  my  head(iuarters'  guard  into  the  seminary  and 
kept  the  right  of  Scales'  Brigade  back  twenty  minutes  longer,  while  the  left 
was  held  by  Baxter's  Brigade  of  Robinson's  Division.  Soon,  however,  we  were 
as.sailed  in  front  and  on  both  flanks,  which  cau.sed  a  retreat  along  the  railroad 
bed  into  and  through  the  town  to  Cemetery  Hill,  where  fhe  line  was  once  more 
reformed  and  establi.shed."'     Thus  ended  the  first  day's  fight. 

The  First  Corps,  composed  of  three  divisions  of  two  brigades  each — in  all  six 
brigades  of  twenty-nine  regiments — had  resisted  for  many  hours  the  repeated 
and  constant  attempts  made  to  dislodge  it  from  its  jiosition  by  portions  of  two 
corps  of  the  rebel  army  containing  the  divisions  of  Ifeth,  Pender  and  Ixodes,  of 
thirteen  brigades  of  fifty-eight  regiments,  while  the  Eleventh  Corps  had  two 
divisions  of  two  brigades  each — in  all  four  brigades  of  eighteen  regiments — in 
its  line  of  battle,  engaging  Early's  Division  of  Ewell's  Corps,  of  four  brigades 
of  sixteen  regiments. 

How  many  men  were  in  these  diflorent  divisions,  brigades  and  regiments,  is 
not  ascertainable,  but  good  authorities  estimate  that  the  First  CorjjS  had  in  this 


Pennsylvania  at  (refhislnini.  477 

light  ;iV)out  8.20U  men,  :mtl  tluil  tlie  Klcventh  Cdijis  luul  ubout  <i..")00,  whifh, 
with  But'ortrs  Cavalry  of  about  2,500  iiicii,  would  make  our  total  foi-ce  on  the 
field  of  battle  about  17,000  lueu,  not  iucludiug  the  reserve  division  of  Steiii- 
wehr,  which  remained  on  Cemetery  Hill  and  did  not  get  into  action. 

At  this  time  the  whole  rebel  army  was  composed  of  three  corps  of  three 
divisions  each,  or  in  all  nine  divisions  of  69,000  men,  making  an  average  of 
7,666  to  a  division:  or,  say  for  the  four  divisions  in  the  first  day's  light,  a  total 
of  30,666. 

"What  the  losses  Avere,  on  this  day.  of  tlie  troops  engaged,  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  as  there  is  no  separate  return  for  the  first  day's  battle:  the  aggregate  for 
the  whole  battle  for  three  days  being  the  only  record  that  sliows  the  losses  of 
these  troops.     These  aggregate  as  follows: 

Union  Army  : 

First  Corps  (excluding  Stannard's  Brigade),* r),67;i 

Eleventh  Corps  (except  Steinwehr's  Division),* 2,855 

Buford's  Cavalry  (except  Sixth  United  States  Cavahy),*  ....         176 

8,704 

Echcl  Army: 

Ewell's  Corps,  Early's  Division, 1,188 

'■  Kodes'  Division, 2,853 

Hill's  Corps.      Heth's  Division, 2,850 

"  Pender's  Division 1,690 

8,581 

The  Union  loss  includes  3,882  prisoners,  most  of  whom  were  captured  after 

both  tlanks  of  our  line  had  been  turned.  Tlie  rebel  loss  includes  1,580  pris- 
oners, mainly  of  Archer's,  Iverson's,  O'Neal's  and  Daniel's  brigades,  who  were 
captured  in  the  various  assaults  made. 

The  total  forces  engaged  during  the  three  days"  ])attle,  according  to  the  best 
authorities,  were: 

On  the  Union  side,       83,000 

On  the  rebel  side, 69,000 

Total 152,000 

The  total  casualties  were: 

Union  army, , 22,900,  or  about  27  jjer  cent. 

Rebel  army, 20.488,         "        29         '• 

Total,  both  armies,     . 43,388,         "        28-]       *' 

While  the  First  Corps  shows  a  loss  of  about  (i9  per  cent,  of  the  numl)er  en- 
gaged. 

These  figures  clearly  tell  the  story  of  the  persistent  valor  of  the  First  Corps, 
and  answer  those  in  doubt  as  to  whether  there  was  "mucli  of  a  fight"  on  the 
first  day;  in  fact,  they  prove  that  the  heaviest  fighting  of  all  was  on  the  1st 
day,  because  of  the  total  loss  of  the  troops  of  the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps 
and  Buford's  Cavalry,  that  fought  on  that  day,  nearly  all  were  sustained  along 
this  line  and  on  that  day,  and  showing  a  total  of  8,704  out  of  the  whole  loss  of 

*  Not  engaged  on  first  day. 


478  I'cniisijh-auio  at   (ietl ushnrg. 

tin-  luion  aiinv  ol'  ±2,iM)U.  or  08  jier  cent.,  wliile  tlic  iiuiuIkm  eiifiiijied  \v»-i<-  l»iit 
'20  per  cent,  ol"  tlie  whole  force. 

The  Fir-st  Corps  hud  engaged  about  .s,20()  men.  out  of  a  total  of  the  Union 
army  of  83,000,  or  say  le.s.s  than  10  per  cent.,  while  its  total  los.ses  during  the 
battle  were  6,024  out  of  a  total  in  the  army  of  2i,900,  or  over  2f)  per  cent. 
lu  other  words,  had  the  whole  Union  army  suliered  in  the  same  proportion  as 
the  First  Corps,  the  loss  would  have  been  60,590,  instead  of  22,900.  There  was 
•'  right  .smart "  ("'  as  oar  friends,  the  enemy  would  say  ")  of  alight  ou  the  first 
day  of  July,  1863,  at  Oak  Kidge  and  Seminary  Hill,  and  you,  men  of  the 
Kighty-eiglith,  bore  your  full  .share  ol  the  perils  and  glories  of  that  day. 

In  farther  illustration  of  the  severity  of  the  lighting  on  tlie  lirst  day,  a  table 
of  comparison  of  the  casualties  is  herewith  annexed. 

The  evening  of  .July  1  found  the  remnants  of  the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps 
on  Cemetery  Hill.  Meanwhile  General  Hancock  had  arrived  aud  relieved 
General  Howard  of  the  command,  which  had  fallen  to  liim,  as  senior  officer 
present,  on  the  death  of  General  Reynolds.  A  new  line  of  battle  was  at  once 
formed.  Wadsworth's  Division  of  the  First  Corps  being  posted  on  Culp's  Hill, 
to  the  left  of  him,  on  Cemetery  Hill, stood  the  Eleventh  Corps,  then  came  Double- 
day's  Division  of  the  First  Corps,  aud  then  Robin.son's  Division  of  the  same 
corps.  Divisions  had  by  this  time  been  reduced  in  numbers  to  less  than  small 
brigades,  brigades  to  less  than  regiments,  and  regiments  to  le.ss  than  ordinary 
full  companies.  My  company,  for  example,  when  we  arrived  at  the  bill,  con- 
sisted of  three  enlisted  men  and  myself:  by  the  next  morning  I  had.  however, 
managed  to  gather  up  enough  to  show  eleven  good  lighting  men. 

On  the  arrival  of  two  divisions  of  the  Third  Corps,  they  prolonged  the  line 
to  the  left;  later  came  the  Twelfth  Corps,  which  for  the  time  being  was  held 
in  re.serve,  but  was  afterwards  put  on  the  right  of  Wadsworth,  and  extended 
our  line  in  that  direction.  Early  on  the  morning  of  July  2,  the  Second  Corps 
arrived,  also  two  divisions  of  the  Fifth  Corps  (the  other  division  of  said  corps 
reached  the  field  about  noon  I;  also  two  brigades  of  the  Third  Corps;  the  Artil- 
lery Reserve  arrived  at  10::50  a.  m.,  while  the  Sixth  Corps  (the  largest  in  the 
armv),  which  was  at  Manchester,  nearly  forty  miles  away,  did  not  reach  the 
field  until  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

On  .Tuly  2,  the  line  was  as  follows:  The  First  and  Eleventh  Corps,  a.s  pdstcd 
on  the  night  of  the  1st,  occupying  Culp's  Hill  and  Cemetery  Hill  ;  then,  to  the 
left,  came  the  Second  Corps;  then  the  Third  Corps;  the  Twelfth  Corps  on  the 
extreme  right  of  the  line,  its  left  touching  Wadsworth's  Division:  the  Fifth 
Cori)s  temporarily  in  reserve,  ])ut  in  the  afternoon  advanced  into  line  on  tl:c 
left  of  the  Third  Corps,  and  extending  to  Round  Top. 

Meanwhile  the  rebel  line  had  also  gotten  into  position,  liwell's  Corps  was 
formed  on  our  front,  opposite  the  Twelfth,  l^leventh  and  First  Corps  of  our 
army;  then,  to  his  right  (our  left),  came  Hill's  and  Long.street's  corp.s,  facing 
the  Second,  Third  and  Fifth  corps  of  our  army;  Pettigrew's  Divi.sion  of  Hill's 
Corjjs  in  reserve,  and  Law's  Brigade  of  Hood's  Division  and  Pickett's  Division 
not  yet  arrived. 

The  morning  and  the  early  i)art  of  tlie  alternoon  of  the  second  day  were  spent 
in  getting  into  position  and  planning  forms  of  attack.  (Jeneral  Meade,  at  dawn, 
commenced  to  form  his  lines  lor  an  attack  from  our  right  on  Ewell's  Corjjs  of 
the  rebel  left,  l)at  that  being  finally  decided  inadvisable,  changed  his  jdans  and 
began  posting  his  troops  on  our  left,  ^\ith  the  view  of  attacking  the  enemy's 


Peiinsijlvania  at  Ge(f//sbur<j.  479 

right.  Meanwhile,  Lee  was  conceutratinji  his  ibices  for  an  attack  l)y  jjong- 
street's  Corps  (his  right)  on  our  left;  Ewell's  Corps,  on  the  extreme  rebel  left, 
to  attack  our  extreme  right  at  the  same  time,  in  order  to  help  Ijon<j;street. 

These  movements  were  slow,  but  the  attack  was  finally  delivered  with  great 
force  and  spirit  on  the  Third  and  Fifth  Corps,  which  resulted  in  the  lighting  at 
Wheattield,  Peach  Orcliard,  Devil's  Den  and  Round  Top.  Our  troops  were 
driven  from  the  Peach  Orchard,  and  our  line  was  pierced ;  but  reinforcements 
arriving  Irom  the  right,  the  tide  was  driven  back  and  the  rebel  attacks  repulsed. 
These  reinforcements  included  portions  of  the  First,  Second  and  Twelfth  cori)s, 
and  among  them  was  Robinson's  Division,  in  which  was  the  Eighty-eightli, 
which  did  its  full  share  in  the  repulse.  The  position  of  the  regiment  on  that 
line  is  marked  b}'  a  granite  tablet. 

The  stripping  of  the  right  of  tlie  line  to  reinforce  the  left,  was  EwclTs  op- 
}X)rtunity.  Johnson's  Division  crossed  Kock  Creek,  and  soon  discovered  that 
tlie  strong  breastworks  thrown  up  on  our  right  were  emptj';  he  at  once  oc- 
cupied them  and  endeavored  to  turn  our  riglit  flank,  but  was  repulsed;  push- 
ing: further  to  the  right,  he  found  nothing  to  oppose  him,  and  advanced  steadily 
far  to  the  rear  of  our  right  flank,  but  darkness  had  come  on  and  .lohnson  halted, 
fearing  a  trap.  This  halt  was  our  .salvation.  The  attack  of  Longstreet  having 
been  repulsed,  the  Twelfth  Corps  endeavored  to  return  to  its  former  position, 
on  our  right,  which  had  been  occupied  by  Johnson  in  its  ab.sence.  Finding 
their  entrenchments  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  the  men  slept  upon  their  arms, 
and  at  the  l)reak  of  day  attacked  the  rebel  line,  and  after  a  long  and  vigorous 
light  succeeded:  and  by  11  o'clock  had  retaken  their  fortified  positions  and  re- 
stored the  line  of  battle. 

We  have  now  come  to  the  third  and  last  day  of  this  battle,  resulting  in  a 
complete  victory  for  the  Union  forces.  The  Eighty-eighth  has  returned  from 
the  left,  and  is  now  posted  in  Ziegler's  Grove,  in  the  rear  of  Cemetery  Hill;  the 
spot  being  now  marked  ])j'  a  granite  tablet.  About  1  o'clock  p.  m.  there  opens 
a  perfect  pandemonium  of  artillery  firing,  the  like  of  which  was  probably  never 
heard  l)efore  or  since.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  rebel  cannon  are 
playing  at  once  on  a  point  in  our  line,  and  that  point  is  the  brigade  joining  our 
left.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  our  cannon  are  vigorously  returning  the 
salute:  the  air  is  thick  with  shot,  and  mother-earth  has  suddenly  become  very 
dear,  and  is  embraced  most  ardently  by  the  brave  "boys  in  blue  ''  thAt  are  in 
range  ol  this  terrific  hail  of  lead  and  iron :  but  this  Avas  but  a  prelude  to  a  more 
terrible  scene  to  come.  Cannonading  at  long  range,  such  as  this,  is  more  ter- 
rifying to  the  nerves  than  damaging  to  the  body;  tons  of  balls  go  over  our  heads 
harmlessly,  few  do  damage — the  main  object  of  it  all  is  to  "  knock  out  "  and 
silence  our  batteries,  for  an  assault  is  to  be  delivered  on  our  line  by  intantry, 
and  batteries  firing  grape  and  canister  at  short  range  on  attacking  columns 
are  very  destructive.  The  cannonading  having  ceased,  the  infantry  column 
comes  into  sight;  steadily  but  surely  it  approaches  our  line,  our  firing  plows 
great  gaps  through  them,  but  still  they  come — our  line  is  reached,  and  with  a 
rush  and  a  spring  they  are  on  us.  Now  tromes  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  between 
Pickett's  Division  of  Virginians  with  Webb's  Philadelpliia  I5rigade.  For  a 
moment  the  line  appears  to  be  lost,  but  reinforcements  from  the  right  and  left 
are  quickly  thrown  in  (among  them  the  Eighty-eighth);  the  attack  is  repulsed, 
and  Pickett's  Division  of  Longstreet's  Corps,  supported  by  Wilcox's  Brigade 
and  Pettigrew's  Brigade,  both  of  Hill's  Corps,  are  hurled  back  by  Gibbon's  and 


480  Pe.nnsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

Hays' divisions  of  the  Second  Corps,  and  Doubleda3''sand  Robinson's  divisions 
of  the  First  Corps;  and  tlie  battle  of  Gettj'sburg  is  practically  at  an  end. 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  narrative,  that  the  Eighty-eighth  did  its  full  share  on 
the  different  days  and  in  the  various  stages  of  this  great  battle.  On  the  night 
of  June  30,  it  was  on  picket  duty;  on  July  1,  with  Baxter's  Brigade,  Robin- 
son's Division,  First  Army  Corps,  at  Oak  Hill  and  Seminary  Ridge;  on  Julj^  2, 
it  was,  part  of  the  day,  at  Cemeterj'  Hill,  and  in  the  afternoon  went  on  the 
"  double-quick  "'  as  part  of  Robinson's  Division,  and  a.ssisted  in  the  repulse  of 
Longstreet's  attack  ou  the  Third  and  Fifth  Corps,  between  Peach  Orchard  and 
Round  Top;  on  July  3,  at  Ziegler's  Grove,  in  the  rear  of  Cemetery  Hill,  and 
from  there,  ou  the  "  double-quick,"  to  assist  in  the  repulse  of  Pickett's  charge 
on  tlie  left  of  Cemetery  Hill. 

Men  of  the  Eighty-eighth,  every  duty  that  you  were  called  upon  to  perform 
on  these  eventful  days,  you  did  to  the  utmost,  without  complaint,  but  cheer- 
fully and  freely  ;  but  at  what  a  sacrifice  it  was  !  The  regiment  went  into  action 
two  hundred  and  ninety-six  strong;  ten  were  killed  and  one  hundred  wounded 
or  captured.  Let  me  read  the  names  of  the  heroic  dead  :  Company  A,  Wil- 
liam Beaumont ;  Company  B.  Sergeant  Henry  Evans  ;  Company  C,  Michael  Hol- 
licher  and  Charles  A.  Zazier;  Company  E,  Jacob  Audrewsand  Joseph  R.  Bruner; 
Company  H,  Robert  Simons  ;  Company  I,  David  Harland  and  John  Link  ;  Com- 
pany K,  John  Corn. 

The  officers  commanding  the  regiment  during  the  engagement  were,  first, 
Major  B.  F.  Foust,  who  was  wounded  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  fight ; 
the  command  then  devolved  on,  second,  Captain  (since  lieutenant-colouelj  E. 
A.  Mass,  who  was  captured  during  the  charge  made  on  Iverson's  Brigade  on 
the  first  day  ;  third,  Captain  Henry  ^Yhiteside,  Company  A,  who  assumed 
command  after  the  capture  of  Captain  Mass,  and  directed  the  ojierations  of  the 
regiment  towards  the  close  of  the  first  day,  and  also  during  the  remaining  days 
of  the  battle. 

The  company  commanders,  were,  Company  A,  Captain  Henry  Whiteside, 
Company  B,  Captain  Edmund  A.  IVIass,  who,  together  with  both  of  his  lieuten- 
ants (George  W.  Grant  and  Samuel  G.  Boone),  were  captured  and  carried  south. 
Company  C,  Lieutenant  Alexander  Gardiner,  Jr.  Company  D,  Lieutenant 
George  E,  Wagner  ;  Company  E,  Captain  Joseph  H.  Richards  ;  Company  F, 
Captain  George  B.  Rhoads  ;  Company  G,  Captain  Henry  Korn  ;  Company  H, 
Lieutenant  Henry  E.  Quimby  ;  Company  I,  Captain  George  L.  Schell  (who  was 
captured)  ;  Company  K,  Lieutenant  Sylvester  IL  ^Martin. 

The  patriotic  impulses  of  the  people  of  this  great  Commonwealth,  as  exem- 
plified by  their  legislature  of  1887.  paved  tlie  way  to  this  form  of  ever  keeping 
in  remembrance  the  suffering  and  sacrifice  of  her  citizen  soldier.s.  During  the 
session  of  that  year,  a  general  law  was  passed  making  an  appropriation  of 
$1,500  for  a  memorial  for  each  Pennsylvania  regiment  that  fought  on  this  field. 

The  Survivors'  Association  of  the  Eighty- eighth  had  submitted  to  it  many  de- 
signs, and  adopted  the  one  that  has  resulted  in  the  beautiful  memorial  that 
stands  before  us.  Having  chosen  the  design  which  required  an  expenditure 
far  in  excess  of  the  State  appropriation,  energetic  and  successful  action  was  im- 
mediately taken  to  supply  the  funds  that  were  needed. 

To-day  we  are  assembled  to  dedicate  this  memorial  in  commemoration  of  the 
heroic  deeds  of  this  valiant  regiment ;  and,  as  we  look  upon  it  and  see  heaped 
there  the  emblems  of  grim  and  ghastly  strife  and  war,  let  us  express  the  fervent 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 


481 


hope  that  never  again  niuy  this  land  be  called  upon  to  send  its  sons  to  follow 
the  rattling  drum  or  the  piercing  tile,  nor  to  hear  the  whistling  miuie  bullet 
or  the  belcliing  cannon,  but  ratlier  that  peace,  blessed  peace,  .sliall  be  ours  and 
the  inheritance  of  our  children  and  our  children's  children  unto  the  remotest 
day  of  time. 

Getty.sburg  !  A  uame,  before  the  eventful  days  of  July,  1863,  known  only 
to  the  people  of  this  locality,  but  then  made  famous  and  renowned  to  all  parts 
of  the  earth — a  name  that  will  be  celebrated  to  the  most  distant  ages  of  the 
world — a  name  that  will  be  forever  historic,  made  so  by  the  brave  men  who 
here  stood  in  the  defense  of  their  country's  laws  and  flag.  Where  are  these  men? 
Some  lie  dead  beneath  your  feet ;  the  bones  of  others  lie  bleaching  upon  many 
other  southern  battle-fields  ;  others  have  fallen  a  prey  to  disease  or  age,  whilst 
but  a  remnant  of  the  grand  old  Army  of  the  Potomac  is  left  to  participate  in  the 
reunion  of  this  day. 

Getty.sburg  !  The  slaughter  on  your  fields  was  not  in  vain  ;  from  your  greeu 
slopes  the  tide  of  rebellion  ebbed  and  shrank,  until,  month  by  month,  it  sank 
lower  and  lower,  and  finally  disappeared,  and  at  last  the  old  flag  floated  once 
more  over  "  a  union,  one  and  inseparable." 

Comparative  Table  showing  Losaca  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  of  the  Armi/  of 
Northern  Virginia,  of  the  Troops  who  fought  the  tirst  day,  and  their  several  ratios. 


Engaged. 

KiLLKl)  AND  WOUNDEP. 

u 

0) 

a 

c 

Total  casualties. 

2^ 

X  01 

Troops. 

Number. 

Ratio  to  num 
bers  engaged. 

1 

Ratio  of  total  lo 
numbers  enga 

Army  of  the.  Potomac: 

Troops  engaged  on  first  day.  . 
Balance  of  army, 

17.000 
Wi.OOO 

4.822 
12,905 

28.3 
19.5 

3,882 
1,371 

8.704 
14,286 

51.2 
21.6 

Total 

83.000 

17,727 

21.3 

5,253 

1,.580 
3,570 

22,990 

8,581 
11,867 

27.7 

23.3 
21.2 

Army  of  Xorthern  Virginia: 

Troops  engaged  on  first  day.  . 
Balance  of  army 

30.000 
39,000 

7,001 

8,297 

28.6 
30.4 

Total 

ti9.090 

15.298 

22.1 

6,150 
JO,  403 

2,190 

1,B77 

15 

20,448 
43,388 

5,673 
2,855 

176 

29.6 

Total,  both  armies, 

152,000 

32.985 

21.7 

28.0 

Union  troops  engaged  on  first 
day: 

8,200 
(i,500 
2,500 

3,483 

1.178 

161 

42.2 
18.1 
6.1 

39  2 

Eleventh  Corps. t 

Buford's  Cavalry,  t 

43.9 
7.1 

Total, 

7.200 

4.822 

28.3 

3.882 

8,704 

51.3 

*  Excluding  Stannard's  Brigade, 
t  Excluding  Steinwehr's  Division. 
JE.TcIuding  Sixth  Regiment  U.  S.  Cavalry. 


None  of  which  were  engaged  on  tir.st  day. 


Taking  the  aggregate  loss  of  both  armies  as  a  basis,  the  ratio  of  loss,  ns  be- 
tween their  .several  parts,  shows  as  follows  : — 


31 


482  PeMnsylvania  af  Geftyshiirg. 

/{atiii. 

\Vhole  loss,  both  aniiifs 28.5ol  iiunibcr  engagea=100.0 

Array  of  the  Potomar, '27.7           ■  '             97.1 

Army  of  Northern  Viruinia 39.6         '"  "           108.8 

Union  side,  first  (lay, •■>1.2         ''  "            179.6 

Kebel  side,  fii-st  (lay, ^28.6           •  '•            UMM 

I'nion  army,  first  da\  : 

Uatio. 

First  Corps 69.2  «>f  number  engaged=242.8 

Eleventh  Corps, -l:;.!*           •  "           154.0 

JUiford's  Cavalrv,         7.1  ■'              24.» 


DEDICATION   Ol"  MONUMENT 

90"^"  REGIMENT    INFANTRY 

.Skptkmkkk  3,  1 888 
ADDRE.SS  OK  i;  RE  VET-COLONEL  A.  J.  SELLERS 

C COMRADES,  ladies  and  gentlemen:     (iettysburg!     If  ever  there  be  con- 
secrated ground,  then  can  you  well  .say.  naught  is  more  hallowed  except 
the  Dath   the  Savior  of  the  world   wended,  as  he  ascended  the  rugged 
hei'dits  of  Calvary.      As  he  died    lor  llic  salvation  of  men.  so  our  com- 
lades  died  to  make  men  Iree. 

(iettysburg.  .so  often  (juoted  as  ilie  high  watermark  of  the  rebellion,  was  truly 
the  turning  point  in  the  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  The  magnitude 
of  the  contliet,  and  its  far-reaching  conse(iuenees,  give  it  rank  among  the  world's 
treatest  battles.  .\s  theyeais  roll  by  its  interest  increases,  and  these  memorial 
shafts  are  erected  in  commemoration  of  the  great  deeds  of  the  heroes  who  here 
gave  their  all,  their  lives,  that  the  Nation  should,  under  God,  have  a  new  birth 
of  freedom,  and  that  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the 
l)eople  should  not  perish  from  the  earth.  So  spoke  the  immortal  Lincoln,  on 
yonder  hill,  in  18():'>. 

••  If  General  Lee  wants  jjiovisions,  let  him  go  and  look  for  them  in  I'enn.syl- 
vania,'"  was  the  reply  sent  irom  the  Richmond  authorities  ;  and  this  was  tin- 
popular  Southern  feeling.  For  this  ])urpose  did  we  find  General  Lee  massing 
his  forces  in  Pennsylvania.  July.  18615,  concentrating  in  the  vicinity  of  Gettys- 
burg. Ewell  and  Early  had  pa.ssed  through  the  town  a  few  days  before,  ap- 
parently marching  on  Harrisburg.  witii  Philadelphia  and  Washington  as  oIjicc- 
tive  points.  .Vscertaining  that  the  I'nion  army  was  in  closer  iiroximity  than 
he  had  anticipated,  he  inicndcd  to  sick  a  dclciisivc;  position,  and  so  a.ssured  his. 
lieutenants  thinking  he  would  have  ample  lime  to  .select  and  occupy  such  a 
one.  Getty.sburg  was  the  point  of  concentration  decided  upon,  by  way  of  the 
southern  and  western  routes.  General  Meade  was  (Miually  desirous  of  securing 
the  advantage  of  a  defensive  ))osition.  and  he  .selected  tor  the  advance  two  of 
his  subordinate  men,  noted  for  ijuickness  of  perception,  promptness  )f  decision 
and  gallantry  on  the  battle-field  K'eynolds  and  Ruford— to  operate  his  left 
Hank. 

J'.iiford  tor)k  in  the  situational  once,  and  on  the  early  morning  of  . I  ul.^■  1,  dis- 


^HOTO.     BY    W.    H.    TIPTON,    GETTYSBURG. 


Pmnsi/Jrania  at  Geftyshunj.  483 

inonnted  his  two  brigades,  (iambic's  aiul  Devins,  icdncingtheiehy  liisfomniand 
one-fourth  to  care  for  the  liorses  ;  and  at  .d)out  8  o'eloek  in  the  morning  tiie  cav- 
alry engaged  Heth's  Division  of  Hill'sTliird  Corps  Infantry,  Archer's  and  Davis' 
brigades,  they  supposing  their  opponents  were  infantry.  A  severe  struggle  took 
place  on  the  banks  of  Willoughl)y  Run.  Jiuford  liad  his  artillery  admirably 
posted,  llisobject  was  simply  to  retard  the  enemy  until  Reynolds'  First  Corps, 
which  was  near  at  hand,  could  be  placed  in  position  ;  they  having  that  morn- 
ing made  a  forced  marcli  from  Marsli  Creek,  about  five  miles  from  Gettysburg. 

The  gallant  Reynolds,  having  been  informed  of  the  opening  of  the  battle  l)y 
Buford,  proceeded  in  advance  of  his  infantry  column,  following  the  sound  of 
battle,  at  full  gallop,  to  l)ring  the  assurance  of  sj)eedy  relief  to  our  cavalry  and 
its  valiant  chieftain.  And  here  I  desire  to  speak  of  the  magnificent  stand  nuide 
by  our  gallant  troox)er.s,  pitted  against  Hill's  veteran  inl'antry. 

The  First  Corps  was  on  the  lead  in  the  march  from  Mar.sh  Creek  and  Em- 
niitsburg,  Avhere  it  had  bivouacked  lor  the  night  of  J  une  80  ;  the  Ninetieth  that 
day  having  made  a  nuirch  of  twenty-three  miles,  through  mud  and  rain.  Gen- 
eral Reynolds  commanded  the  First  Corps  and  tlie  advance  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac — the  First,  Eleventh  and  Third  Corps.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  aljout 
i).45  o'clock  a.  m.,  in  making  disposition  ot  his  command,  he  was  too  early 
made  immortal,  and  in  the  glory  of  his  manhood  (but  forty-three  years  of  age  i, 
rapidly  rising  to  the  zenith  of  I'ame— he  fell  upon  his  native  soil,  a  martyi-  to 
his  country,  and  lamented  throughout  every  loyal  state  of  the  land  he  loved. 
The  position  selected  for  the  First  Corps,  under  the  direction  of  General  Rey- 
nolds, was  an  inferior  one,  in  comparison  to  the  stragetic  one  of  Cemetery  Hill, 
and  knowing  that  the  enemy  were  in  advance  of  u.s,  and  that  Lee's  forces  could 
be  concentrated  somewhat  sooner,  he  chose  the  more  indefensible  one  to  li:.:;lit 
upon,  so  that  in  the  event  of  disaster,  our  advancing  troops  could  occupy  and 
fortify  Cemetery  Hill,  a  powerful  line  of  defense,  with  Gulp's  and  Powers'  Hills 
on  the  right  and  the  two  Round  Tops  on  the  left.  As  he  approached  Gettysburg 
lie  noticed  the  magnificent  position  of  Cemetery  Hill  :  itcouldnot,  in  fact,  have 
escaped  his  trained  militar}'  e\^e.  Had  he  occujjied  that  position  on  the  first 
day,  the  overwhelming  numbers  of  Ewell's  and  Hill's  Corps,  would  have  driven 
the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps  from  it,  and  perhaps  precipitated  adi.saster  dread- 
ful to  contemplate. 

Cutler's  Brigade  of  Wadsworth's  Division  (Seventy-sixth  and  One  hundred 
and  forty-seventh  New  York  and  Fifty-sixth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers}  led  the 
advance  of  the  First  Corps,  facing  the  west,  north  of  the  then  unfinished  rail- 
road. The  Ninety-fifth  New  York,  Fourteenth  Brooklyn,  with  Hall's  Second 
Maine  Battery,  were  located  south  of  the  railroad  cut.  The  Fifty-sixth  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  Colonel  J.  W.  Hofmann,  of  Philadelphia,  delivered  the 
first  infantry  volley.  On  their  left  was  the  road  from  Chambersburg  to  Gettys- 
burg, and  still  further  to  the  left  was  the  Hagerstown  road;  upon  these  roads 
Hill's  Corps  was  moving.  Between  these  roads  is  the  historic  Re3  nolds'  Grove, 
extending  westward  to  Willoughby  Run.  Both  armies  wanted  possession  of 
these  woods  to  cover  their  movements.  General  Reynolds  ordered  the  Iron 
Brigade  to  enter.  They  pushed  forward  aud  were  confronted  by  Archer's  Ten- 
nessee Brigade,  who  had  just  crossed  the  run,  and  by  a  brilliant  movement  of 
Fairchild's  Second  Wisconsin  and  Colonel  Morrow's  Twenty-fourth  Michigan, 
of  the  Iron  Brigade,  turned  the  riglit  fiank  of  the  Confederates,  capturing 
.several  regiments  (upwards  of  five  hundred  men  >,  including  their  brigade  com- 


484  I*eimsylvania  at  GeW/'<h>ir(f. 

inaudei,   General   Archer,   driving  the  remainder  of  the  lirigade  beyond  the 
stream  at  the  bayonet's  point. 

Pending  this  movement  is  when  tlie  galhint  Keynohls  fell,  supposed  to  ha\  t- 
been  shot  In'  a  sharpshooter.  Heth's  Division  now  pressed  forward  upon  our 
right  flank  and  attacked  Cutler's  Brigade,  front  and  flank,  they  having  located 
en  evhcloit.  Hall's  Second  Maine  Battery  here  lost  a  gun,  which  Avas  sub.se- 
<iuently  recaptured.  Two  regiments  of  Davis'  Mississippians,  to  avoid  a  wither- 
ing concentrated  fire,  were  forced  into  the  lailroad  cut  and  there  captured,  with 
their  colors.  This  fortunate  occurrence  partially  relieved  Cutler's  Brigade. 
During  a  lull,  Heth  reorganized  his  shattered  division  to  await  the  assistance 
of  Pender's  Division,  for  a  fresh  attack.  Four  weakened  brigades  had  been 
contending  with  eight  well  filled  Confederate  brigades,  who  here  found  out 
that  their  sudden  attacks  en  mnsse  were  more  dangerous  and  more  difficult  of 
execution  along  the  open  country  of  Penn.sylvania,  than  among  the  thickly 
wooded  settlements  of  Virginia,  where  they  did  not  stand  in  dread  of  slanting 
fires.  The  remainder  of  the  First  Corps  were  marching  into  position  on  the 
right,  it  being  Doubleday's  and  Kobiuson's  divisions,  the  former  commanded 
by  General  Rowley,  Doubleday  having  succeeded  Reynolds.  At  the  same  time 
Pender's  Confederate  Division  was  being  deployed  and  the  engagement  re- 
newed with  increased  vigor. 

The  Bucktail  Brigade,  under  Colonel  Roy  Stone,  was  now  placed  north  and 
adjoining  the  Reynolds'  Grove,  fighting  with  conspicuous  bravery,  shouting 
"  we  have  come  to  stay;''  and  Biddle's  Brigade,  located  south  of  the  grove 
(facing  the  west),  with  no  wood  to  rest  upon  to  disguise  its  weakness,  was  our 
extreme  left,  where  they  felt  the  power  of  the  immense  force  arrayed  against 
them.  Rowley's  Brigade,  under  Colonel  Biddle,  controuted  what  seemed  to  be 
a  division  coming  down  upon  their  front  from  the  west  and  .south  in  heavy 
lines,  and  upon  his  flank  Brockenbrough's  Virginians  emerged  under  cover  of 
the  woods.  Cooper's  Union  battery  was  wheeled  into  position.  Terrible  rents 
were  made  in  the  advancing  lines,  but  closing  up  they  came  on  undaunted. 
Hill  at  this  time  had  Pender's  Division  of  four  brigades,  and  Heth's  four,  mak- 
ing eight  large  brigades  to  six  of  the  P'irst  Corps.  Pender  and  Heth  by  this 
time  develojied  their  full  strength  and  faced  the  thirst  Corps  with  nearly  three 
times  as  many  men,  and  their  line  connected  on  their  left  with  Rodes"  Division 
of  Ewell's  Corps,  who  had  so  opportunely  arrived  from  Carlisle.  At  this  junc- 
ture our  regiment,  the  Ninetieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  went  into  position 
under  the  fire  of  the  guns  stationed  on  Oak  Hill,  and  we,  being  on  the  extreme 
right  of  the  Finst  Corps,  were  obliged  to  in  part  refuse,  or  face  the  north.  Our 
general  line  of  battle  was  facing  the  west,  frequently  en  echelon,  and  uijon  our 
regimental  front  was  O'Neal's  Alabama  Brigade,  and  Page's  Virginia  Battery 
stationed  at  the  red  barn,  where  they  sutfered  so  severely,  losing  fully  one-half 
their  men  in  killed  and  wounded.  Up;)!)  Oak  Hill,  enfilading  our  line  of  battle, 
was  Carter's  liattalion  of  Artillery,  liodes'  line  of  battle  facing  the  south,  and 
east,  Iverson  on  our  left,  Daniel  and  O'Neal  in  the  center,  and  Doles  far  l^e- 
yond,  whose  direct  line  of  fire  was  to  the  left  of  the  Eleventh  Corps;  Ram- 
seur's  Brigade  was  in  reserve,  but  subsequently  engaged.  A  portion  of  our 
brigade  took  advantage  of  a  stone  fence,  whicli  protected  us  from  view,  and  as 
Iverson's  North  Carolinians  advanced,  which  was  about  2.30  o'clock,  we  de- 
livered such  a  deadly  volley  at  very  short  range,  that  death's  mission  was  with 
unerring  certainty,  and  so  destructive    were  the  volleys  we  rapidly  delivered 


Peimsiilvauid.  at   (reft //.shun/.  485 

that  we  I'ollowed  it  up  with  a  charge,  oitierecl  by  the  plucky  Baxter,  which  le- 
sulted  iu  the  capture  of  three  regiments  of  the  britiade.  This  was  a  decisive 
blow,  but  we  could  not  withstand  the  succeeding  lines  of  battle,  and  the  en- 
filading artillery  fire  from  Oak  Hill.  Confederate  KcmIcs,  in  his  report,  si)eaks 
of  his  command  being  subjected  to  a  murderous  enfilade  and  direct  infantry 
fire  from  the  time  it  commenced  its  advance. 

O'Neal's  troops  felt  confident  of  turning  our  right— the  force  of  the  attack 
fell  upon  the  Ninetieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  your  regiment — but  they 
were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  and  the  remnants  thereof  hurled  back;  no  longer 
did  they  attempt  an  advance,  until  we  were  later  on  ordered  to  a  position  near 
the  seminary,  under  cover  of  the  woods.  The  brigade  of  North  Carolinians, 
under  Ramseur,  and  O'Neal's  Alabamians  were  held  iu  check  by  the  undaunted 
courage  of  the  gallant  Robinson  and  his  troops.  The  unusually  large  number 
of  Confederate  officers  killed  and  wounded,  as  well  as  our  own,  attest  to  the 
severity  of  the  conflict  and  the  daring  of  the  First  Corps.  Six  brigades  con- 
stituted the  corps,  commanded  by  Meredith,  Morrow,  Robinson.  Cutler,  Bid- 
die,  Roy  Stone,  Paul,  Wistar,  Dana,  Ijconard  and  Baxter,  and  repeatedly 
thwarted  the  brilliant  charges  made  by  an  equally  valiant  foe.  Six  of  these 
brigade  commanders  were  wounded.  For  over  five  houi-s  the  corps  held  the 
enemy  in  check.  At  last  another  desperate  attack  by  Daniel,  of  Rodes'  Divi- 
sion, was  made  on  Roy  Stone's  Brigade.  The  enemy,  unable  to  make  any  im- 
pression upon  Baxter's  and  Paul's  Brigades  of  Robinson's  Division,  the  blow 
fell  with  withering  effect  iiixtii  Roy  Stone,  shortly  before  3  o'clock.  In  two 
lines  the  enemy  moved  forward,  parallel  to  the  pike,  but  the  One  hundred  and 
forty-ninth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  sheltered  themselves  behind  the  railroad 
cut,  the  One  hundred  and  forty-third  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  Colonel  Dana, 
on  the  right  and  rear  of  the  One  hundred  and  forty-ninth.  The  One  hundred 
and  forty-ninth,  Colonel  Dwight,  poured  two  terrific  volleys,  and  by  a  brilliant 
bayonet  charge,  magnificently  supported  by  the  remainder  of  the  brigade,  broke 
their  lines,  and  in  dismay  they  fell  back,  a  beaten  foe.  Davis'  Brigade,  of 
Hill's  Corps,  failed  to  co-operate.  "Wistar  succeeded  to  the  command.  Colonel 
Roy  Stone  being  wounded.  Once  more  they  moved  against  the  Bucktails 
(Daniel's  and  Davis'  brigades),  from  the  northwest,  only  to  be  again  repulsed; 
as  also  in  a  subsequent  attack,  the  One  hundred  and  fiftieth  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  under  command  of  Colonel  Huidekoper,  distinguishing  itself  by 
brilliant  fighting,  ending  in  a  bayonet  charge.  Huidekoper,  though  badly 
wounded,  held  his  position.  Here  Colonel  Wistar,  of  the  One  hundred  and 
fiftieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  commanding  the  brigade,  was  wounded, 
Colonel  Dana  succeeding  him. 

Frequent  assaults  were  made  upon  Paul's  and  Baxter's  brigades  (the  latter 
including  the  Ninetieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers),  but  they  stubbornly  held 
the  ground,  and  would  not  be  driven  from  their  position,  until  their  ammuni- 
tion began  to  grow  scarce,  some  having  fired  their  last  cartridge,  and  were  sup- 
plied from  the  boxes  of  their  killed  and  wounded  comrades.  Their  position 
now  became  untenable,  from  the  numericalb^  overwhelming  superiority  of  our 
foes,  who  were  taking  advantage  of  the  gap  in  our  line  of  battle  on  our  right. 

It  was  then  shortly  after  3  o'clock,  and  the  two  divisions  of  the  Eleventh 
Corjis  had  been  routed;  the  First  Corps  was  still  continuing  the  struggle  in  the 
position  it  had  been  defending  since  morning.  Doubleday,  appreciating  the 
new  danger  to  which  he  was  about  to  be  exposed,  sent  to  General  Howard  for 


486  Pennsylvania  at  GeUyslmrg. 

iiiimetliato  i<>iiiluiTeni(;nts,  or  tlic  order  ol'  retreat.  The  only  support  he  otTered 
Doubledav  was  Uulnrd's  cavalry,  who  at  the  time  was  covering  with  difficulty 
the  retreat  of  his  corps  on  the  extreme  right.  Reynolds'  men  can  never  forget 
liow  near  they  were  to  being  .sacrificed.  Howard  was  subsequently  superseded 
by  Hancock,  a  junior  officer,  who  had  arrived  upon  the  tield  of  action,  about 
4.:;0  o'clock.  Pender's  Division  of  eighteen  regiments  replaced  Heth's  Divi- 
sion of  exhausted  and  discouraged  troops.  Pender,  about  3.30  o'clock,  assails 
the  three  small  brigades  of  Stone,  Morrow  and  Biddle,  now  reduced  to  1,500. 
Rodes"  Division  of  Ewell's  Cor]>s,  no  longer  assailed  by  the  Eleventh  Corps, 
turn  in  for  a  general  attack,  supported  ))y  thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  make 
a  rapid  descent  upon  the  stone  wall,  ))ehind  which  a  portion  of  Robinson's 
Division  was  jiosted,  and  thus  apparently  hemmed  in,  the  order  was  given  to 
abandon  the  position  we  so  gallantly  had  maintained. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  General  Paul,  who  commanded  the  First  Brigade, 
was  so  severely  wounded  in  the  head,  losing  both  eyes,  and  the  adjutant  of  our 
regiment,  David  P.  Weaver,  acting  brigade  adjutant-general,  was  so  severely 
wounded;  and  for  all  this  undaunted  courage,  the  First  Corps  was,  by  a  gen- 
eral officer  of  another  corps,  unfairly  criticised,  because  two  regiments  of  Cut- 
ler's Brigade,  sooner  than  be  annihilated  or  captured,  were  ordered  to  fall  back 
early  in  the  light,  under  cover  of  Seminary  Ridge;  but  the}*  subseiiuently  re- 
turned, achieved  brilliant  lustre  by  their  heroic  conduct  and  manfully  held 
their  position  with  the  brigade.  Our  men  made  a  firm  resistance  around  the 
seminary,  to  which  point  we  withdrew,  under  cover  of  the  woods,  and  by  the 
aid  of  our  batteries  xrnder  Colonel  Wainwright,  chief  of  First  Corps  artillery, 
beat  back  the  first  line  of  Scales'  North  Carolina  Brigade,  wounding  both  Gen- 
erals Scales  and  Pender. 

Scales  says,  that  he  arrived  within  seventy-five  feet  of  our  guns,  and  adds 
that  every  field  officer  but  one  was  killed  or  wounded.  General  Doubleday, 
in  his  re})ort.  gives  to  Baxter's  Brigade  of  Robinson's  Division,  of  which  the 
Ninetieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  was  a  part,  the  credit  of  holding  in  check 
the  left  of  Scales'  North  Carolina  Brigade,  while  our  artillery  withdrew  along 
the  railroad  embankment;  a  portion  of  the  Ninetieth  having  been  in  support 
of  Stewart's  Battery  B,  Fourth  United  States  Artillery,  north  of  the  railroad 
cut.  With  all  our  casualties,  the  First  Corps  lost  but  one  gun  (Reynolds'  New- 
York  Battery),  the  horses  having  been  shot,  and  there  being  no  time  to  disen- 
gage them. 

About  4.1.")  J),  m.  (Jeneral  Doubleday  ordered  us  to  fall  back  tVom  the  semi- 
nary into  the  town,  the  Eleventh  Corps  having  been  already  driven  therein. 
and  many  captured  in  the  streets  of  (iettysburg.  It  was  a  stubborn  retire- 
ment Scales',  Daniel's.  Ram.seur's  and  O'Neal's  Brigades  almost  surrounded 
us, — liobinson's  men  being  the  last  to  vacate  Seminary  Ridge.  The  First 
Corps  was  broken,  but  not  dismayed,  showing  the  true  spirit  of  soldiers.  They 
reached  the  gate  of  the  cemetery  on  the  hill,  which  was  our  rallying  point.  1 
call  to  your  mind  that  this  magnificent  fighting  by  the  First  Corps  was  a  single 
line,  unsupported,  vinrenewed — artillery  on  its  front  and  right  flank — and 
chiefly  unprotected  by  breastworks.  It  was  a  series  of  brilliant  charges  and 
counter-charges.  Could  there  have  been  a  corps  uj)  at  that  time  to  support  the 
First,  how  decisive  might  have  been  the  results.  A  gallant  resistance  was 
made  by  it  l)etween  Willoughby  Run  and  Seminary  (or  Oak)  Ridge,  against 
superior  numbers,  viz..  Heth's  and   Pender's  Divisions  of  Hill's  Confederate 


Peniisy/vanid  (if  (Teffyshuif/.  487 

Corps,  who,  by  tlieir  own  vastly  iinderestiinatcd  report  of  1  ">,()()(),  and  lour 
Ijri-iades  of  Kodes'  Division  of  Ewell's  Corps  of  H.OOO,  in  all  ;i3,000,  marched 
against  the  galhmt  First  Corps,  numbering  8,200  maximum  (three  to  one),  and 
not  until  4  o'clock  p.  m.,  did  they  succeed  in  dislodging  the  First  Corps  from 
their  position.  The  records  of  war  present  no  instance  of  more  gallant,  st\ib- 
lt.)rn  and  persistent  lighting  than  that  offered  l)y  Ivcynolds"  men. 

You  will  observe  that  the  series  of  repeated  a.ssaults  on  our  line  were  isolated 
attacks  by  brigades,  and  changes  ol  front  were  frecjuent.  ()j>en  mananivring 
of  troops  was  more  fully  carried  out  on  the  lirst  day's  ])attle  than  is  usual,  on 
account  of  the  topography  of  the  country:  and  the  captures  made  by  the  First 
Corps  were  by  brilliant  man(euveis — chietly  whole  legiments,  and  including 
the  only  captured  Confederate,  unharmed,  general  otlicer  ( .\rcher)  at  Gettys- 
burg, while  our  losses  were  isolated  men,  mostly  in  the  falling  back  from 
Seminary  Ridge,  of  mixed  and  indiscriminate  commands,  in  the  streets  and 
immediate  suburbs  of  Gettysburg,  where  we  were  hemmed  in  and  the  avenues 
of  escape  so  well  guarded.  The  losses  sustained  by  the  First  Corps  after  as 
brilliant  fighting  as  was  done  at  Gettysburg  (with  all  due  deference  to  the 
valor  of  other  corps),  attest  to  the  veritication  of  my  assertion.  The  First 
Corps  lost  0,750  out  of  <S.200  (70  percent.):  Kobinson's  Division  lo.sing  1,(300 
out  of  '2,500  engaged.  These  figures  tell  eloquently  of  the  terrible  ordeal 
through  which  they  passed.  The  Confederates  admit  a  loss  on  the  first  day  of 
7.r)()0,  and  only  a  loss  of  829  in  front  of  the  Eleventh  Corps;  almost  as  many 
casualties  as  we  had  effective  strength  in  the  entire  corps.  Our  loss,  however, 
was  proportionately  greater  bj'  far.  than  that  of  any  other  corps  engaged,  and 
it  inflicted  greater  damage  upon  their  opponents.  Its  beloved  leader  fell,  but 
his  keen  sagacity  and  military  genius  gave  us  the  advantage  of  position,  which 
finally  resulted  in  a  glorious  victory. 

Very  diverging  figures  as  to  the  respective  strength  of  the  two  armies  have 
been  given  by  dift'erent  authorities:  therefore  it  is  difficult  to  clearly  establish 
the  fact.  The  Comte  de  Paris,  who  is  considered  as  an  impartial  historian, 
places  the  Union  forces  engaged — not  what  Avas  carried  on  the  rolls,  as  more 
tolerance  was  shown  in  the  Union  army,  as  to  keeping  up  the  effective  strength, 
than  in  the  Southern  army — at  from  82,000  to  8-1,000  actual  fighting  strength, 
and  ;{27  guns,  including  cavalry  and  artillery,  making  ])roper  allowance  for  the 
sick,  stragglers,  detached  men  and  the  like. 

The  Sixth  Corps,  the  largest  in  the  army,  under  Sedgwick,  did  not  arrive  on 
the  field  until  late  in  the  atternoon  and  evening  of  the  second  day,  having 
made  a  forced  march  of  forty  miles,  being  that  far  away  when  the  battle  com- 
menced: consequently  they  did  not  all  receive  the  shock  of  battle  like  unto 
the  other  corps.  Corse's  Brigade,  of  Pickett's  Division,  and  a  regiment  of. 
Pettigrew's  Brigade  were  left  at  Hanover  Junction;  also  three  regiments  olj 
Early's  Division  at  Winchester,  and  the  ratio  of  deduction,  on  account  of  sick, 
etc.,  like  unto  our  own,  made  the  Confederates'  etfective  tbrce  at  fi9,000  men 
and  2.50  guns,  a  difference  of  about  14,000  men.  There  has  been  too  much  ex- 
aggeration as  to  the  fighting  strength  of  both  armies. 

One  peculiarity  in  the  organization  of  the  Confederate  forces  was  that  troops 
of  the  same  State  almost  invariably  formed  entire  brigades;  this  was  rarely 
the  case  in  our  army. 

A  finer  body  of  disciplined  veterans  never  followed  the  stars  and  bars  at  any 
previous  period :  its  mow/c  was  of  the  finest— flushed  with  victory  just  before 


488  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

at  Ghaucellorsville.  Our  army  had  scarcely  recovered  IVoni  that  terrible  sluxk, 
where  our  casualties  were  17,197,  and  the  Confederates  13,019.  The  losses  ou 
this  lield  to  both  sides  were  nearly  equal,  about  23,000  each. 

The  number  of  l>elligereuts  at  the  world-renowned  "Waterloo,  June  18,  1815, 
was  140,000:  Under  Napoleon,  72,000;  under  Wellington,  68,000.  The  timely 
arrival  of  Blucher's  Prussian  corps  (fully  50,000)  decisively  crushed  out 
Napoleon's  failure  to  defeat  Wellington.  At  GettjT^burg,  the  combined  forces 
aggregated  152,000,  with  a  joint  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  of  31,800,  in  com- 
parison with  a  joint  loss  at  Waterloo  of  30,600,  which  occupied  but  eight  hours, 
while  Gettysburg  lasted  three  days,  but  not  continuous  fighting,  owing  to  the 
battle  being  precipitated  ere  the  arrival  of  our  entire  army.  Waterloo  and 
Gettysburg  rank  as  the  two  greatest  battles  of  modern  times. 

Gettysburg  was  conspicuous  for  hand-to-hand  fighting,  stalwart  men  were 
cut  down  in  the  saddle;  Confederate  General  Wade  Hampton  received  a  severe 
saber  wound.  The  Union  and  Confederate  cavalry  on  the  right  hew  each  other 
with  sabers,  amid  demoniac  yells,  and  on  the  left,  Kilpatrick  desperately 
fought  his  cavalry,  losing  one  of  the  bravest  cavalry  officers  that  ever  drew  a 
sword,  Farnsworth,  who  fell  at  the  head  of  the  First  Vermont,  and  the  Con- 
federate accounts  say,  though  severely  wounded,  he,  by  his  own  hand,  severed 
his  existence,  sooner  than  surrender. 

In  a  charge,  generally  one  or  the  other  of  opposing  ranks  break  before  the 
touch  of  weapons.  The  desperate  but  unsuccessful  charge,  on  the  evening  of 
the  2d,  by  Averj^'s  and  Hays'  Brigade  of  '"  Louisiana  Tigers,"  on  the  Elevcntli 
Corps,  and  the  batteries  of  Ricketts  and  Wiedrich,  who  expended  five  hundred 
rounds  of  canister,  was  a  terrible  hand-to-hand  conflict,  on  the  north  side  of 
Cemetery  Hill.  Individual  bravery  was  liere  never  surpassed.  Carroll's  Bri- 
gade of  the  Second  Corps  charged  and  saved  the  day.  The  assault  by  Wilcox, 
Perry  and  White,  on  the  second  day,  penetrating  our  Third  Corps  line  on 
Cemetery  Ridge,  where  the  Fir.st  Minnesota  was  almost  annihilated,  equals 
almost  the  desperate,  but  brilliant,  attack  of  Pickett's  Division  on  the  third 
day,  which  history  has  immortalized.  On  the  left,  during  the  second  day,  the 
whole  space  from  the  Peach  Orchard  to  the  Devil's  Den  had  been  fought  over 
and  over;  thousands  fell  in  that  blood }'  arena. 

Bigelow's  Ninth  Massachusetts  Battery  particularly  distinguished  itself  in  a 
stubborn  hand-to. hand  encounter  with  Humphrey's  Forty-first  Mississippians — 
the  only  regiment  that  actually  crossed  Plum  Run,  dealing  death  with  fearful 
pace.  The  battery  sacrificed  itself  for  the  safety  of  our  line;  its  losses  being 
rinequaled  by  any  light  battery  engaged  in  any  battle  of  the  war  .save  one.  at 
luka,  Mississippi.  Its  guns  were  that  evening  recaptured.  In  the  wliea*  field 
Colonel  Jefford.s,  of  the  Fourth  Michigan  (Fifth  Corps),  was  killed  by  a  bayonet 
thrust.  And  when,  at  1:15  p.  m.,  on  the  third  da}',  one  hundred  and  lifty 
Confederate  guns  opened  upon  our  position  from  Seminary  Ridge,  I  shall  iie\er 
forget  that  artillery  cannonade,  just  previous  to  Pickett's  charge,  which  prc- 
.sented  one  of  the  most  magnificent  battle  scenes  witnes.sed  during  the  war. 
The  hills  on  either  side  were  capped  with  crowns  of  flame  and  smoke,  as  about 
three  hundred  guns,  equally  divided  between  the  two  ridge-s,  launched  their 
iron  hail  upon  each  other.  Dense  clouds  of  smoke  settled  over  the  valley,  as- 
sisting thereby  to  cover  the  subsequent  advance  of  Pickett's  and  a  jwrtion  of 
Hill's  command.  The  shells  went  hissing  an<l  screaming  on  their  errand  of 
death,  through  flic  dense  vai)or:  numlx^rs  exjilodcd  over  the  valley,  apparently 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  489 

with  veuomous  impalieme,  as  they  met  eiich  other  iu  mid-air,  lighting  up  the 
clouds  with  smoke-like  flashes  of  lurid  lightning.  While  this  grand  artillery 
duel  was  in  progress,  with  the  thermometer  indicating  eighty-seven  degrees  in 
the  shade,  Pickett's,  the  last  division  to  reach  the  field,  and  the  only  Confeder- 
ate division  that  had  not  been  engaged,  followed  with  his  world-renowned 
charge  of  Virginia  troops,  and  a  portion  of  Hill's  Corps.  In  three  lines,  with 
inadequate  support,  they  pre»s  forward  ou  their  fatal  march,  taking  and  deal- 
ing death  at  every  blow.  Like  leaves  in  autumn  gales,  they  drop  along  the 
line.  The  summit  is  reached  !  Meade's  line  is  broken  in  the  very  center  of 
our  position,  crowning  Cemeterj'  Heights  with  the  flag  of  Virginia  and  the  Con- 
federacy; they  bear  themselves  with  a  gallantry  that  cannot  be  surpassed. 
Into  their  ranks  we  pour  a  deadly  fire,  before  which  the  Confederate  line  curls 
and  withers  like  leaves  in  the  flames.  No  panic  seized  the  Union  troops;  with 
one  spontaneous  eftbrt  officers  and  men  fell  upon  them  like  an  avalanche,  and 
the  flag  of  the  Confederacy  drops  on  the  high  tide  of  the  rebellion — Gettysburg 
i.s  won  ! 

A  desperate  attempt  was  made  to  drive  us  from  Culp's  Hill  on  the  morning 
of  the  3d,  after  we  had  recaptured  our  vacated  works,  and  irom  the  Kound  Tops 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  2d;  and  while  all  efforts  to  turn  our  flanks  failed,  the 
Confederates,  notwithstanding,  exhibited  a  degree  of  valor  unsurpassed  by  any 
troops  of  modern  times.     It  was  truly,  jointly,  American  valor. 

The  fighting  of  our  batteries  throughout  was  of  the  grandest  and  most  fear- 
lass  character,  frequently  hand-to-hand,  an  example  oi  which  is  seen  in  Cush- 
ing's  grand  defense  and  noble  sacrifice.  The  brilliant  manoeuvring  and  charges 
to  and  from,  on  the  field  of  the  First  Corps,  resulted  in  the  capture  of  entire 
rebel  regiments  and  a  general  officer;  and  when  overwhelmed,  the  disciplined 
withdrawal  of  the  First  Corps,  fighting  and  disputing  the  ground  foot  by  foot, 
won  for  them  the  admiration  alike  of  friend  and  foe. 

The  contest  of  the  first  day,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  has  by  some  been  underesti- 
mated, who  prate  that  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  fought  only  by  the  contest- 
ants of  the  second  and  third  days.  The  First  Corps  opened  the  battle  and  was 
in  at  the  final  blow.     On  the  second  day  it  was  divided. 

Wadsworth's  Division  at  Culp's  Hill,  prolongingthe  line  of  the  Twelfth  Corps 
on  the  evening  of  the  2d,  assisted  in  the  repulse  of  a  ferocious  attack  by  Ewell. 
Kobinson's  Division  was  in  support  of  the  Third  Corps,  after  their  repulse  early 
on  the  evening  of  the  2d.  On  that  eventful  Friday  of  the  3d,  Doubleday's  Di- 
vision was  on  the  left  of  the  Second  Corps,  where  the  stalwart  Green  Mountain 
l)oys,  under  Stanuard,  received  their  baptismal  fire  and  so  brilliantly  crushed 
in  the  flanks  of  Pickett's  and  Wilcox's  men,  at  that  most  decisive  hour,  leaving 
no  silver  lining  in  the  clouds  that  hung  so  darkly  over  the  field,  to  cheer  tlie 
drooping  spirits  of  the  foemen  worthy  of  our  steel. 

Who  can  measure  the  evils  that  would  have  resulted  had  our  erring  brethren 
succeeded.  Possibly  we  should  now  have  a  dismembered  republic,  slavery  still 
in  existence,  and  woe  and  humiliation  beyond  conjecture;  but  it  was  decreed 
otherwise.     To  an  All-wise  Providence  we  ascribe  praise  and  thanksgiving. 

The  war  is  over.  In  a  day  the  two  armies  returned  to  peaceful  citizeu.ship, 
and  no  punishment  was  inflicted  on  the  vanijuished.  Against  a  foreign  foe  t  lie 
blue  and  the  gray  would  merge  wholly  into  the  red,  white  and  blue.  True, 
the  resentments  of  the  war  linger  here  and  there,  but  chiefly,  like  the  scattered 
flashes  of  the  lightning  ou  the  edge  of  a  thunder-cloud  just  passed  by. 


490  Pennsylvania  at  Gefti/slmrg. 

The  Confederate  soldier  believed  equally  witli  n.s  that  he  was  lighting  for 
the  right,  and  maintained  that  faith  with  a  rourage  that  fully  sustained  the 
leputation  of  "'  American  "  valor,  and  yet,  one  side  or  the  other  was  wrong. 
The  God  of  V)attles  decided  for  liberty  and  nationality.  The  outgrowth  of  their 
failure  has  been  the  magniticent  development  of  the  South,  and  the  hills  and 
mountains  are  yielding  uj)  their  treasures,  to  the  loundingand  huildingof  new 
15irminghams  and  ShefHelds. 

Take,  lor  instance,  the  construction  ol"  railroads  during  The  present  year. 
The  South  is  far  ahead.  California  Hrst,  but  Georgia  next,  with  one  hundred 
and  ninety-tive  miles;  then  Alabama,  one  hundred  and  forty-six  miles.  The 
greatest  activity  is  thus  to  be  seen  in  the  South.  These  enterprises  open  and 
develop  territory,  and  invite  emigration  to  a  new  agriculture  and  to  mines  of 
wealth. 

The  youth  of  the  land  are  now  taught  and  imljued  with  the  sentiment  that 
this  republic  is  not  a  conl'ederacy  of  independent  States,  but  a  Nation,  Avitli 
power  to  use  the  last  dollar  and  enlist  the  last  man  to  maintain  the  authority 
of  the  Constitution  and  the  supremacy  of  the  flag.  It  required  complete  ami 
utter  exhaustion,  so  as  to  leave  no  truce  to  recuperate  for  subse([uent  agitation ; 
hence  to  close  the  conflict  in  the  early  years  of  the  rebellion,  would  have  left 
ail  unconverted  and  unreconstructed  people. 

i  call  to  mind,  how  often  do  we  hear  that  the  "'  i)ensioner  ■  is  a  term  of  re- 
proach, instead  of  honorable  recognition  of  the  country's  gratitude.  These  men, 
at  a  compensation  of  §13.00  a  month,  left  behind  them  jirospects  for  promotion 
in  their  respective  vocations;  in  most  cases  gave  the  best  period  of  their  life, 
aiul  for  three  years  or  more,  marched  under  blazing  suns,  slept  upon  the  ground, 
breathed  the  miasma  of  the  swamps,  racked  with  fevers,  endured  the  horrors 
of  the  prison-pen,  and  amidst  shot,  shell,  and  saber  thrust,  kept  their  colors 
aloft  to  eventual  triumph,  which  secured  for  the  people  of  the  Republic  and 
their  descendants,  civil  and  religious  rights  and  busine.ss  opportunities  unsur- 
passed, if  even  equaled,  by  any  other  nation.  The  spirit  of  patriotism  will 
ever  continue  and  protect  these  grand  results.  We  are  a  Republic  !  a  tried 
Republic — tried  in  the  crucible  of  fire — enduring  to  the  end  of  time. 

Comrades,  age,  disea.se  and  death  are  fast  thinning  oirr  ranks.  Our  active 
service  will  soon  be  only  glorious  memories  for  the  inspiration  of  others.  Our 
story  will  be  the  recruiting  sergeant  of  coming  generations.  Two  grand  facts 
stare  us  in  the  face,  facts  standing  like  monuments  at  the  beginning  and  close 
of  our  grand  old  Army  of  the  Potomac.  It  owes  its  existence  to  the  masterly 
organizing  abilities  of  McClellan  and  ended  the  war  under  the  superb  general- 
ship of  Grant.  As  we  recall  the  memories  of  the  dead,  the  spirits  of  all  the 
warrior  heroes  of  the  past  come  floating  before  us.  Washington  and  his  gen- 
erals !  Enrolled  in  their  company  and  encircled  with  their  glory,  are  Grant 
and  McClellan.  Meade  and  Reynolds,  Hooker  and  Hancock,  Burnside  and 
Kearny,  Tlionias  and  McPher.son,  Sedgwick  and  Sumner.  Warren  and  Sykes, 
Custer  and  Kilpatrick,  Farragut  and  Foote,  and  last,  our  lamented  Sheridan, 
who  so  gallantly  plucked  victory  from  defeat. 

Let  us  recall  to  mind  that  noblest  of  historical  groupings,  wlien  Lee,  the  bril- 
liant .strategist,  surrendered  to  the  greatest  .soldier  of  his  time,  the  lamented 
Grant,  and  there  sealed  anew  the  life  of  the  nation;  and  last,  but  not  least,  the 
rank  and  file — whose  glittering  walls  of  steel  environed  and  encompassed  that 
brave  and  fearless  band  of  Southern  soldiery  at  Appomattox. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  491 

But  who  shall  tell  of  the  iniknowii  luToes  \vlu>  have  fallen,  unmarked,  iiu- 
hoiioretl  and  uusuug  V 

What  brig-lit.  Iiopes  may  tliere  be  buried. 
Who  the  slain,  "  no  one  can  say  ;  " 

Yet  we  know  "somebody's  darling-  " 
5>leeps  on  yonder  hill  to-day. 

On  his  g-rave  the  sunlight  lingers. 
And  the  silvery  moon-beams  fall  ; 

Though  he  sleeps  far,  far  from  kindred- 
Sleeps  until  the  last  great  call . 

Who  shall  eulogize  those  of  lower  rank,  who.  upon  the  lield  of  battle,  liave 
iu  their  places  displayed  a  degree  of  courage  rarely  excelled,  seldom  equaled? 
Who  shall  record  the  sacrifices  of  the  humble  and  lowly  soldier  or  sailor? 
While  much  depended  upon  the  comnumder  of  an  army,  yet  the  ])ersoiial  ef- 
forts would  avail  nothing  if  not  seconded  by  the  heroism  and  devotion  of  their 
men. 

Twenty-five  years  have  passed  since  you  stood  in  battle  array  on  this  sacred 
spot,  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  many  a  true  and  valiant  soldier.  The  echoes 
and  passions  of  war  have  faded  away.  Tlie  charm  of  your  soldier  life,  its  bonds 
of  friendship  and  its  glorious  memories  still  linger.  We  have  met  to-tlay  to 
dedicate  two  monuments  to  mark  the  two  positions  of  the  old  Xinetieth  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  in  which  you  so  laithfully  served — your  watchword, 
"one  country  and  one  flag."  Those  sacred  folds  that  we  followed  in  war  and 
cherish  in  peace,  are  now  in  the  hands  of  the  gallant  defenders,  Sergeants  Wil- 
liam H.  Paul,  Thomas  E.  Berger  and  Johnson  Roney,  who  carried  them  on  hard- 
fought  battle-fields,  and  beneath  their  precious  folds  fell  Sergeant  Ronev, 
maimed  for  life.  Comrade  John  C.  Bowen  touches  elbows  with  us  here,  under 
the  .same  old  brigade  flag  that  he  .so  bravel3^  carried  aloft  a  quarter  ot  a  cen- 
tury ago.  I  quote — "  Proud  memories  of  many  fields.  *  ■'  *  Sweet  mem- 
ories of  valor  and  friendship.  "■  *  "■■"  Sad  memories  of  tallen  brothers  .and 
sons,  whose  dying  eyes  looked  la.st  v\\^oi\  their  flaming  folds.  *  *  ■■■  Grand 
memories  of  cherished  virtues,  sublime  by  grief  *  *  -  Exultant  memories 
of  the  great  and  final  victories  of  our  country,  the  Union  and  the  righteous 
cau.se.  *  -;*  *  Thankful  memories  of  a  deliverance  wrought  out  for  human 
nature,  unexampled  by  any  former  achievement  of  arms.  *  *  -'  Immortal 
memories,  with  immortal  honors  blended,  twine  around  the  splintered  staffs 
^nd  weave  themselves  amidst  the  fabrics  of  our  country's  flags,  war-worn,  be- 
grimed, and  baptized  with  precious  blood." 

The  .statistics  of  the  War  Department  show  that  you  entered  the  fight  wiih 
two  hundred  and  eight  officers  and  men,  and  after  a  contest  of  three  liours.  ex- 
hausted your  cartridges. 

We  left  the  field,  when  commanded,  with  a  list  of  casualties  amounting  to 
ninety-four,  equal  to  forty -eight  per  cent.  Your  position  was  one  of  great  dan- 
ger, and,  iu  military  parlance,  the  post  of  honor,  being  on  the  extreme  right  of 
the  First  Corps.  Rodes'  Division  of  Ewell's  Corps  kept  you  actively  engaged, 
and  you  in  turn  did  not  forget  to  help  take  good  care  of  Iverson's  North  Caro- 
lina Brigade,  and  grandly  repulsed  the  onslaught  made  by  O'Xeal's  Alabama 
Brigade.  Page's  Confederate  Battery,  located  on  your  front,  at  McLean's  red 
■barn,  lost  very  heavily;  and  frequently  Carter's  Battalion  of  Artillery,  sta- 
tioned on  Oak  Hill,  reminded  us  that  we  were  in  range.  Our  jiosition  was  a 
trying  one,  and  when  the  Eleventh  Corps,  who  failed  to  connect  their  left  with 


492  Pennsylvaviii  at  Gettysburg. 

our  right  bv  almost  ouc-lialt  luile,  were  hurled  back  by  Kwell's  command,  our 
jiositiou  was  truly  then  a  precarious  one.  As  1  have  already  described,  alter 
takiug  up  a  jiosition  with  our  depleted  numbers  upon  Cemetery  Hill,  we  sup- 
ported batteries  on  the  second  day,  and  late  in  the  alternoon  moved  to  the  left 
in  supiwrt  of  the  Third  Corps,  our  regimental  skirmish  line  bringing  in  the 
Confederate  General  Barksdale,  who  fell  mortally  w'ounded  but  a  short  t  ime 
before,  in  making  that  brilliant  charge  with  his  Mississippi  Brigade.  On 
the  morning  of  the  third  day  we  lay  between  Cemetery  Hill  and  Cul])'s  Hill, 
ready  to  support  the  Twelfth  Corps  and  a  portion  of  our  First  Corps  under 
Wadsworth,  Tyho  repulsed  the  formidable  attack  of  Ewell's  to  turn  our  right 
flank;  and  Stuart  with  his  Confederate  cavalry  repulsed  by  Pleasonton,  trying 
to  capture  the  Baltimore  pike,  so  that  in  the  event  of  disaster,  our  retreat  would 
be  cut  off, — adroitly  conceived,  but,  through  the  indomitable  bravery  of  our 
gallant  soldiers,  frustrated. 

During  Pickett's  famons  charge,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  'M,  you  were  brought 
over  on  the  double-quick  to  support  the  Second  Corps,  and  arrived  just  in  time 
to  witness  the  collap.se,  many  of  the  vanquished  Confederates  passing  through 
our  line  to  the  rear.  We  were  then  placed  in  position  in  front  of  Ziegler's 
Grove.  So  accurate  was  the  fire  of  the  Whitworth  guns  from  the  Confederate 
left  that  we  temporarily  withdrew  nnder  cover  of  the  grove,  from  whence  we 
furnished  details  to  the  skirmish  line,  some  of  whom  took  shelter  in 
Those  low  green  tents 
Whose  curtains  never  outward  swing 

At  the  recent  reunion  on  yonder  hill,  a  now  much  distinguished  citizen,  who 
Ibught  as  a  general  officer  on  the  other  side,  manfully  proclaimed,  in  all  sin- 
cerity, that  the  cause  for  which  they  fought  was  eternally  Avrong,  and  that  we 
were  eternally  right. 

Swords  will  never  again  be  drawn  to  sever  the  Union.  The  graves  of  the 
fallen  on  both  sides  now  bind  the  nation  together,  and  there  is  a  grand  future 
before  us.  A  broader  and  healthier  sentiment  prevails,  and  we  look  back  upon 
the  scenes  with  wonder  and  amazement. 

In  front  of  Ziegler's  Grove  you  have  erected  a  second  monument,  whereon  is 
inscribed  your  record  in  more  extended  phrase  than  this  representative  of  the 
stalwart  oak  tree  Avill  warrant  ns  doing. 

The  war  is  over  !  The  dove,  which  brought  theglail  tidings  t)fa  regenerated 
world,  here  is  used  to  symbolize  the  era  t)f  peace  and  good  will  between  man 
and  man.  The  wearers  of  the  blue  and  the  grej'  have  met  each  other  in  the 
field,  have  manfully  fought  out  their  differences,  accepted  the  situation,  dis- 
carded the  bitterness  and  animosities  of  the  A\ar,  and  now  recognize  that  we 
are  all  of  one  country  and  one  flag,  desirous  only  to  increase  our  country's 
greatness  and  prosperity. 

■\Ve  have  no  enmity  lor  tliose 

Who,  by  their  acts  not  ours,  were  foes- 
Hut  cfuirity  ;  and  from  malice  free. 
Would  cherish  with  sincerity  . 

The  roll-call  shortens  fast;  the  list  of  casualties  is  not  yet  ('omplete;  the 
strain  of  that  long  struggle  is  fast  laying  even  our  strongest  low;  we  close  tip 
our  thinner  ranks,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  heart  to  heart,  holding  nearer  and 
dearer  together. 

May  the  God  of  heaven  bless  this  day's  work,  and  may  it  add  to  the  sanctity 
of  a  wedded  affection  lor  the  land  we  love,  "  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home- 
of  the  brave." 


PHOTO.    Br  W.  M.  TIPTON,  QETTlfSBURO. 


PnrNT:  THE   F.  GUTEKUNST  CO., 


Pennsylvania  at  (reUysburg.  493 


DEDICATION  OK  MONUMENT 

91^"^  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

September   12,  1889 

ADDRESS  BY   CHAPLAIN  JOSEPH   WELCH 

THE  Ninety-tirst  regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  was  recruited  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  and  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  December  4,  1861,  with  the  following  staff:  Colonel,  Edgar  M. 
Gregory;  lieutenant  colonel,  Edward  E.  Wallace;  major,  George  W. 
Todd:  adjutant,  Benjamin  F.  Tayman;  quartermaster.  Lieutenant  George  W. 
Eyre;  surgeon,  Isaac  D.  Knight,  M.  I). :  assistant  surgeon.  Charles  W.  Houghton, 
and  chaplain,  Joseph  Welch. 

The  regiment  camped  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Schuylkill  river,  al  Camp 
Cha.se,  until  January  21.  1862,  when  it  embarked  for  the  front,  and  went  into 
camp  north  of  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  Bladensburg  turnpike,  at  Camp 
Stanton. 

March  22  it  occupied  the  Franklin  Square  barracks,  and  was  employed  in 
provost  and  other  duty  under  the  military  governor  until  April  26  when  it 
was  ordered  to  Alexandria,  Virginia,  Colonel  Gregory  being  appointed  military 
governor,  and  Captain  Joseph  H.  Sinex,  of  Company  D,  being  provost  marshal. 

Severe  and  unenvia1)le  service  now  kept  the  regiment  fully  occupied  for  four 
months. 

On  the  23d  of  August  the  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Urst  Brigade,  Gen- 
eral E.  B.  Tyler,  in  the  Third  Division,  General  A.  A.  Humphreys,  of  the  Fifth 
Army  Corps,  General  Fitz  John  Porter,  and  went  into  camp  at  Cloud's  Mills. 

The  brigade  at  this  time  being  composed  of  the  Ninety-first  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  Colonel  E.  M.  Gregory;  One  hundred  and  thirty-fourth  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers,  Colonel  M.  S.  Quay;  One  hundred  and  twenty -sixth  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  Colonel  J.  G.  Elder,  and  One  huTidred  and  twenty-ninth 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  Colonel  .T.  G.  Frick. 

In  consequence  of  the  excitement  Ibllowing  the  .second  battle  of  Maniuisas, 
the  command  was  kept  in  motion  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital,  south  ol  the 
Pot<miac,  until  September  la  Avhen  it  joined  the  jjursuit  of  the  enemy  under 
Lee,  who  had  crossed  the  river  into  Maryland;  pushing  on,  by  a  night  march 
ot  the  17th,  it  reached  the  battle-field  of  .\ntietam  on  the  morning  of  Septem- 
ber 18  with  headquarters  at  a  rail  fence  crossing  a  part  of  the  field. 

Remaining  in  camp  here,  till  the  forward  movement  of  the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber, it  reached  Warrenton,  Virginia,  October  30;  by  the  middle  of  November 
the  division  reached  and  encamped  at  Stoneman's  switch  on  the  Aquia  ('reek 
railroad,  and  remained  here  until  the  movement  tor  the  attack  on  the  position  of 
the  enemy  at  Frederick.sburg. 

Taking  up  the  line  of  march,  the  regiment  crossed  the  river  by  the  upi)er 
pontoon  bridge,  marching  through  the  town,  and  formed  in  line  behind  a  grave 
yard,  the  stone  wall  of  whicli  afforded  some  protection  against  the  fire  of  the 
enemy;  from  this  point,  through  the  various  changes  of  its  position  on  the 
field,  its  losses  were  severe. 

Lieutenant  Murphy  and  :i  uum)»er  of  men  were  killed  <>n  the  field.      Major 


494  Pniunt/lvania  al  Geffysbury. 

Todii  and  a  large  nnmbor -were  woiindcil.  1  he  major  dyiiij;  very  shortly  al'tcr- 
wards;  the  linal  charge  led  l)y  Generals  Huiujjhrey.s  and  Tyler,  which  was 
made  with  the  cheers  ol'  Ihe  men,  proved  in  vain,  and  met  with  a  heavy  loss. 

The  last  company  to  le-cross  the  river  (Company  K)  made  the  passage  as  the 
skirmishers  of  the  enemy  entered  the  town;  with  all  the  experiences  the  regi- 
ment was  destined  to  have  in  the  subsequent  history  ol'  the  army,  it  never 
forgot  those  of  the  battle  of  Frederickslmrg. 

Tiie  camp  of  the  army  was  practically  continuous,  varied  by  an  inefl'ectual 
attempt  to  move  in  January,  1863.  until  April  28,  when  the  manoeuvers  took 
place,  resulting  in  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville.  Here  the  colonel  Avas  severely 
wounded;  from  the  etfects  of  this  wound  he  never  entirely  recovered,  and  ulti- 
mately died.  After  his  leave,  caused  by  disability,  he  was  able  to  return  to 
the  field,  where  he  remained  at  the  front  till  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  expiration  of  the  term  of  enlistment  of  the  regiments  of  the  division, 
except  the  Ninety-first  and  One  hundred  and  fifty-fifth  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers. cau.sed  the  assignment  of  these  to  the  Second  Division  composed  largely 
of  regulars.  General  George  Sykes  commanding.  The  command  was  stationed, 
at  Stoneman's  switch  guarding  the  railroad  about  two  weeks,  and  then  moved 
to  United  States  Ford  on  the  river,  where  it  remained  till  June  7. 

On  the  night  of  June  7,  the  regiment  moved  during  a  heavy  rain  storm, 
marching  all  night,  halting  about  4  o'clock  the  next  morning  at  Mount  Holly 
(.'hurch  for  breakfast.  At  7  o'clock  the  march  was  resumed,  continuing  till 
night,  and  halted  at  Catlett's  Station  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  the  march  began  at  2  o'clock  and  continued  under 
a  hot  sun  till  :'  o'clock,  going  into  camp  at  Manas.sas  .Junction,  doing  picket 
duty  for  three  days. 

From  this  point  to  Gum  Springs,  halting  two  or  three  days,  at  which  time 
General  Weed  took  command  of  the  brigade,  thence  to  Aldie  in  support  of  the 
cavalry  who  were  skirmi.shing  with  the  cavalry  of  the  enemy  ;  from  here  to 
Leesburg  where  the  regiment  tbrmed  picket  line,  guarding  the  flank  of  the  army 
us  it  passed  northward. 

Leaving  Leesburg  ab))ut  '.>  p.  m.,  crossing  the  Potomac  liver  at  Kdwards* 
Ferry,  it  marched  to  Poolesville.  IMaryland,  arriving  about  i)  o'(;lock ;  the  march 
was  resumed  the  following  morning  about  4  o'clock,  reaching  Frederick  City. 
Maryland,  and  halting  for  two  days. 

While  the  regiment  was  at  this  point.  General  Meade  took  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  General  Sykes  taking  the  corps  and  General  R.  B.  Ayres 
the  division.  From  Frederick  City  the  regiment  marched  to  Uniontowu,  biv- 
ouacking here  in  the  rain,  crossing  the  South  Mountain  and  halting  at  Bopne.s- 
Iwro,  on  ground  rendered  familiar  by  tiie  campaign  of  Antietam  the  previous 
year.  Here  a  welcome  issue  of  shoes  was  nuide.  which  had  become  badly  needed. 
Marching  thence  to  Union  Mills. 

Having  been  mustered  for  pay,  the  regiment  left  Union  .Mills  on  tlie  morn- 
ing of  July  1,  marching  to  Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  where  it  halted  foi-  a  brief 
rest  for  dinner.  As  soon  as  cofiee  was  dispo.sed  of,  the  march  was  resumed  for 
(Jettysburg,  where  fighting  had  already  begun  :  the  tidings  of  which  began  to 
arrive  in  the  evening;  at  midnight  a  rest  was  taken  on  the  side  of  the  road 
over  which  the  march  lay. 

(Jn  the  morning  of  July  2,  an  early  move  was  made  and  the  regiment  was 
thrown  inUj  line  east  of  the  P.altimore  turniiike,  a  short  distance  below  (iettys- 


Pe/iiUfii/fvdnid   at    (it'ttyshniij.  -11)5 

1)Ui!j;.  at  which  point  (;a]ilaiii  Hail  id' (oiiutany  !■;  was  woiiiidcd  ;  it  was  then 
moved  to  a  position  ofsu)>])ort  in  tlic  center  of  tlie  line.  iVoni  wiiich  in  a  short 
lime  tlie  l)rigade  was  taken  as  a  snpport  to  (he  Third  Corps  wliicli  was  licinj^ 
Hanked  by  the  enemy. 

The  brigade  marched  up  (,ne  side  ol'  iioiind  To)),  as  tiic  enemy  charged  up  the 
other  .side,  too  late  to  capture  a  position  tliat  }>ecame  of  inestimable  worth  to 
them  in  a  few  hours.  The  regiment  was  then  ordered  to  the  right  at  double- 
<|uick  to  support  Battery  I  of  the  Fifth  V.  S.  Ailiilery.  This  position  had 
])arely  been  reached  when  the  legiment  was  ordered  back  to  Round  Top,  and 
drawn  up  in  line  in  front  of  Battery  1),  Fifth  U.  S.  Artillery  which  tired  over  it. 
After  eoUectiug  the  wounded  lying  in  front  of  the  line,  the  regiment  during  tlie 
night  threw  uj)  a  stone  wall  as  a  ])rotection  from  the  enemy's  sharj)shooters, 
who,  from  Devil's  Den,  were  harrassing  the  men  :  (Jeueral  Weed  commanding 
the  brigade  and  Captain  Hazlett  of  the  batt<'ry  were  both  killed  here. 

On  the  morning  of  July  3,  the  enemy's  batteries  opened  on  the  po.sition  pre- 
paratory to  furtlier  attempts,  our  own  battery  making  no  re])ly  at  the  time. 
After  various  changes  which  occupied  the  morning  had  ))eeii  made,  the  artillery 
of  the  enemy  opened  at  1  o'clock  all  along  the  line.  This  was  the  prelude  of 
the  .serious  and  decisive  eflbrt  of  the  grand  cliargi;  vvhi(!h  began  about  '.'>  o'clock. 
The  enemy  advanced  in  three  lines,  in  splendid  order  and  determined  persis- 
tence. Our  battery  opened  on  them  with  a  flanking  lire  that  was  terrible  in 
its  power  and  fearful  in  destruction.  Three  times  was  the  attemj)t  made  in  the 
tace  of  murderous  musketry  and  artillery  that  literally  mowed  them  do^Nii  in 
heaps.  The  effort  was  then  abandoned  and  the  position  was  left  in  our  undis- 
puted possession.  In  the  evening  our  pickets  were  advanced  beyond  the  Devil's 
Den,  meeting  no  opposition.  A  heavy  rain  set  in  during  the  night,  continuing 
part  of  the  following  day,  in  which  the  regiment  remained  in  the  ]X)sition  it 
occupied.  A  memorable  fourth  of  July  to  us.  but  whose  full  signiticance  could 
not  then  be  foreeeen. 

On  the  morning  of  the  .")lh,  the  skirmish  line  advanced  over  the  enemy's 
breastworks,  capturing  a  numl)er  of  prisoners,  until  they  came  up  with  the  rear 
guard  of  the  retreating  army,  when  they  were  called  into  the  regiments,  which 
were  already  on  the  march  along  the  Emiuitsburg  turnpike.  A  heavy  rain 
coming  on  in  the  afternoon,  rendered  the  camj)  ground  at  night  literally  a  field 
of  mud. 

At  o  o'clock  on  the  morninir  of  the  7th,  the  march  was  lesumed,  reaching 
Utica.  On  the  8th,  crossed  South  iMountain  and  camped  near  Middletown. 
On  the  9th  marched  to  near  Boonesboro.  On  the  lOth  to  near  .\ntietam  creek. 
On  the  11th  and  12th  having  heavy  skirmishing.  Marched  in  line  of  battle 
and  reached  Williainsport,  Maryland,  where  the  enemy  crossed  the  river. 

.luly  14,  marched  to  Berlin  where  the  regiment  crossed  the  Potomac.  A  de- 
tail was  now  made  of  tliree  officers  and  si.x  men  for  recruiting  .service  who  were 
.sent  to  Philadelphia.  The  regiment  tnardied  to  Wapping  Ifeight-s,  .skirmishing 
through  the  gap  in  time  to  see  the  rear  (»f  the  enemy's  army  on  its  retreat. 
From  Wapping  Heights  to  Stony  creek,  halting  for  the  night.  Passing  War- 
renton,  it  camped  three  miles  beyond  the  town  where  it  remained  till  Augu.st 
3,  when  it  marched  to  Beverly  Ford  on  the  Rai)i(ahaiinock  and  there  going  into 
camp. 

Septem'oer  ItJ,  marched  to  Brandy  Station,  halted  lor  the  night,  thence 
marched  beyond  Culpeper.  where  it  camped   till  October  10.       From  this  ilatc 


496  Pennsylvania  at  Getft/shmrf. 

the  regimeut  was  uliuostcontinuiiUy  ou  the  march  lor  I'orty-tive  days,  in  a  series 
of  movements  that  in  detail  alone,  would  seem  aimless  and  inexplicable,  but 
were  part  of  a  whole,  both  needful  and  wise,  that  for  hard  work  varied  with 
a  spice  of  fighting,  would  be  eminently  satisfactory  to  the  most  ardent  cam- 
paigners. From  Cul]ieper  to  Raccoon  Ford  on  the  Rapidan,  thence  back  the 
following  day.  In  the  old  camp  one  night,  then  to  Brandy  Station,  halting  a 
few  houi-s  then  to  Rappahannock  Station,  crossing  the  river  and  moving  up  to 
Beverly  Ford. 

The  next  day  the  command  re-crossed  and  advanced  in  line  of  battle  to  near 
Brandy  Station.  At  2  a.  m.  it  fell  back  and  recrossed  the  river  to  Beverly 
Ford.  In  a  few  hours  the  regiment  was  deployed  as  fianker.s  and  reached  Man- 
assas Plains.  About  dusk  the  enemy  attacked  the  Second  Corps  at  Bristoe 
Station,  and  the  regiment  went  on  double-quick  to  its  assistance.  The  attack 
being  repulsed,  the  march  was  resumed,  lasting  all  night,  and  in  the  morning 
the  command  reached  Centerville.  Resting  a  few  hours,  it  then  resumed  the 
march  by  the  Fairfax  road  to  near  Fairfax  Court  House.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  following  day,  it  marched  back  about  live  miles  and  bivouacked  for  the 
night,  and  reached  Centerville  on  the  day  tbllowing. 

On  the  18th,  marched  to  Fairlax  Court  Hou.se.  The  following  day  to  the 
old  Bull  Run  battle-field.  Left  this  at  1  o'clock  a.  m.,  and  marched  to  Hay- 
market  and  thence  to  New  Baltimore. 

After  building  road,  the  march  was  resumed  to  Three  Mile  Station  on  the 
Warrenton  Branch  railroad.  From  thence  to  Rappahannock  Station,  where 
line  of  battle  was  formed  and  skirmishers  thrown  out.  About  dusk  a  charge 
was  ordered,  and  the  forts  were  captuied  with  a  nnmber  of  prisoners  and  guns. 
Camping  in  front  of  the  captured  Avorks,  on  November  H  the  command  marched 
to  Kelly's  Ford,  Avhere,  after  a  few  hours,  the  river  was  crossed. 

On  the  10th  marched  to  Mountain  run  where  quarters  were  built  and  occu- 
pied till  the  24th.  Starting  on  the  26th  the  river  was  crossed  and  the  regiment 
reached  Hope  C!hurch,  halting  for  the  night;  then  marched  to  Parker's  Store 
where  line  was  formed  under  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery  from  the  enemy. 

The  following  day  moved  towards  Robertson's  Tavern  and  relieved  the  Sec- 
ond Corps;  going  to  the  front,  laid  there  till  2  a.  m..  when  the  corps  moved  to 
the  right  to  make  a  charge;  lying  under  arms  here  until  the  following  night 
when  it  was  withdrawn,  .some  of  the  men  being  frozen  to  death  during  the  ex- 
posure in  the  severe  cx)l(l. 

Then  again  to  the  front,  relieving  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  December  Ij 
after  dark  ordered  to  retire  as  quietly  and  quickly  as  jwssible,  moving  by 
Robertson's  Tavern,  recrossed  the  river  at  Culpeper  Ford,  getting  breakfast 
about  Ha.  m. ;  marching  all  day,  halting  at  night,  crossing  the  Rappahannock 
and  halting  beyond  Rappahannock  Station.  The  next  day  marched  to  War- 
renton Junction,  thence  back  to  Kettle  run;  lying  here  till  the  lOth  when  the 
regiment  marched  to  Bealton  and  went  into  camp.  Here  it  lost  Cai)tain  Faust 
of  Company  13,  by  death.  The  regiment  was  mustered  Dec^ember  2(i  into  the 
.service  for  three  years  more;  those  who  did  not  re-enlist  l)eing  transferred  to 
the  One  hundred  and  filty-fifth  Penn.sylvania  Volunteers. 

December  27,  marched  to  Warrenton  Junction,  thence,  January  2,  18()4.  to 
Alexandria;  i)assing  through  Washington  and  Baltimore,  being  entertained  at 
the  Soldiers'  Rest;  it  reached  Philadelphia,  marching  through  the  city  to  Inde- 
pendence Hall;  after  a  dress  parade,  it  was  dismissed  on  furlough. 


Pennsi/lvdnid  at  Gettyshurg.  497 

Headquarters  were  established  on  Chestnut  street  and  Lieutenant  Sliii)lev 
detailed  for  recruiting  service. 

February  18,  1864,  the  regiment  assembled  and  marched  to  the  Baltimore 
railroad  depot,  taking  the  train  to  Chester,  Pa.,  where  it  lay  till  March  2 
when  it  left  for  the  front,  in  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Joseph  H.  Sinex; 
passing  through  Washington  and  Alexandria  it  proceeded  to  "Warrenton  Junc- 
tion and  encamped. 

April  30,  broke  camp  and  marched  to  the  Kappahannock,  cro.ssing  the  river 
at  Eappahannock  Htation,  marched  to  Brandy  Station;  moved  at  niidniglit 
crossing  Rapidau  at  Uermanna  Ford,  marched  down  into  the  wilderness. 

May  5,  the  brigade  advanced  in  two  lines  through  dense  underbrush,  charg- 
ing through  an  open  space,  but  was  repulsed;  it  was  then  reformed  under  the 
brow  of  a  hill  and  there  stayed.  The  next  morning  the  regiment  moved  out 
to  protect  pioneers  throwing  up  breastworks;  taking  position  here  the  enemy 
charged,  but  lost  heavily  and  retired.  From  this  position  the  regiment  moved 
to  Todd's  Tavern,  where  heavy  skirmishing  and  throwing  up  defenses  occupied 
the  time  till  the  12th,  when  the  line  advanced  to  attack  the  enemy's  defenses 
iinder  a  heavy  fire;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sinex  and  Lieutenant  Shipley  were 
here  wounded,  and  Major  Lentz  took  command. 

In  the  alternoon  the  regiment  marched  to  the  left  in  support  of  the  Sixth 
Corps.  Moving  again  to  the  left  toward  Spotsylvania  Court  House,  with  the 
One  hundred  and  fortieth  New  York  in  line,  the  regiment  charged  the  Gait 
House  which  was  captured.  Having  been  relieved  here  by  a  brigade  of  the  Sixth 
Corps  which  was  driven  out,  the  regiment  was  again  ordered  to  take  the  posi- 
tion; advancing  to  the  attack,  under  fire  of  our  own  guns  trained  on  the  enemy 
from  which  it  suffered,  it  again  captured  the  iiosition ;  thus  marching,  fighting 
and  countermarching,  and  still  fighting,  the  story  of  the  regiment  is  that  of  the 
army  in  the  campaign  from  the  Raijpahannock  to  the  James. 

On  the  6th  of  June,  Colonel  Gregory,  Adjutant  Tayman  and  (Quartermaster 
Lentz,  rejoined  the  regiment  at  Cold  Harbor. 

On  the  9th  the  division  was  reviewed  by  General  Ayres,  and  the  corps  was 
reorganized,  the  Ninety-first  regiment  being  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade, 
First  Division.  Moving  by  Bottom's  bridge  and  White  Oak  swamp,  on  the 
13th  it  crossed  the  Chickahominy  and  was  thrown  into  line;  marching  by  St. 
Mary's  Church,  a  crossing  of  the  James  river  was  effected  at  Wilcox's  Landing 
and  an  advance  made  up  the  Petersburg  road  to  Prince  George  Court  House,  where 
the  regiment  lay  till  the  18th,  when  charging  across  the  Norfolk  and  Petersburg 
railroad,  it  occupied  the  position.  Moving  forward  again,  it  charged  and  cap- 
tured the  inner  line,  with  a  loss  of  eighty-two  men  killed  and  wounded.  Im- 
mediately throwing  up  breastworks  the  command  lay  here  till  5  o'clock  the 
next  morning  when  it  was  moved  to  the  left,  still  moving  as  the  developments 
of  the  field  warranted,  until,  charging  and  driving  the  enemy,  the  position  was 
captured  on  which  Fort  Hell  was  afterward  built.  Relieved  about  11  o'clock 
p.  m.  by  the  Sixty-second  Pennsylvania,  the  regiment  was  changed  to  another 
position,  and  on  the  23d  was  ordered  to  capture  breastworks  taken  by  the 
enemy  from  the  Second  Corps  on  the  preceding  daj'.  Charging  under  a  heavy 
fire,  the  works  were  captured,  when  the  Second  Corps  reoccupied  them  and  the 
command  returned  to  the  camp  it  had  left;  it  was  then  moved  to  the  left  to 
support  the  Sixth  Corps  which  was  engaged  wifh  the  enemy.  The  following 
day  it  returned  to  camp  on  the  Jerusalem  plank  road.     While  here,  the  mem- 

32 


498  Pennsylvoiiid  at  Gettysburg. 

be  IS  of  the  Sixty-sefoiid  I'ennsvlvania  whose  term  of  service  was  jiot  expiring 
witli  tliat  of  the  regiment,  were  transferred  to  tlie  Ninety-tirst. 

July  f!.  the  regiment  began  work  on  what  became  known  as  Fort  Prescott, 
continuing  this  until  the  UOtli  of  that  month,  when  it  took  part  in  the  engage- 
ment attending  the  explosion  a  mine,  which,  from  its  peculiar  results,  be- 
came known  as  the  Crater. 

August  18,  the  command  moved  against  the  enemy  on  the  Weldon  railroad, 
capturing  it,  and  at  once  throwing  up  breastworks;  the  enemy  repeatedly  at- 
tempted its  recapture  but  were  defeated  with  the  lo.ss  of  the  entire  brigade 
taken  pri.soners. 

On  the  30th  the  enemy  were  driven  out  of  their  Avorks  and  Pegram's  house 
Avas  captured.  Moving  almost  daily,  and  lighting  with  every  move,  capturing, 
on  the  8th  of  October,  the  Davis  house  Avhich  was  burnt,  the  regiment  on  the 
14th  received  a  detachmant  of  new  recruits,  and  was  occuined  in  continual 
drill  till  the  27th,  when  a  demonstration  was  made  across  Hatcher's  run;  C'ap- 
tiiin  Closson  was  wounded  during  this  demonstration,  and  died  shortly  after- 
wards; after  the  enemy  had  been  driven  behind  their  defenses  the  command 
returned  to  its  position. 

In  December  the  command  moved  to  the  rear  of  Fort  Stevenson,  striking  the 
AVeldon  railroad  at  Jarratt's  Station,  skirmishing  and  destroying  the  railroad 
all  night,  reaching  nearly  to  Hicksford.  returning  to  its  position  at  Fort 
.Steven.son. 

February  6,  IStio,  started  at  4  o'clock  a.  m.,  toward  Hatchers  run  ;  having 
deployed  skirmishers,  the  enemy's  works  were  struck  about  4  p.  m.  A  charge 
was  made  and  repulsed,  the  command  being  fired  upon  through  mistake,  by 
a  division  of  our  Sixth  Corps.  Captain  Edgar  was  killed.  Captain  Finney 
captured,  and  the  colors  only  saved  by  Sergeant  Devereux  of  Company  C,  strip- 
])ing  them  Jrom  the  statf  and  concealing  them  on  his  person:  the  command  then 
returned  to  camp  near  Hatchers  run. 

March  *2!),  the  command  moved  out  at  o  a.  m.,  procee<ling  about  twelve  miles 
on  the  Quaker  road,  when  the  enemy  was  met  and  driven  some  distance;  halt- 
ing till  about  11  p.  m.,  when  an  advance  was  made  of  about  a  mile,  and  then 
entrenched.  The  following  morning  the  command  moved  forward,  and  found 
the  enemy  near  Dabney's  Mill  ;  halting  here  till  the  next  day,  were  then  re- 
lieved by  the  Second  Corps,  moved  to  the  left,  and  thrown  into  line  behind 
(Jravelly  run;  about  noon  Avere  ordered  to  the  support  of  the  Second  and  Third 
divisions,  Avhich  were  being  driven  by  the  enemy;  the  advance  resulted  in 
driving  the  enemy  about  four  miles  to  the  "White  Oak  road;  here  the  command 
was  ordered  to  supjiort  (ieneral  Sheridan;  at  midnight  returned  to  its  (ujrjjs;  at 
4  a.  m.  again  ordered  to  support  General  Sheridan,  moving  against  Five  Forks. 

The  regiment  and  the  Sixteenth  Michigan,  both  under  Colonel  E.  G.  Sellers 
of  the  Ninety-lirst.  formed  vn  echelon  in  rear  of  the  Third  Division,  advanced  on 
double-quick,  evidently  taking  the  enemy  by  surprise.  General  Warren  was 
here  relieved  and  General  Griftin  took  command  of  the  corps.  Moving  forward 
in  line  on  the  right  of  tlie  Third  Division,  along  a  road  across  which  the  enemy, 
posted  behind  breastworks,  was  attacked,  and  nearly  all  captured,  the  com- 
mand still  ])ush<-d  forwaiil  till  night  wht.Mi  it  returned  and  caiujx'd  on  the  Five 
Forks  road. 

'i'lic  Ibllowiiig  day  Ai)ril  15,  al>out  noon,  tlic  command  moved  out  to  th(>  South 
Side  railr<ia<l.  striking  it  at    Church    Uoa<l  cro.ssi         and    formed  across  it  with 


14 


v-r^tx 


TIPTON,    GETTVSDUHa. 


^T  :    THE    F.    GUTEKUNST    CO.,  PHIl 


.    Pennsylvania  at  Getlysburg.  499 

pickets  out,  aiid  halted  lor  the  night.  The  Ibllowing  day  it  again  moved  Ibr- 
Avard,  driving  the  enemy  as  tar  as  Sailor's  cieek,  \vhere  it  entrenched  ;  that 
night  it  was  ordered  to  support  General  Custer,  and  captured  two  hundred 
wagons,  after  which  it  returned  to  its  position. 

The  ne.\t  day  the  movement  was  resumed,  and  the  march  lasted  till  nearly 
midnight  of  the  the  8th;  tlie  next  day  it  marched  again  reaching  nearly  to  Ap- 
pomatto.x  Court  House  about  8  a.  m.,  when  the  command  was  drawn  up  in  line 
with  skirmishers  deployed,  and  advanced  under  cover  of  a  ridge;  here  the  enemy 
sent  in  a  flag  of  truce,  and  hostilities  ceased. 

The  command  marched  through  the  town  and  was  placed  in  position  beyond, 
the  brigade  being  ordered  to  receive  the  arms  of  the  enemy. 

The  tbllowing  morning,  the  command  moved  closer  to  the  position  of  the 
enemy,  and  was  drawn  up,  right  resting  on  Appomattox  creek,  and  received 
the  guns  as  they  were  stacked  by  tlie  enemy,  as  they  came  up  by  division.s. 

At  dusk  the  command  returned  to  its  position  of  the  preceding  night,  and 
remained  here  two  days;  it  then  started  for  Burkeville  Junction,  stopping  for 
the  night  near  Farmville,  where  the  news  was  received  of  the  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln. 

By  easy  marches  the  command  moved  toward  Washington,  passing  through 
Petersburg,  and  being  reviewed  at  liichmond  by  General  llalleck.  The  regi- 
ment camped  near  Alexandria  until  July  10,  having  participated  in  the  grand 
review  of  the  army  by  President  Johnson  and  General  Grant;  it  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  and  returned  to  Philadel])hia,  where  it  arrived  on  the  morn- 
ing of  July  12,  1865. 


DEDICATION    OF    MONUMENT 

93^  REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

SEI'TKMKliK    1  I,    1889 

ADDRKS.S  OF  CHAPLAIN  J.  S.  LAME 

THE  memory  of  the  hero  is  the  treasure  of  his  country.  We  are  often  too 
near  events  to  see  their  importance.  You  may  hold  a  dime  so  near  the 
eye  as  to  hide  the  whole  material  universe.  The  further  we  recede 
from  the  events  of  the  last  war,  the  vaster  they  become  and  the  more 
important  they  appear.  Many  battles  are  fought  and  victories  Avon  and  little 
has  been  decided.  But  there  are  destiny-deciding  contests — hours  of  supreme 
immortal  moment  when  the  tide  of  liuman  history  turns  and  turns  Ibrever. 
Such  were  the  mighty  contests  of  Thermojiylic,  Hastings,  Waterloo,  Yorktown 
and  Gettysburg.  The  Ninety-third  Kegiment  of  Pennsylvania  Yolunteers  was 
recruited  at  Lebanon  in  Lebanon  county.  Made  up  of  volunteers  from  Berks, 
Montour,  Dauphin,  Montgomery,  Centre,  Clinton  and  Lebanon  counties,  a 
regimental  organization  was  etlected  by  the  selection  of  the  following  officers: 
James  M.  McCarter,  colonel;  John  W'.  Johnston,  lieutenant-colonel;  John  C. 
Osterloh,  major;  William  A.  H.  Lewis,  adjutant;  John  S.  Schultze,  quarter- 
master; Richards.  Simington,  surgeon;  George  W.  Mays,  assistant  surgeon. 
On  the  12th  of  September.  18(51,  L'ew  James  M.  McCarter,  wlio  had  been  a 


600  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

chaplain  in  the  Fourteenth  regiment  during  the  three  months'  service,  received 
authority  from  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  to  raise  a  regiment  to  be  known 
as  the  '■  Lebanon  Infantry."'  Camp  Coleman,  on  the  fair  grounds  in  Lebanon, 
was  immediately  established  and  recruiting  was  qttickly  commenced  and  rap- 
idly completed.  While  in  camp  a  beautiful  silk  Hag,  the  gift  of  G.  Dawson 
Coleman,  of  Lebanon,  was  presented  to  the  regiment. 

On  the  13th  of  November,  the  State  colors  were  delivered  by  Governor  An- 
drew G.  Curtin.  A  liberal  sum  of  money  was  contributed  by  the  people  of 
Lebanon  and  vicinity  for  the  support  of  the  families  of  those  who  had  enlisted. 

On  the  20th  of  November,  the  regiment  struck  tents  and  proceeded  to  Wash- 
ington, where,  after  a  brief  stay  at  the  Soldiers'  Kest,  it  went  into  Camp  Fort 
Good  Hope.  It  was  first  armed  with  Belgian  rifles,  btit  before  the  opening  of 
the  Peninsular  campaign  these  were  substituted  by  Springfield  muskets.  On 
the  22d  of  January,  1862,  it  moved  to  Tennallytown  and  was  here  assigned  to 
Peck's  Brigade  of  Couch's  Division,  Fourth  Corps,  under  command  of  General  E. 
D.  Keyes.  The  brigade  consisted  of  the  Ninety-eighth  Regiment  I'ennsyl- 
vania.  Colonel  J.  F.  Ballier;  the  One  hundred  and  second  Pennsylvania,  Colonel 
Thomas  A.  Rowley  ;  Sixty-second  New  York,  Colonel  Riker  ;  Fifty-fifth  New 
York,  Colonel  DeTrobriaud.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  Peninsular  campaign, 
the  Fifty-fifth  New  York  was  detaclied  and  the  One  hundred  and  thirty-ninth 
Pennsylvania  was  added. 

March  10,  1862,  the  regiment  movetl  on  the  Manassas  campaign.  On  the 
26th,  it  embarked  for  the  Peninsula. 

Ma}'  5,  the  command  took  an  active  and  important  share  in  the  battle  of 
William.sburg,  suffering  a  loss  of  six  killed  and  twenty  wounded;  Captain 
CxreenB.  Shearer  was  among  the  killed,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Johnston  had  his 
horse  shot  under  him.  In  a  congratulatory  order  issued  bj'  General  Couch  he 
says:  "  General  Peck,  with  his  brigade,  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  in  the  ad- 
vance, and  arriving  ou  tlie  ground  at  a  critical  time  won  a  reputation  to  be 
greatly  envied."  At  Fair  Oaks  the  regiment  distinguished  itself,  obstinately 
holding  a  most  important  and  greatly  exposed  position,  suffering  the  severe 
loss  of  twenty  killed  and  one  hundred  and  eight  wounded  and  twenty-one 
missing;  this  loss  occurring  in  eight  companies;  companies  A  and  F  being  on 
picket.  Lieutenant  John  K.  Rogers  was  among  the  killed  and  Captain  Alex- 
ander C.  Maitland  mortally  wounded.  Colonel  McCarter,  Captain  Mark  and 
Lieutenants  McCarter  and  Keller  were  among  the  Avounded.  Captain  Dough- 
erty was  struck,  but  having  a  watch  and  a  bible  ou  his  person,  these  articles 
received  and  relieved  the  force  of  the  ball.  A  correspondent  of  tlie  New  York 
Tribune,  in  his  admiration  of  the  discipline  and  sterling  (jualities  displayed  hy 
the  regiment  on  this  sanguinaiy  fiehi,  .said  :  "Take  the  case  of  the  Ninety- 
third  I'eiuisylvania  ;  this  tlioroughly  trained  body  of  troops  fought,  were  driven 
back  from  their  position  but  not  broken,  halted  at  word  of  command,  wheeled, 
fired,  retreated,  halted,  loaded  and  fired  again  and  came  oft' the  ground  in  per- 
fect order,  with  their  colors  flying — a  striking  proof  what  the  success  of  battles 
is  in  the  discipline  of  the  troops."     At  Chantilly  it  supported  a  battery. 

The  regiment  was  in  the  movement  for  relief  of  tlie  garrison  at  Harper's  I^rry, 
but  the  position  having  l)een  surrendered,  moved  to  Antietam,  making  a  forced 
march  of  some  thirty  miles  from  sunrise  to  9  p.  m.  During  the  pursuit  of  the 
retreating  enemy  the  regiment  was  in  the  advance.  In  the  battle  of  Freder- 
icksburg, on  the  .13th  of  December,  the  regiment,  now  in  the  Sixth  Corps,  under 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  501 

General  Kmith  ot  Fiankliiis  (iraml  Division,  crossed  the  river  and  was  held  in 
reserve  during  the  engagement.  In  the  spring  of  1863,  under  (iencral  Hooker, 
it  formed  a  part  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  -which  was  commanded  V)y  (Jeneral  John 
Sedgwick.  The  Ninety-third,  in  command  of  Captain  Long,  cros.sed  the  Rappa- 
hannock on  the  ;id  of  May.  At  daybreak  on  the  :5d,  it  formed  in  line,  General 
Wheaton  commanding  the  V)rigade,  .says:  "The  corps  was  formed  with  the 
greatest  expedition  and  pushed  on  to  a  point  called  Salem  Heights.  I  was 
ordered  by  General  Newton  to  move  Avith  two  regiments  to  the  right  of  the  road 
and  to  take  general  directions  of  the  operations  on  that  portion  of  the  battle- 
ground. The  Ninety-third  and  One  hundred  and  .second  Penn.sylvania  were 
soon  engaged  under  a  terrific  fire  of  musketry  from  a  hidden  foe." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  Wheaton's  Brigade  was  attacked  but  easily  re- 
pulsed the  assailants,  taking  nearly  two  entire  regiments  prisoners.  The  loss 
to  the  Ninety-third  in  the  engagements  was  six  killed,  among  whom  were  Lieu- 
tenants Washington  Brua  and  William  D.  Boltz,  forty-four  wounded  and  twenty 
mi.ssing.  While  the  two  great  armies,  during  the  month  of  June,  were  manu'U- 
vring  for  po.sition  to  fight  a  mighty  duel — to  ascertain  the  enemy's  position,  the 
regiment  crossed  the  Eappahannock,  when  it  was  developed  that  Lee  had  pushed 
the  head  of  his  column  northward  for  an  invasion  of  Pennsylvania.  The  march 
for  Pennsylvania  now  commenced,  the  regiment  moving  bj'  way  of  Manassas 
and  Centerville.     The  Sixth  Corps  formed  the  right  wing  of  the  army. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  it  arrived  at  Manchester,  Maryland.  During  all  the  pre- 
ceding day  the  regiment  had  trod  the  dusty  heated  highway.  At  8  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  worn  with  the  long  and  weary  march,  they  stretched  their  aching 
limbs  in  the  shelter  of  a  friendly  forest.  Scarcely  had  they  thrown  themselves 
upon  the  ground,  when  an  aide-de-camp  arrived  from  the  blood-baptized  heights 
of  Gettysburg,  announcing  the  death  of  General  Reynolds,  and  that  the  stuijen- 
dous  conflict  had  commenced,  and  requesting  regimental  commanders  to  ad- 
dress their  troops  in  language  becoming  the  grandeur  of  the  crisis,  and  bearing 
an  order  for  the  immortal  Sixth — a  corps  that  had  never  failed  to  achieve  the 
possible,  to  hasten  to  the  defense,  to  strike  for  their  altars  and  their  fires,  God  and 
their  native  State.  The  drums  beat — "Fall  in,''  leaped  from  lip  to  lip,  and 
the  host  is  all  astir,  swords  and  belts  are  buckled  on,  knapsacks  slung,  weapons 
grasped,  and,  forming  into  a  solid  sc^uare,  they  stand  determined,  defiant.  But 
who  shall  address  them  ?  Where  are  the  souls  of  fire  and  tongue  of  flame  ? 
They  are  there.  Colonel  McCarter,  though  now  an  invalid,  the  genius  of  elo- 
quence had  touched  his  lips  and  bade  him  speak.  His  rostrum  was  a  wai'-steed, 
the  silence  was  profound  and  painful,  not  a  foot  rose  or  fell,  breathing  seemed 
suspended,  all  nature  appeared  as  awe-struck  at  the  sublimity  of  the  scene, 
•stood  silent,  solemn,  listening.  He  who  was  to  interpret  and  give  tongue  to 
this  tremendous  silence,  began  in  tones  low  and  tremulous,  his  voice,  acquiring 
force  and  volume  as  he  proceeded,  rang  out  on  the  evening  air,  solemn  and  .se- 
pulchral as  a  trumpet  from  the  skies,  as  if  (Jod  liad  recommissioned  the  immor- 
tal Moses  to  reinflume  the  serried  hosts  of  the  Lord  God  about  to  march  to  the 
valley  of  decision  for  the  dread  battle  of  Armageddon. 

My  countr.ymea,  comrades-in-arms,  Pennsylvanians:— The  destroyer  has  come;  fell 
treason's  loul  foot  has  polluted  the  soil  dedicated  forever  sacred  to  freedom.  Northern 
hearthstones  are  threatened;  the  ctiainsof  slavery  are  clanking,  and  they  are  forging 
fetters  to  crush  your  patriotic  spirit— the  issue  is  joined,  the  stupendous  conflict  has 
commenced.  Interests  vast  as  a  world,  termless  as  time  are  at  a  venture. 
Tlie  ninth  and  nineteenth  century,  a  nation  dying  or  redeemed  and  regenerated;  free- 


502  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

dotn  or  shivery  are  the  momentous  issues  of  the  hour.  Sons  of  liberty,  go  forth  with 
alacrity  to  the  battle  of  the  civilized  world,  where  God  himself  mustered  the  hosts  to 
war.  A  natiou  is  at  prayer;  patriotism,  clotlaed  in  sackcloth,  has -tied  to  her  sanctuary 
and  hangs  on  the  horns  of  the  altar,  as  she  pours  importunate  prayers  to  the  God  of 
battle,  to  arm  you  with  his  own  omnipotence.  Religious  ministers  under  God's  inspi- 
ration lift  aloft  holy  hands  and  pronounce  an  apostolical  benediction  upon  your  arms. 
A  multitude  of  mothers  in  Northern  homes  at  this  hour  of  evening,  sacrifice  are  going 
to  the  family  altars  and  with  a  loving  mother's  bursting  heart,turning  her  eyes  gemmed 
with  the  jewels  of  sparkling  tears,  to  that  spot  that  holds  her  boy,  prays  again  and 
rededicates  him  to  his  countrj^  and  to  hjs  God.  I  cannot  but  imagine  that  a  Lafayette,  a 
Koskiusko  or  a  Washington,  the  world's  greatest  and  best,  are  glancing  with  fiery  eye, 
and  again  graspmg  the  sword  of  war  to  lead  you  forth  to  smite  the  invader.  Catch  the 
si)irit  of  \yashington,  emulate  his  illustrious  example;  he  never  drew  his  sword  but  upon 
his  country's  enemy,  he  never  sheathed  it  while  his  country  contained  an  enemy.  Sol- 
diers, we  have  met  before  in  the  shock  of  battle,  where  destruction  reveled  and  death 
danced  as  at  a  festal  scene.  Again  we  go;  should  you  fall,  the  spot  will  be  forever  sacred 
to  freedom  and  a  monument  immortal  as  the  ages  shall  rise  to  your  memory.  A  nation 
will  be  your  mourners,  the  liberty-loving  of  every  tongue  and  tribe,  class  and  kindred, 
will  tender  you  the  tribute  of  a  tear.    "  Let  us  forward  then." 

Not  a  cheer  arose,  not  a  murmur  was  heard  ;  feelings  too  profound  for  speech 
filled  all  hearts.  Silently,  solemnly  and  majestically  as  the  ocean  tide  the 
men  move  through  the  aisles  of  the  forest. 

The  corps  marched  until  midnight,  when  it  was  found  that  through  a  mistake 
the  wrong  road  had  heen  taken,  and  that  it  had  marched  several  miles  out  of 
their  way.  These  miles  had  to  he  remarched  by  the  foot-sore  and  weary  troops. 
At  break  of  day,  a  short  halt  being  called,  a  few  fires  were  kindled  and  an  at- 
tempt made  to  secure  a  rude  breakfast.  Some  were  trying  to  boil  coffee  when 
the  order  sounded  "Fall  in,"  and  some  lingering  a  few  moments  around  the 
fires,  officers  approached  and  kicked  over  the  coffee  pots  and  all.  Again  the 
weary  march  was  taken  up  in  heat  and  dust.  Many  fell  fainting  in  their  tracks, 
these  were  loaded  into  the  ambulances  until  they  were  full,  others  were  pulled 
aside  into  the  shade  and  left,  some  possibly  to  revive  and  rejoin  the  regiments, 
others  to  be  overtaken  and  overwhelmed  hy  the  bushwhackers.  At  9  in  the 
morning,  the  V)ooming  of  cannon  from  the  distant  field  was  distinctly  heard. 
At  10  the  regiment  crossed  the  State  line.  She  unfurled  her  colors,  beat  her 
drums,  came  to  a  quickstep  and  sang  "  Home,  Sweet,  Sweet  Home." 

About  3  p.  m.  a  halt  was  ordered,  the  men  too  much  exhausted  to  eat,  threw 
themselves  wearily  to  the  ground  and  lay  like  logs.  In  an  hour  an  order  came 
to  advance  into  the  battle.  The  corps  were  promptly  in  motion,  the  Ninety- 
third  leading  the  column  to  the  support  of  the  Third  and  Fifth  corps  which 
were  then  hard  pressed,  Colonel  David  J.  Nevin,  of  Sixty -second  New  York,  being 
in  command  of  the  l)rigade.  The  Ninety-third  being  in  the  advance,  was  the 
first  regiment  of  the  corps  to  get  into  action.  Major  Nevin  in  command,  Gen- 
eral Sedgwick  in  person  led  the  1)rigade  and  formed  on  the  brow  of  a  low  rocky 
knoll  covered  with  scattered  trees,  just  to  the  rigid  of  Little  Eound  Top,  the 
left  of  the  brigadejoining  with  the  Pennsylvania  Keserves.  It  got  into  position 
just  as  the  troops  which  had  been  contesting  the  ground  in  the  ojjeu  fields  along 
the  Emmitsburg  pike,  broken  and  almost  annihilated,  were  coming  back  in 
disorder,  followed  by  the  exultant  enemy.  The  command  was  ordered  to  lie 
down  and  to  withhold  its  fire  until  the  enemy  was  close  upon  it.  Had  this  order 
been  lieeded,  the  whole  rebel  line  could  easily  have  b(!en  captured.  A  prema- 
ture fire  was  opened  from  a  part  of  the  line  which  checked  the  advance.  The 
whole  brigade  then  advanced  and  after  a  short  contest  the  rebel  line  was  driven 
in  tumult.     In  the  ciiarge  the  Ninety-third   took  twenty-live  prisoners.     Just 


Pennsylvania  at  GeUij^hurij.  5C3 

before  nightfall,  the  regiment  was  ordered  forward  with  a  regiment  of  Reserves 
to  retake  a  battery,  which  had  been  lost  iu  the  early  part  of  the  day,  but  the; 
guns  having  been  removed  it  returned  At  niyht,  tiic  men  slept  lor  a  few 
hours  in  the  line  of  battle  but  spent  most  of  the  time  in  removing  the  wounded 
who  strewed  the  fields  in  front.  Since  8  o'clock  on  the  previous  evening  the 
regiment  had  marched  thirty-nine  miles,  had  fought  three  hours  and  passed 
an  almost  sleepless  night  and  nearly  without  food. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  3d  the  Confederates  opened  with  all  tlieir  l)atteries. 
For  two  hours,  from  a  space  less  than  two  miles,  there  was  an  incessant  can- 
nonade from  two  hundred  guns  of  the  enemy.  Upon  no  battle-field  of  the 
world's  history'  had  such  a  bombardment  ever  been  witnessed.  Pollard,  in  his 
"Lost  Cause,''  says,  "it  was  absolutely  appalling,  hills  and  rocks  seemed  to 
reel  like  drunken  men,  shrieking  shell,  the  crash  of  falling  timbers,  the  frag- 
ments of  rock  flying  through  the  air,  the  splash  of  bursting  sharpnel  and  the 
fierce  neighing  of  wounded  artiller}'  horses,  made  a  picture  terribly  grand  and 
sublime."  During  this  terrible  cannonade  the  men  partly  sheltered  by  a  stone 
■wall,  rocks  and  trees,  hugged  closely  the  ground,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
charge  on  the  left  center  renewed  the  picket  firing  and  kept  it  u^i  until  dark. 
During  the  night  the  regiment  was  engaged  in  burying  the  dead  and  bearing 
off  the  wounded.  The  fourth  of  July  was  celebrated  at  the  front,  the  men 
being  ordered  on  the  skirmish  line  on  the  extreme  left  where  it  suffered  some 
loss.  At  two  in  the  afternoon  it  was  relieved.  The  loss  of  the  regiment  was 
ten  wounded,  one  mortally. 

On  the  5th  it  was  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  retreated  and  pursuit  was 
at  once  begun.  The  Ninety-third  was  detached  to  guard  the  corps  artillery 
and  assist  in  taking  it  across  the  mountains.  The  duty  proved  a  difficult  one, 
the  men  suffering  much  from  the  hardships  it  imposed. 

On  the  10th  it  was  ordered  to  jiicket  and  skirmish  duty  at  the  front  near 
Funkstown.  The  men  were  eager  for  a  final  issue,  but  much  to  their  chagrin 
it  was  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  escaped;  the  men  heartily  dreading  an- 
other campaign  in  Virginia.  The  regiment  participated  in  tlie  movement  on 
Mine  Run,  and  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Brandy  Station. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  "Wheaton's  Brigade,  of  which  the  Ninety-third 
formed  a  part,  was  detached  from  the  main  body  of  the  army  and  sent  by  rail 
to  Washington  and  thence  to  Harper's  Ferry,  loaded  on  freight  cars,  many  of 
which  were  without  tire,  the  soldiers  suffered  terribly  from  the  cold,  the  feet 
and  hands  of  some  were  frozen,  rendering  amputation  necessary  in  two  cases, 
and  in  one  proving  fatal.  The  brigade  marched  to  Halltown  upon  its  arrival, 
but  soon  returned  and  went  into  camp  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  object  of  the 
movement  was  to  repel  an  anticipated  demonstration  of  a  body  of  the  enemy 
under  General  Early. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1864,  two  hundred  and  eighty-four  men,  upwards  of 
three-fourths  of  the  entire  regiment,  re-enlisted  and  were  given  a  veteran  fur- 
lough. Upon  their  arrival  at  Lebanon,  where  the  regiment  had  been  mustered 
in,  a  most  enthusiastic  reception  was  tendered  them.  Amid  martial  music, 
banners,  flags  and  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and  hats,  the  regiment  marched 
to  a  bountiful  banquet. 

On  the  10th  of  March,  the  regiment  assembled  at  ('amp  Curtin,  Har- 
risburg,  and  on  the  18th  rejoined  the  brigade  at  Halltown,  eight  hundred 
strong.     Soon  after  the  regiment  returned  to  Brandy  Station.     In  the  reor- 


504  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

ganization  of  the  corps  this  brigade  was  transferred  from  the  Third  to  Second 
Division  of  the  Sixth  Corps  ;  having  been  armed  with  Springfield  rifles,  it  set 
out  at  half  past  three  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  May,  for  the  Wilderness. 
During  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  while  marching  down  a  narrow  road  flanked 
by  a  heavy  undergrowth,  without  skirmishers  or  flankers,  the  Ninety-third 
in  the  advance,  and  was  just  plunging  into  the  thick-woods  to  the  left  of  it, 
Avhen  a  murderous  fire  was  suddenly  opened  upon  it  from  the  right.  The  regi- 
ment halted,  faced  to  the  front,  delivered  one  volley  and  charged  the  enemy, 
clearing  the  woods.  In  this  brief  encounter  the  regiment  lost  twenty-five  in 
killed  and  wounded  among  whom  were  Captain  Edward  H.  Rogers,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Maxwell  B.  Goodrich  mortally  wounded.  General  A.  P.  Hill's  corps 
having  arrived,  formed  in  the  front,  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  at- 
tack began,  for  two  hours  the  roar  ol  musketry  at  close  range  was  incessant. 
At  6  the  regiment  having  suftered  severely  was  relieved.  Resting  on  its 
arms  during  the  night,  at  4  in  the  morning  of  the  6th  it  advanced  into  the 
.second  line  of  battle  to  the  attack,  the  second  soon  became  the  first  line. 
General  Wadsworth,  putting  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Ninety-third,  charged 
down  the  plank  road.  In  these  two  days  of  fighting  the  regiment  had  eight- 
een killed  and  one  hundred  and  forty-four  wounded. 

On  the  morning  of  the  12th  it  went  to  the  support  of  the  Second  Corps  and 
took  a  position  to  the  right  of  the  famous  bloody  "Angle"  and  advanced  to 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  rebel  works.  So  destructive  was  the  fire  opened  upon 
them  that  in  one  brief  hour  the  regiment  lost  four  oflicers  and  seventy-three 
men  killed  and  wounded.  Captain  Richard  G.  Rogers  was  mortally  wounded. 
With  the  corps  the  regiment  participated  in  the  fierce  fighting  which  marked 
the  course  of  the  army  to  the  James  river,  losing  men  almost  daily;  and  in  the 
engagement  on  the  18th  of  May,  having  thirty  killed  and  wounded.  It  crossed 
the  Rapidan  on  the  4th  of  May,  entering  the  campaign  with  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  men  present  for  duty.  As  it  marched  from  the  trenches  at  Cold 
Harbor  its  virtual  conclusion,  it  had  but  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  men  ; 
fifteen  oflicers  and  three  hundred  and  ten  men  having  been  either  killed  or 
wounded,  and  ninety-five  sick  and  sent  to  the  rear.  Only  nine  men  were  cap- 
tured and  they  were  wounded  and  left  on  the  field. 

From  the  4th  of  May,  until  the  2d  of  June,  the  Ninety-third  marched  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  made  twenty-six  night  marches,  Avas  fifteen  days  with- 
out regular  rations,  dug  thirty  rifle  pits,  and  fought  in  eight  distinct  battles. 
During  all  this  time  there  were  but  five  days  in  which  the  regiment  or  .some 
part  of  it  was  not  under  fire,  and  neither  oflicers  nor  men  took  off"  their  clothes, 
seldom  their  accoutrements.  Clothes  and  shoes  worn  out  were  replaced  by  those 
of  dead  men,  and  not  until  it  arrived  at  the  James  river  did  the  men  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  a  bath. 

On  the  IHtli  ol' June,  in  front  of  Petersburg,  a  general  advance  was  made, 
the  line  pushing  close  up  to  the  enemy's  works.  Captain  Jacob  P.  Embich 
was  killed  and  five  men  wounded.  On  the  22d  it  was  token  to  the  extreme 
left,  where  it  supported  the  Third  Division,  losing  thirteen  in  killed  and 
wounded.  On  the  9th  of  July  it  was  ordered  from  the  front,  and  mar(;h- 
ing  to  City  Point  took  transports  to  Washington.  Arriving  in  the  city  the  regi- 
ment moved  rapidly  to  Fort  Washington  just  as  Early's  skirmishers  were 
advancing  over  the  esplanade. 

On  the  Pith  a  general  advance  was  made  and  the  enemy  driven  at  all  points; 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettt/shur<j.  505 

passing  through  Kockville  and  across  the  Potomac  the  corps  was  ke])t  on  the 
march  for  nearly  a  month.  General  Sheridan  took  connnand  of  the  army  in 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  on  the  7th  of  August. 

On  the  IJIth  of  September,  the  regiment  lost  seven  killed  and  forty  wounded. 
The  21st  it  was  engaged  making  gallant  charges  and  suffering  severe  losses. 
On  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  October,  it  was  driven  ])aek  with  the  army,  but 
rallied  and  charged  in  the  afternoon  and  at  night  tented  on  the  old  camp 
ground.  In  November,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Thiladelphia  and  was  as- 
signed to  duty  in  the  city,  and  remained  until  after  the  presidential  election, 
when  it  returned  to  camp  at  Winchester  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  About 
the  middle  of  December,  with  the  corps,  it  returned  to  the  lines  in  front  of 
Petersburg,  where  it  went  into  winter  quarters.  Several  hundred  recruits  were 
received  bringing  its  strength  np  to  near  the  minimum  standard. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  18fi.~),  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  advance  on  the  enemy's 
works,  and  test  the  streugtli  of  the  forces  occupying  them.  The  command 
charged  to  the  front  of  his  picket  line  of  trenches;  here  was  some  delay,  other 
parts  of  the  line  not  coming  up.  The  line  again  went  forward  across  the  plain, 
captured  the  outer  picket  trenches,  and  charged  up  a  second  hill,  to  his  main 
line.  Here  the  brigade  halted  and  was  subject  to  a  severe  enfilading  lire.  It 
was  soon  ascertained  that  the  enemy  was  present  in  full  force,  and  the  com- 
mand was  rapidh^  withdrawn.  The  lo.ss  in  this  brief  engagement  was  fifteen 
killed  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  wounded.  Captain  George  AV.  Mellin- 
ger  was  among  the  killed.  At  midnight  of  April  2,  the  regiment,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  B.  Frank  Hean,  moved -to  the  front  entrenchments  in  line 
of  battle,  forming  on  the  picket  line  in  front  of  Battery  Oregg,  and  at  4  in 
the  morning  with  the  rest  of  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  charge  the  enemy's 
works,  which  were  carried  after  an  obstinate  struggle,  the  colors  of  the  Ninety- 
third  being  the  first  planted  on  the  ramparts.  After  moving  a  short  distance 
towards  Hatcher's  run  the  command  was  ordered  to  return  towards  Petersburg. 
In  executing  this  order  the  regiment  was  brought  in  front  of  a  rebel  battery, 
which  opened  with  grape  and  canister.  At  this  juncture  Sergeant  Hiram  I^ay- 
land  led  a  .squad  of  men  to  the  left  of  the  battery  to  outflank  it,  and  coming  up 
within  a  short  distance  opened  fire,  shooting  several  of  the  battery  horses,  and 
causing  the  men  to  desert  their  guns.  At  the  same  time  the  line  in  front 
charged  :  passing  on  a  short  distance,  the  line  halted  and  threw  up  entrench- 
ments. The  loss  was  two  killed  and  thirty -one  Avounded.  In  the  first  charge 
upon  the  enemy's  breastworks,  Sergeant  Charles  Marquette  distinguished  him- 
self by  capturing  a  rebel  flag  for  which  he  received  a  medal  of  honor.  During 
the  night  the  enemy  evacuated  Peter.sburg,  and  early  on  the  following  morn- 
ing the  corps  moved  south  to  Burkeville  Junction.  Then  ensued  the  most 
remarkable  flight  and  pursuit  the  world  ever  saw.  The  cavalry  hanging  like 
a  bloodhound  on  the  flanks  of  the  flying  foe,  and  the  infantry  on  the  rear. 
With  no  time  to  sleep  or  rest,  and  nothing  to  eat,  the  general-in-chief  issued 
his  famous  '•starvation  order,  "  appealing  to  the  patriotism  and  endurance  of 
the  soldier,  that  as  in  the  past,  they  had  dared  death  from  ball,  bomb  and 
battery,  they  would  now  face  death  from  want  of  rations,  as  it  was  impos- 
sible to  bring  up  the  commissary  train.  The  response  to  this  appeal  was  en- 
thusiastic. On  the  6th,  the  regiment  participated  in  the  battle  of  Sailor's  Creek. 
On  the  9th,  Lee  surrendered  and  .soon  after  the  corps  made  a  forced  march  to 
Danville,  to  co-operate  with  Sherman  in  the  defeat  of  Johnston.     After  re- 


506  Pennsylvania  at  GHiysburg. 

maining  in  camp  there  for  several  weeks,  it  returned  by  rail  to  Richmond, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  C.  W.  Eckman,  and  thence  to  Washington  where, 
on  the  27th  of  June,  it  was  mustered  out  of  service.  The  Ninety-third  Kegi- 
ment  Veteran  Volunteers  has  a  reputation  tliat  no  member  of  that  organization 
need  be  ashamed  of  Nay,  she  has  won  a  grand  historic  position  that  the  great 
Keystone  State  and  the  nation  at  large  can  well  be  proud  of.  It  was  compo.sed 
chiefly  of  the  middle  cla.sses  of  society',  yoemen,  men  that  sprang  spontane- 
ously and  patriotically  to  their  country's  call.  On  the  9th  of  September,  1862, 
Rev.  J.  S.  Lame,  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Middletown, 
Pennsylvania,  was  elected  and  commissioned  chaplain  of  the  regiment,  having 
succeeded  Rev.  Mr.  Quimby,  who  had  died  in  the  service.  During  winter 
quarters  a  large  log  chapel  was  erected,  a  literary  society  organized,  litera- 
ture distributed,  preaching  and  meetings  held  nightly.  Intellectual,  moral 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  men  being  looked  after  by  the  chaplain,  who  was 
always  treated  with  the  tenderest  respect  by  the  men.  We  may  close  appro- 
priately in  the  words  of  General  Wheatou.  "The  great  Keystone  State  has 
sent  few  regiments  to  the  field  who  can  return  showing  as  handsome  a  record." 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

95™  REGIMENT   INFANTRY 

July  2,  1888 

ADDRESS  OF  WILLIAM  J.  AYRES,  ESQ. 

YOUR  faithfulness  and  devotion  has  brought  you  here  to  dedicate  this 
memorial  of  triumph.  You  have  come  here  to  commit  to  faithful 
memory;  to  mark  your  page  in  the  story  of  Gettysburg;  to  point  to  an 
incident  in  the  history  of  the  service  of  the  Ninety-fifth  Pennsj'lvania 
Volunteers.  The  drama  of  war  is  ended;  the  discord  of  battle  and  of  civil 
strife  that  was  once  familiar  sounds  has  closed  these  many  years. 

The  great  whirlwind  of  battle  that  swept  around  about  here  twenty-five 
years  ago,  has  given  place  to  soft  summer  zephyrs  of  peace. 

On  the  fields  plowed  by  fierce  artillery,  deep  dyed  Avith  noble  l)lood,  the 
wheat  and  grasses  have  danced  these  many  summers  gone. 

Thus  does  nature  .seek  to  cover  up  her  wounds,  but  in  natural  convulsion, 
she  leaves  .scars  for  signs  that  those  who  .study  nature  can  understand.  And 
wc  erect  these  monument.s  here,  so  that  those  who  come  here  may  read  of  a 
nation's  convulsion,  in  purging  herself  of  the  dark  .spot  on  the  stars  and  stripes. 

We  would  say  nothing  unkind  or  ungenerous  of  those  brave  boys  in  gray 
who  fought  against  you  ;   they  were  brave  men  and  believed  in  their  cause. 

We  claim  no  rights  we  do  not  freely  give;  we  demand  no  restraint  that  we 
do  not  freely  .submit  to  ourselves. 

Yielding  a  full  obedience  to  the  constitution  and  llu;  hi\\,  e([ual  rights  to  all, 
now,  as  in  the  past,  you  are  brave  men. 

Angels  look  downward  from  the  skies 

Upon  no  holier  ground, 
Than  where  defeated  valor  lies. 

By  generous  foeman  crowned. 


PHOTO.    BY  W.  H.  TIPTON,  GETTYSBURG, 


rN«.wT  ^0.,  PH._A, 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  507 

And  we  hope  that  these  monuments  dedicated  at  this  reunion  will  be  memorials 
ol'  true  reconciliation. 

This  monument  we  dedicate  is  not  a  monument  of  sorrow;  twenty-five  years 
has  brought  too  many  changes  to  mourn;  new  joys,  new  sorrows  have  come 
to  all. 

This  is  a  memorial  of  honor. 

"In  honor  of  mothers  who  bade  their  sons  do  brave  deeds, 

"In  honor  of  wives  who  wept  for  husbands  wlio  should  never  come  home 
again, 

*'Iu  honor  of  children  wliose  heritage  is  tlieir  fallen  father's  heroic  name, 

'•In  honor  of  men  who  counted  not  their  lives  dear,  when  their  country 
needed  them, 

'"Of  those  alike  who  sleep  beside  the  dust  of  their  kindred  or  in  nameless 
graves,  where  only  angels  stand  sentinels  till  the  reveille  of  the  resurrection 
morning. 

''In  honor  of  you  with  your  life's  pleasures  and  opportunities  les.sened  by 
wounds  of  battle,  or  seeds  of  disease  from  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy. 

''In  honor  of  all  tnre  men  of  the  '  Ninety-fiftli '  whom  we  cannot  by  name 
identify." 

When  Gosline's  Pennsylvania  Zouaves  marched  from  their  camp  at  Heston- 
ville  that  briglit  October  morning,  1861,  it  was  not  as  soldiers  of  conquest. 
But  you  went  forth  to  save.  To  save  as  patriots.  You  did  not  know  what 
"was  to  be  the  final  result  when  you  stood  your  Ijaptismal  lire,  and  saw  for  the 
first  time  your  comrades  fiilling  with  the  death  wound,  you  were  there  to  save, 
lighting  to  save. 

And  as  apart,  a  unit,  of  the  unconquerable  Sixth  Corps,  you  aided  in  rescu- 
ing from  the  fires  of  war  and  death  our  glorious  system  of  constitutional  gov- 
ernment. 

When  Mrs.  Gosliue  and  other  fair  ladies  of  Philadelphia  placed  this  flag, 
tlieir  gift,  in  your  keeping  and  y)ade  you  bear  it  bravely  in  your  country's 
cause,  it  was  a  .sacred  trust;  nobly  have  you  fulfilled  that  trust. 

Had  I  marched  beneath  the  folds  of  that  flag,  or  been  old  enough  to  have  fol- 
lowed it  with  the  "Ninetj'-fifth,"  with  what  success  could  I  touch  the  mystic 
chords  of  memory,  that  from  Camp  Franklin  stretched  far  away  across  the  old 
Virginia  battle-fields  and  camping  grounds,  in  rifle  i)its,or  dreary  muddy  marches. 

But  no,  I  can  but  echo  what  others  have  said  of  how  at  West  Point  you  shed 
your  first  blood  on  the  .sacrificial  altar.  Of  the  camp  on  the  Chickahominy;  of 
that  cruel  aff'air  of  Gaines'  Mill  where  death  robbed  you  of  Gosline,  Hubbs, 
iJonohue,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  brave  boys  killed  and  wounded. 

Time  does  not  permit  me  to  call  to  your  minds  the  many  scenes  that  occurred 
in  the  Peninsular  campaign  and  the  memorable  change  of  base,  and  how 
that  bright  handsome  zouave  uniform  had  changed — now  soiled,  ragged  and 
torn,  and  how  tho.se  bright  fresh  boj'ish  iaces  had  changed  to  hard,  fierce,  de- 
termined men ;  how  eyes  that  had  looked  with  love  on  that  dear  old  flag  closed 
in  the  long  sleep,  or,  how  familiar  voices  of  messmates  and  comrades  were 
hushed  in  the  long  silence  of  death. 

Do  you  remember  one  beautiful  Sabbath,  on  the  14th  of  September,  1862.  Do 
you  recall  the  battle  of  Crampton's  Pass,  and  how  victory  inspired  you,  after  many 
di.sappointments  ;  some  are  here  no  doubt  that  charged  xip  that  steep  South 
Mountain  and  shared  in  the  glories  of  that  victorv. 


508  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

At  Antietam,  your  courage  and  fighting  qualities  were  next  tested,  and  you 
were  true  to  the  test.  Fredericksburg  follows,  and  the  year  closes  with  dark 
clouds  hanging  over  the  Union  cause. 

Salem  Heights  !  the  name  is  enough  to  recall  to  you  painful  memories  of  the 
fierce  desperate  struggle,  and  sad  and  mournful  must  have  been  that  night  of 
picket  on  the  field  of  battle  ;  here  brave  Town,  Hall,  Dunton,  and  more  than 
two  hundred  brave  boys  of  the  Ninety-fifth  went  down,  and  fevf  were  left  of 
the  handsome  Gosline  Zouaves  that  had  been  the  pride  of  so  many  hopeful 
hearts. 

But  we  must  hasten  on.  Lee  had  invaded  Pennsylvania.  The  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  following.  The  Sixth  Corps  at  Westminster  had  received  its  orders 
to  hasten,  and  it  was  from  there  to  Gettysburg  that  it  made  the  memorable 
march  of  thirty-nine  miles  in  nine  hours. 

Gettysburg  !  great  writers  have  described  thy  scenes ;  on  thy  loyal  ground 
disloyalty  received  her  death  wound. 

It  would  be  absurd  for  me  to  attempt  to  describe  this  battle;  we  are  on  the 
map;  it  is  spread  before  you,  we  can  study  it. 

You  know  you  were  held  here  as  a  reserve  ;  you  know  of  the  march  to  get 
here  through  that  hot  burning  July  sun.  The  Ninety -fifth  was  called  upon 
for  one  life  here. 

Pettit  received  his  death  here  from  a  sharpshooter  concealed  at  Devil's  Den 
and  six  were  wounded. 

While  I  am  speaking  of  the  service,  let  me  mention  those  two  hundred  and 
forty-five  of  the  original  members  of  the  Ninety-fifth  who  re-enlisted  for  a  sec- 
ond time,  setting  a  noble  example  at  a  time  when  the  terrible  death  struggle 
was  drawing  near,  with  a  full  knowledge  that  what  they  had  gone  through 
with,  the  hardships  and  sufferings,  the  battle  with  all  its  dangers  was  not  the 
worst  that  could  come;  fiercer  and  more  bitter  the  war  would  rage  before  Rich- 
mond would  fall,  fight  after  fight,  blow  after  blow,  not  a  war  of  manoeuvers, 
but  a  war  of  destruction  was  to  wage.  Of  what  noble  patriotism;  never  on  the 
annals  of  war  was  recorded  a  higher,  a  nobler  consecration  than  that  which 
was  made  by  the  veteran  volunteer  soldier  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the  terrible  hells  of  the  Wilderness,  of  the 
deluge  of  forty  days  of  fire  and  death  that  only  ended  at  Cold  Harbor. 

You,  who  have  gone  through  it  all,  do  you  not  often  look  back  with  wonder 
and  ask  yourself  how  you  escaped  the  death-wound. 

Comrades  as  brave,  comrades  cared  for  as  well  as  you;  comrades  the  subject 
of  prayers  as  you  were,  fell  to  rise  no  more. 

We  need  not  go  to  Marathon,  or  dig  up  the  old  heroic  Greeks  for  examples 
of  bravery.  You  men  of  the  Ninety-fifth,  you  fought  as  well,  you  .shed  your 
blood  and  held  j'our  own  on  fields  as  fiercely  contested  as  tliey.  Who  will  dare 
deny  this,  that  knows  of  the  Wilderness  campaign,  where  brave  Carroll  fell  ? 
Who  that  was  with  you  on  the  6th  of  Way,  1864,  will  deny  it? 

And  do  you  remember  the  9th  day  of  Maj',  when  General  John  Sedgwick, 
commander  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  fell? 

On  the  10th  of  May  you  were  in  the  charge  at  the  ridges  of  Spotsylvania, 
led  by  Upton,  and  proud  you  may  well  be  of  this  gradual  approach  to  victory. 

The  12th  of  May  was  the  Bloody  Angle,  and  another  evidence  of  the  courage 
and  fighting  qualities  of  the  Ninety-fifth  was  given  when  you  charged  the 
crest  of  the  "angle"'  and  saved  the  dav. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  509 

Gait  House,  North  and  South  Anna  rivers,  and  we  hasten  on  with  Sheridan's 
troopers.  God  bless  Phil  Sheridan  !  May  he  win  in  this  battle  with  death 
and  remain  long  with  ns  the  beloved  of  the  American  people!  And  then  the 
rifle  pits  in  front  of  Peterslxirg.  Horrors  as  great  as  in  any  war  were  here  en- 
countered. Then,  with  Sheridan  down  the  valley,  Winchester,  when  your  di- 
vision commander,  Russell,  was  killed.  Fisher's  Hill,  New  Market,  Cedar 
Creek,  and  when  the  Sixth  Corps  broke  the  lines  of  Petersburg  and  victory 
crowned  our  standards,  it  was  Corporal  Fox  of  the  "Ninety-fifth"  who  cap- 
tured the  flag  of  the  Confederate  custom  house. 

At  Sailor's  Creek  the  last  blood  of  the  Ninety-fifth  was  poured  on  the  altar, 
and  Appomattox  and  Richmond  was  ours. 

The  cry  that  had  echoed  from  your  heart  when  you  were  on  the  peninsula  of 
"On  to  Richmond,"  had  at  last  been  accomplished.  Your  noble  dead  lay  on 
many  fields  of  battle.  The  Sixth  Corps'  work  is  done.  The  more  we  examine 
the  career  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  more  grand  appear  its  achievements  ;  its  prowess 
of  war  is  a  part  of  history  and  the  names  of  the  gallant  dead  are  on  honor's 
sacred  scroll,  and  memory  held  dear  by  the  surviving  soldiers,  Sedgwick,  Rus- 
sell, Gosline,  Town,  Hall,  Carroll,  Harper,  Topham  and  so  many  others  that 
time  does  not  permit  me  to  give  a  list  of  the  gallant  men  who  gave  all  they 
had  to  their  country;  they  are  remembered  by  some  one;  memory  dear  to 
some  one. 

And  what  matters  it,  when  men  have  given  of  their  utmost  in  intellect,  in 
strength  and  courage,  and  of  their  blood  the  last  drop,  whether  they  fell  with 
the  star  of  the  general,  the  eagle  of  the  colonel,  the  stripe  or  chevron  or  in  the 
simple  jacket  of  the  private.  Wherever  on  fame's  eternal  camping  ground 
their  silent  tents  are  spread,  at  West  Point,  Salem  Church,  Wilderness  or  in 
some  stately  city  of  the  dead,  or  in  that  beautiful  spot  at  West  Laurel  Hill 
where  you  have  selected  a  last  camping  ground  for  the  "Ninety-fifth,'"  the 
earth  that  bears  them  dead  bears  not  alive  more  true  or  noble  men. 

This  may  seem  fulsome  praise  ;  it  is  not.  If  we  do  not  commend  patriotism 
to  whom  shall  we  turn  in  the  hour  of  danger  which  may  come  to  those  who 
succeed  us  here  as  it  did  to  v'ou.  The  example  of  patriotism  teaches  the  young 
to  be  patriots.  The  sight  of  such  memorials  as  this  will  teach  to  those  who 
view  it,  and  the  heroic  spirit  Avill  come  in  the  hour  of  trial  and  emergency  and 
fill  the  young  patriot's  breast  as  it  did  yours.  And  may  this  memorial  stand 
when  we  in  tiarn  are  gone,  to  teach  this  lesson  of  duty  nobly  done,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  itself. 

Under  the  inevitable  waste  of  time,  this  as  well  as  all  these  monuments  here- 
about erected  to  mark  this  ])lace  of  glory,  may,  must,  crumble  and  fall. 

Long  may  this  structure  stand — undisturbed  by  man  or  the  elements.  May 
centuries  outnumbering  those  that  look  down  upon  the  pyramids  roll  on  and 
find  this  memorial  preserved.  May  it  endure  in  the  years  to  come  that  those 
who  see  it  will  be  inspired  to  know  that  honor  is  more  than  wealth,  and  right 
is  more  than  peace,  and  heroic  deeds  more  than  life. 

You,  survivors  of  Gosline's,  you  of  the  Ninety-fifth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
you  that  followed  this  flag  when  it  was  bright  and  new,  as  soldiers  of  the 
Union  in  its  mortal  struggle,  your  work  is  almost  done.  You  may  gather  to- 
gether again,  you  may  meet  and  fold  the  dear  old  flag  around  the  form  of  some 
comrade,  but  no  new  recruits  come  to  strengthen  your  broken  ranks.  The  steady 
resistless  artillery  of  time  hurls  its  deadly  missiles  upon  you.     You  may  face 


510  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

it  iis  bravely  as  yoii  laced  the  foe  at  Salem  Heights  and  Bloody  Angle.  But 
one  by  one  your  numbers  weaken. 

As  we  stand  here  together,  as  we  remember  how  nobly  and  bravely  life's 
work  was  done,  let  us  Imagine  around  and  about  us  are  the  spirits  of  the  brave 
comrades  dead  and  gone,  those  who  stood  with  you  when  you  took  your  solemn 
oath,  and  as  we  leave  to  them  their  pure  and  noble  fame,  as  we  leave  this  spot 
so  sacred,  so  memorable,  may  we  go  forth  exalted  by  this  communion,  and  may 
we  take  up  life's  daily  duties  and  responsibilities  manfnlh'.  Be  as  brave  and 
true  as  in  the  past:  keep  to  the  right  as  you  did  at  the  "  angle,"'  and  may  the 
path  down  the  shady  side  of  life  of  all  the  old  soldiers  of  the  Ninety-fifth  be 
full  oi"  pleasures. 

May  the  glory  of  the  Sixth  Corps  never  grow  dim  and  may  God  preserve  the 
cause  you  helped  to  gain. 


THE  NINETY-FIFTH  PENNSYLVANIA    VOLUNTEERS    AT   GETTYS- 
BURG 

THE  Ninety-fifth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  of  Russell's  Brigade,  Brooks' 
Division,  Sixth  Corps,  arrived  upon  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg  about 
3  p.  m.,  of  July  2,  after  a  fatiguing  forced  march  of  thirty-seven  miles. 
The  regiment  suffered  but  little  from  straggling  so  anxious  were  the 
men  to  reach  the  field  oi  battle. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  the  divisions  and  brigades  composing  it 
were  at  once  pushed  forward  to  such  points  as  required  assistance.  The  Ninety- 
fifth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  numbering  about  three  hundred  and  titty  men, 
fixed  bayonets  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  brigade,  were  ordered  into  position 
on  the  right  of  Little  Round  Top  in  support  of  Second  Brigade.  Third  Division. 
The  regiment  maintained  their  position  until  evening  when  pickets  were 
thrown  out;  they  al.so  a.ssisted  in  rescuing  and  assisting  such  wounded  as  lay 
within  our  reach  during  the  night. 

July  3,  in  same  position  under  fire  of  enemy's  sharpshooters;  one  enlisted 
man  killed  and  one  wounded;  the  regiment  held  in  readiness  to  advance  at  a 
moment's  notice.     Held  the  .same  position  during  the  night  with  pickets  out. 

July  4,  in  same  position  awaiting  orders. 

July  5.  advanced  with  the  Sixth  Corps  in  pursuit  of  the  letreating  enemy. 

The  Ninety-fifth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  while  on  the  march  to  and  at  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  was  commanded  by  the  .senior  line  officer.  Captain  Edwaid 
Carroll  of  Company  F.  The  whole  of  the  regimental  field  and  i)art  of  the  statV 
fell  at  the  battle  of  Salem  Heights,  May  3,  1863. 

Colonel  Town  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hall  were  killed  and  Major  Town  sev- 
erely wounded.  Captain  Carroll  was  subsequently  i)romoted  Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel and  killed  in  action  while  leading  the  regiment  in  the  Wilderness  campaign 
of  1864. 


PciiiDiiilvduid   ill    (i'ttytihuTij.  511 


DEDICATION   OF    MONL'MENT 

96^"  REGFMENT    INFANTRY 

Jink  21,  iSSS 
ADDRESS    ];V   COLONEL  IIEXRV  ROVER. 

C^O.AFKADES  of  the  NiiuM v-si\tli  Peunsylvania  Volunteers:  -We  are  met 
again,  not  in  tlie  panoply  of  war.  but  as  peaceful  citizens  of  the  repuh- 
li(-.  AVe  are  here  to  unveil  the  beautiful  stone  which  marks  the  sjiot 
wliere  our  regiment  fought  twenty-live  years  ago. 

The  monument,  the  artistic  merit  of  which  reflects  great  credit  upon  llie 
young  artist  who  designed  it,  bears  upon  its  face  the  history  of  our  organization. 
The  surmounting  figure  indicates  its  defensive  attitude  throughout  the  engage- 
ment. The  inscriptions  designate  the  county  and  state  from  whence  it  came, 
and  the  position  it  held,  from  first  to  last,  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  It  is 
a  noteworthy  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Ninety-sixth,  that  it  was  one  of  the  very 
few  regiments  whose  enlistment  was  authorized  by  an  order  direct  from  the 
"War  Department.  It  was  therefore  organized  and  mustered  into  the  service 
at  its  liome  as  the  monument  declares. 

An  accountof  the  three  longyears  of  service,  the  thrilling  details  of  life  in  tlie 
camp,  on  the  march  and  in  the  field,  must  be  the  task  of  the  regimental  his- 
torian. This  day's  event,  however,  would  be  incomplete  without  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  salient  features  of  that  service. 

Vour  first  camp,  which  for  two  months  had  nestled  amidst  the  loyal  liills  of 
Schuylkill  county,  was  broken  up  in  November,  1861,  when  you  departed  from 
3'our  mountain  home  for  the  more  stining  scenes  of  war.  On  your  arrival  at 
"\Va.shington,  you  Avere  at  once  in  the  heart  of  a  great  army.  To  men  fresh 
from  the  employments  of  peace,  strange,  almost  weird,  .seemed  the  din  and  tu- 
mult. Having  been  speedily  assigned  to  the  brigade  of  General  Slocum,  of 
General  Franklin's  Di^•ision,  your  march  from  the  temporary  quarters  near  lila- 
densVjurg  to  "Washington,  down  Pennsylvania  avenue.  acro.ss  the  Long  Bridge, 
through  and  beyond  Alexandria  to  Fairfa.x  Seminary  in  Virginia,  brought  you 
to  the  then  immediate  front.  In  camps  of  instruction  you  here  pa.ssed  the  few 
remaining  weeks  of  winter,  in  full  view  of  the  great  dome  of  the  national  capi- 
tol  in  your  rear,  and  of  the  enemy's  flag  at  iSIunson's  Hill,  in  your  front.  Tlie 
daily  routine  of  drill  and  picket  duty,  familiarized  you  with  danger,  and  in- 
ured you  to  the  hardships  of  your  many  subsequent  campaigns.  You  then 
thought  it  war,  but  it  was  only  the  preparation  for  war. 

Under  the  famous  "  Order  No.  1  "  you  advanced  in  tlie  early  spring,  with 
llie  army  toward  Centerville,  when,  the  enemy  having  fallen  back,  you  returned 
to  your  camp.  Again,  while  the  army,  under  General  McClellan,  was  being 
transferred  to  the  I'eninsula,  you  finally  marched  in  the  corps  of  General  Mc- 
Dowell to"Warrenton,  whence,  being  recalled,  and  trans]K)rted  down  Chesapeake 
baj',  you  arrived  at  Yorktown  at  the  moment  of  its  evacuation.  Passing  up 
York  river,  upon  the  flank  of  the  retreating  enemy,  at  "West  Point,  on  May  (i, 
you  received  your  bapti.sm  of  fire.  It  was  then  a  battle.  In  liistory  it  is  re- 
corded as  a  slight  skirmish. 

And  now,  in  and  a>)ont  the  swamps  of  Chickahominy,  began   that  long  con- 


512  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

tiimetl  and  dreadful  sufVeriug  aud  slaugliter  which  ended  in  the  memorable 
' '  Seven  days  belore  Richmond. ' '  Marching  by  night  and  lighting  by  day,  your 
baptism  was  here  confirmed  in  blood  ;  eighty-eight  of  your  comrades  having 
been  placed  hors  de  combat  in  the  single  battle  of  Gaines'  Hill  alone.  Hence- 
forth the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ranked  with  the  veteran  armies  of  the  earth. 

The  scene  then  shifted  to  Northern  Virginia.  In  covering  the  withdrawal  of 
the  army  from  Harrison's  Landing,  the  Sixth  Corps  marched  down  the  Penin- 
sula to  Newport  News,  was  then  conveyed  to  Alexandria,  and,  by  a  rapid 
march,  reached  the  army  of  General  Pope  in  time  to  participate  in  its  retreat. 
In  that  retreat,  you  well  remember  the  stormy  midnight  march,  in  which,  with 
bayonets  fixed,  you  passed  the  battle-field  of  Chantilly,  where  had  just  fallen 
so  many  of  your  brave  Schuylkill  county  comrades  of  the  Forty-eighth  and 
Fiftieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  Then  followed  under  General  McClellan 
the  short  but  brilliant  campaign  into  Maryland,  and  the  decisive  battles  of 
South  Mountain  and  Antietam.  And  here  we  pause  long  enough  to  gather 
around  and  drop  a  tear  upon  the  graves  of  our  many — many  comrades  who  went 
to  sleep  under  the  mountain  shadows. 

Southward  again,  under  General  Burnside,  in  December  of  the  same  year, 
you  advance  to  the  disaster  of  Fredericksburg  ;  and,  at  last,  rest  in  winter 
quarters  on  tlie  plain  near  that  ill-fated  spot  ;  the  monotony  of  the  second  winter 
camp  being  broken  only  by  the  fiimous,  but  unsuccessful  "  march  in  the  mud," 
under  the  same  general. 

As  life  once  more  quickened  the  pulse  of  spring,  the  bugle  sounded  the  march 
under  the  dashing  General  Hooker.  Then  came  the  brilliantly  conceived  move- 
ment to  Chancellorsville,  in  which,  acro.ss  the  Rappahannock,  at  Salem  Church, 
your  regiment  was  again  decimated,  and  Ijarely  escaped  destruction.  And  now, 
under  General  Meade,  you  follow  the  northward  march  of  the  army,  through 
Maryland  to  this — the  soil  of  your  native  State.  The  battle  of  Gettysburg  had 
already  begun.  Thirtj'-six  miles  awa,y,  at  Manchester,  you  heard  your  com- 
rades' cry  for  help  just  before  the  dawn  of  July  2.  Before  4  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  that  same  day,  your  impregnable  ranks  confronted  the  victorious 
and  advancing  foe,  upon  the  very  ground  where  we  are  now  assembled.  Here, 
wheeling  into  line,  your  columns  unfalteringly  held  this  position  to  the  end. 
It  has  been  affirmed  l>y  men  skilled  in  military  science,  that  the  struggle  of 
July  2,  at  this  part  of  the  field,  was  the  turning-point  of  the  battle.  By  one 
of  the  strange  freaks  of  war,  the  Sixth  Corps,  with  inconsiderable  loss  and  by 
her  opportune  arrival  alone,  decided  the  fortune  of  that  day. 

It  has  seemed  that,  with  this  gigantic  combat,  courage  and  fortitude  had 
reached  its  limit;  that  human  eiulurance  had  been  exhausted.  Nay  !  the  tide 
of  war  was  only  to  roll  back  to  its  accustomed  channels.  Ere  the  thunder  of 
artillery  had  ceased  to  reverberate  along  these  valleys  you  were  again  on  the 
march.  Your  advance,  on  July  6,  brought  you  into  a  sliarp  engagement  at  F'air- 
finld,  ten  miles  away.  On  southward  went  the  combatants,  until  the  Potomac 
was  passed.  Then  began,  Ainder  the  skilful  General  Meade,  a  .succession  pf 
brilliant  .strategic  movements,  covering  the  arena  between  Centervilleand  Mine 
];nn.  There  were  innumerable  marches,  reconnaissances,  .skirmishes  and  a  bril- 
liant victory  at  Rappahannock  Station,  in  all  of  which  you  ])articipated,  and, 
at  their  clo.se,  withdrew  to  your  last  winter  cam]),  at  Cul])eper,  on  the  liap- 
idaii. 

The  succeeding  months  of  repose  were  but  the  calm  that  precedes  the  bur.st- 


Peim.sylvania  at  Gettysburg.  513 

ing  storm.  By  common  consent,  the  ensuing  canipaijijn.  under  the  great  com- 
mander, fjr  its  pertinacity  and  carnage,  is  unparalleled  in  the  annals  ot"  war- 
fare. For  one  long  month  the  surge  of  battle  rolled  between  the  Rapidan  and 
the  Chiclcahominy,  at  a  cost  of  thirty  thousand  men  to  the  Army  of  the  Union. 
The  mind  is  appalled,  and  language  powerless  to  descTibe.  To  say  that  you 
were  there,  in  your  accustomed  place,  were  enough,  and  ^-et  not  enough  for 
the  fulness  of  the  truth. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  the  Ninety-sixth  was  one  of  twelve  selected  regiments, 
which,  in  three  lines,  under  the  command  of  the  ardent  General  Emory  Upton, 
made  for  that  day,  the  final  desperate  and  successful  charge  at  Spotsylvania. 
Such  a  charge,  under  such  a  leader,  was  resistless.  In  tin;  front  center  of  that 
column  you  swept  over  the  enemy's  works  to  victory,  but  with  the  frightful 
sacrifice  of  one-half  of  all  who  were  in  the  action.  As  if  your  record  had  not 
already  been  written  in  blood,  your  pitiful  remnant  again  closes  up  its  ranks 
at  Cold  Harbor  ;  and  there,  in  sight  of  the  old  battle-fields  of  1862,  in  the  early 
days  of  June,  you  i^lace  the  last  offering  on  your  country's  altar  in  the  death  of 
your  adjutant. 

From  Petersburg  you  return,  in  July  to  the  defense  of  Wasliington.  Then 
you  go  down  the  valley  with  General  Sheridan,  to  the  battle  of  Winchester  ;  in 
which  you  were  denied  participation  by  your  commanding  general,  who  declared 
that  to  permit  further  sacrifice  from  the  Ninety -sixth  on  the  last  da\'  of  its  ser- 
vice, would  be  murder. 

This  brief  summary  contains  only  a  bare  outline  of  your  services.  In  the 
interest  of  history,  your  achievements  can  be  best  epitomized  by  the  simple 
story  of  your  muster  rolls.  They  bear,  in  all,  the  names  ofeleAen  hundred  and 
forty-nine  men,  including  musicians)  and  teamsters  ;  while  the  loss  from  dis- 
ease and  battle  reaches  the  enormous  aggregate  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-seven. 

The  events  we  have  narrated  belong  to  the  past.  Their  record  will  challenge 
the  attention  and  command  the  admiration  of  mankind.  But,  to  3'ou  alone,  is 
it  permitted  to  vividh'  realize  them.  You  were  at  the  forefront  when  your  com- 
rade fell  upon  the  rampart.  You  alone  saw  the  ghastly  wound  where  the  .soul 
went  out.     To  you  it  is  a  vivid  memory,  and  even  to  you  a  memory  only. 

But,  comrades,  we  come  not  into  the  presence  of  these  patriot  dead  to  vaunt 
our  own  deeds.  AVe  are  met  rather  to  jjerlbrm  a  sacred  duty,  to  the  end  that 
this  imperishable  memorial  may  be  completed.  In  the  discharge  of  that  (\\\\j, 
yovL  place  your  chaplet  upon  the  altar  in  the  name  of  the  Ninety-sixth  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers,  but  in  honor  of  the  great  county  from  whence  you  came,  and 
in  memory  of  the  patriotism  and  heroic  valor  of  the  whole  army.  Your  regi- 
ment was  distinctivly  a  Schuylkill  countj'  organization.  It  had  been  orga- 
nized and  mustered  into  the  service  at  home.  And  yet,  it  represented  less  than 
one-tenth  of  the  brave  men  who  have  shed  luster  upon  her  name.  From  within 
her  borders,  exclusively  also,  came  the  Forty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
that  splendid  regiment,  which,  to  devotion  and  fortitude,  added  ihe  matchless 
skill  and  cunning  that  fashioned  the  famous  mine  at  Petersburg.  And,  besides 
these,  came  parts  also  of  many  other  Pennsylvania  regiments  ;  notably  the 
Fiftieth,  Fifty-fifth,  One  hundred  and  twenty-seventh.  One  hundred  and  twenty- 
ninth  and  One  hundred  and  fifty-first  infantry  ;  and  the  Third,  Seventh  and 
Seventeenth  cavalry.  And  by  hosts  of  others,  singly  and  in  groups,  was  she 
represented  in  the  organizations  of  every  State  from  Maine  to  California.  And, 
be  it  not  forgotten,  that  when  the  danger  signal  sounded  in  the  darkness  of  the 
33 


514^  Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg. 

iiifjlit,  she  furnished  two  ol'the  live  companies,  which,  emergiuy  from  tlie  gknjm, 
tirst  appeared  upon  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  Her  Mrst  defenders  formed  the 
vanguard  of  the  Army  of  the  Union  ;  her  more  than  thirteen  thousand  citizen 
soldiers  helped  to  augment  its  columns  ;  her  loyal  sons  have  crimsoned  with 
their  blood  a  liundred  battle-fields.  Her  exalted  patriotism  has  swelled  the 
ranks  of  the  nameless  dead  ;  and,  oh!  most  fitting  privilege,  here  too,  upon 
the  ground  she  helped  to  consecrate,  her  enduring  tablet  becomes  a  part  of  this 
inspiring  altar  of  patriotism. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg,  although  only  one  of  the  thou.sand  sanguinary 
battles  that  were  fought  upon  the  strategic  line  of  operations,  was  the  turning- 
jwint  of  the  war.  For  this  reason,  and  because  of  its  magnitude,  it  has  been 
cho.sen  to  represent  them  all.  Here,  upon  this  part  of  the  great  line,  is  to  be 
erected  a  visible  diagram,  so  to  speak,  of  the  positions  and  movements  of  the 
forces.  All  were  not  upon  this  identical  field  ;  and  yet,  from  this  spot,  the 
pilgrim,  come  from  whence  he  may,  will  see  the  embattled  hosts  and  hear  their 
shouts  away  to  the  far  Mississi^jpi  and  the  gulf  The  Forty-eighth  was  not  here, 
but  he  will  distinctly  hear  the  roll  of  her  musketry  at  Antietam  Bridge  and 
Frederickslnirg.  Nor  was  the  Fiftieth  here,  yet  will  he  hear  her  battle-cry  at 
Bull  Run  and  Chantilly,  and  see  her  ranks  of  steel  closing  around  the  heights 
of  Vicksburg.  He  will  see  them  all  and  hear  them  all  ;  and,  having  learned 
the  lesson  of  their  sacrifice,  will  go  hence  with  renewed  inspiration  to  battle 
for  the  right. 

We  were  actors  in  this  diania,  and  now,  my  friends,  have  we,  ourselves,  be- 
come .spectators.  The  smoke  of  the  conllict  has  lifted.  The  feelings  and  pas- 
sions which  were  intensified  by  it  have  pa.ssed  away,  A  clearer  vision  now 
reveals  it  as  a  link  in  the  chain  of  events  connecting  the  past  and  future. 

It  was  reserved  for  this  continent  to  develop  in  the  men  who  fought  here  the 
full  .stature  of  manhood.  The  combatants  were  men  of  the  .same  race.  They 
were  united  by  the  ties  of  a  common  brotherhood.  The}'  were  impelled  by 
tlie  .same  motives,  and  guided  by  tlie  same  destiny.  They  were  both  the  sons 
of  the  sires  of  '76.  They  were  alike  the  descendents  of  the  liberty-loving  men 
who  founded  this  great  empire.  And  more,  they  belong  to  the  .same  race  of 
men  who,  in  other  lauds,  liave  for  ages  fought  the  battles  of  the  people:  the 
kinship  to  whom  we  trace  in  the  very  names  of  those  who,  upon  either  side, 
wliether  right  or  wrong,  here  fought  for  a  principle.  They  were  all  men  of 
exalted  character — enlightened,  vigilant,  brave  and  noble  men.  The}-  were 
men  who  had  been  reared  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  in  love  for  their  fellowmen; 
men  with  whom  the  performance  of  duty  is  a  privilege;  men  who  dare  to  de- 
fend the  right,  as  they  know  it;  the  kind  of  men  that  heroes  and  martyrs  are 
nuide  ol'.  The  uprising  of  the  North,  indeed  the  unanimity  of  botli  .sections, 
was  so  phenomenal,  that  it  could  have  been  true  of  such  men  only.  At  the 
first  overt  act  great  armies,  as  if  by  magic,  sprang  to  life.  Political  and  other 
distinctions  were  put  aside.  Men  flocked  to  either  standard,  from  every  avenue 
of  life,  each  vicing  witl.  the  other  in  their  zeal.  Such  men  needed  not  the 
matron's  injunction  to  be  brave,  for  they  loved  their  cau.se  better  than  life  itself. 
These  were  the  men — thrice  noble  men.  The  struggle  was  in  accord  with  their 
character.     It  w;is  a  battle  of  giants — grand  in  action — mighty  in  result. 

But  whence  came  this  demon  of  discord?  Did  not  their  fiithers  and  ours  to- 
gether set  up  a  home  in  the  wilderness?  Did  they  not  share  the  privations 
;;nd  dangers  of  the  pioneer?     Did  they  not.  with  one  accord,  here  plant  the 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  515 

sUindard  of  religious  uiul  jwliticul  liberty,  under  whicli  the  down-trodden  mil- 
lions might  liud  refuge  from  the  perseeutions  of  tyranny  and  easte?  Did  they 
not.  as  brothers,  side  by  side,  from  Bunker  Hill  to  Charleston,  light  the  battles 
of  the  Revolution?  I>id  not  these  same  fathers  unite  in  the  ereetion  of  a  new 
nation  '"eoneeived  irt  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are 
created  equal?"  And,  linally.  did  they  not.  with  their  intermingled  Idood, 
protect  and  defend  that  nation?  Whence  then  this  civil  strife?  Alas!  they 
struck  the  yoke  from  oir  their  own  neck,  but  permitted  it  to  remain  on  that 
of  their  bondmen.  'Whether  Irom  policy  or  necessity,  they  placed  human 
slavery  under  the  safeguard  of  law;  and  thus,  as  if  in  solemn  mockery,  jjlanted 
an  aristocracy  within  a  republic.  As  right  and  wrong,  so  freedom  and  slavery 
cannot  dwell  together  in  harmony.  The  seed  of  dissension  .speedily  took  root. 
First  men  then  sections  became  estranged.  AihI  here;  was  presented  the'  anom- 
alous spectacle  of  good  and  great  men  in  angry  controversy  about  a  principle 
whicli  their  fathers  had  declared  to  be  a  self-evident  truth.  A  heritage,  so 
rich  in  the  antecedents  of  the  sires,  could  not  at  once  be  lost  to  the  .sons.  They 
clung  to  the  Union,  but  the  conflict  was  irrepre.s.sible.  The  breach  widened. 
Men  split  hairs  alx)ut  the  letter  of  the  law,  while  they  lost  sight  of  its  spirit. 
From  antagonism  came  violent  contention  and  turmoil.  Demands  compro- 
mises— concessions — everything  was  in  vain.  The  acrimony  of  debate  ga^e 
way  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  Then  came  the  contlict,  as  the  shock  of 
a  mighty  storm.  The  lovers  of  liberty  throughout  the  earth  stood  aghast. 
Their  longing  eyes  had  been  turned  toward  this  nation.  They  had  witnessed 
its  birth  and  dedication  to  liberty.  They  had  watched  with  anxious  .solicitude 
its  growing  strength  and  greatness.  Around  it  had  clustered  their  tenderest 
sympathies;  their  fondest  hope  of  final  deliverance.  For,  just  as  this  battle 
was  the  turning  point  of  war,  so  was  the  conflict  itself  the  culmination  of  a 
great  struggle  which  had  been  going  on  for  centuries.  Need  we  wonder  that 
men  said  ''this  is  God's  war?"'  Ought  we  not  rather  wonder  that  men  in- 
dulged in  doubt  or  despair?  In  that  tribunal  the  God  of  battles  is  the  arbiter, 
and  the  verdict  cannot  but  be  in  accord  with  divine  justice.  Thanks  be  to 
(.JodI  the  arbitrament  is  final.  The  nation  has  received  "a  new  birth  of  free- 
dom; and  government  by  the  people,  of  the  people  and  for  the  jjeople  shall 
not  perish  from  the  earth."  The  ordeal  is  at  an  end.  The  Union  has  been 
preserved.  The  nation  has  arisen  purified — redeemed.  Joy  and  thanksgiving 
fill  the  hearts  of  men. 

From  all  Ibrmer  civil  wars  had  uniformly  proceeded  the  downfall  of  the  re- 
public. From  this,  the  greatest  of  all,  came  the  utter  destruction  of  the  wrong 
which  produced  it.  With  the  collapse  of  the  rebellion  not  onl^'  was  slavery 
wiped  out,  but  with  it,  the  whole  social  fabric  which  .sprang  fri)m  it.  The 
South,  in  upholding  that  wrong,  had  submitted  its  existence  to  the  decision  of 
the  sword,  and  by  the  sword  it  died.  The  i.ssue  long  trembled  in  the  balance, 
but,  when  the  verdict  came,  it  was  final. 

The  war  for  the  restoration  of  the  Union  had  been  waged  "  with  malice  to- 
ward none — with  charity  for  all.'  The  same  .spirit  continued  in  the  return  to 
peace.  Upon  the  one  side  no  unnecessary  conditions  were  imposed;  nor  was 
there  undue  resentment  and  prolonged  animosity  on  the  other.  There  ap- 
peared to  be  an  instinctive  recognition  of  the  fact,  that  the  sins  of  the  fathers 
had  been  expiated  and  purged  from  the  body  politic.  The  transition  from  war 
to  peace  was,  therefore,  instant — so  (juick  that  men  marvelled   at  it.     It  wa.s, 


516  Pnifi  sylvan  in  (ft  Gettysburg. 

indeed,  a  spectacle  of  unexampleil  lu'ioisin.  Aye,  morel  it  was  a  sublime 
tribute  to  the  blessed  Christian  civilization  of  this  nineteenth  century.  Here 
had  armed  hosts  been  engaged  in  a  death  struggle.  For  four  weary  years  war, 
with  its  passions,  had  scourged  the  land.  Homes  had  been  broken  up,  and 
families  destroyed.  And  yet,  barely  had  the  deadly  strife  ended,  ere  the  re- 
sult was  acquiesced  in  by  all.  With  manly  dignity  the  combatants  parted. 
There  was  no  humiliation — no  exultation.  Quietly  and  .sadly  they  turned 
their  faces  homeward.  A  millioTi  mailed  warriors,  inured  to  scenes  of  blood, 
at  once  resumed  the  pursuits  of  peaceful  industry.  Had  not  this  magnanimity 
succeeded  the  triumph  of  arms,  the  victory  would  have  been  barren.  Could 
the  martyr-president  have  Jbreseen  that,  within  one  generation,  both  victor  and 
vanquished  would  unite  in  fraternal  gatherings  upon  this  very  field,  his  mighty 
soul  would  have  throbbed  with  joy. 

A  score  and  three  years  have  passed  since  peace  was  ushered  in.  The  Iruil- 
ao'C  of  that  peace  has  already  been  abundant.  In  the  short  interval  the  growth 
in  wealth  and  po]iula'tion  has  been  marvellous.  A  (juickened  life  in  the  u.sefnl 
arts  has  multiplied  comforts  throughout  the  homes  of  the  land.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  higher  arts,  also,  though  not  so  obvious,  is  readily  discerned  by 
the  careful  observer.  The  new  birth  of  the  republic  has  everywhere  regene- 
rated the  elements  of  strength  and  greatness.  It  has  been  said  that,  as  man  is 
constituted,  national  greatness  can  come  only  through  war;  that  just  as  the 
atonement  was  necessary  for  the  redemption  of  the  race,  so  is  the  shedding  of 
human  blood  requisite  for  the  making  of  a  great  history  for  a  people;  that  in- 
dividual sacrilice  begets  unity  of  feeling  and  jjatriotic  ardor,  which  stiuuilate 
acts  of  heroism ;  that  the  achievements  of  the  citizen  form  the  materials  for  a 
more  original  and  higher  national  art  and  literature.  If  this  be  so,  then,  surely, 
in  the  stupendous  sacrifices  of  the  American  people  will  this  western  republic 
attain  a  most  glorious  future.  Those  sacrifices,  be  it  remembered,  Avere  made 
for  a  divine  principle — not  in  wars  of  aggression  and  conquest,  but  for  the  wel- 
fare of  humanity.  If  lofty  motives  and  sublime  deeds  are  the  proper  incen- 
tives, American  genius  will  produce,  in  art,  a  revelation  and  an  epic  that  will 
be  classic  forever. 

But  after  all,  my  fellow-citizens,  these  are  but  the  mere  incidents  of  pro- 
gress. We  arc  but  working  out,  vinder  divine  guidance,  the  mystery  of  hu- 
manity. At  each  successive  step  we  ascend  to  a  higher  plane,  and  with  us  are 
elevated  all  the  people.  Our  republic  is,  even  now,  a  pillar  of  fire  to  the  mil- 
lions of  the  earth,  and  a  constant  and  dangerous  menace  to  "sovereigns  by 
the  orace  of  God."  If  we  see  aright,  however,  true  and  enduring  greatness 
will  be  attained  only  when  we  shall  have  established  a  living  faith  in  the 
people's  capacity  for  self-government.  Our  fellow-citizens  of  other  climes  (for 
freedom-loving  m(!n  arc  fellow-citizens  everywhere)  demand  of  us,  that  by  our 
wise  example,  we  may  not  impair  that  faith.  We  owe  it  to  them,  we  owe  to 
ourselves  that,  with  knowledge  to  see  the  right,  we  .shall  have  moral  course 
to  enforce  it. 

If  the  .social  problem  is  to  ))e  wrought  out  in  a  rejjulilic,  there  must  be  de- 
veloped the  very  highest  standard  of  education  and  nu)ral  training.  Wise  laws 
and  pure  administration  depend  upon  the  wisdom  and  integrity  of  the  people. 
They,  therefore,  who  deprecate  the  unlimited  diffusion  of  knowledge,  roveal 
a  lack  of  faith  in  the  people.  They  would  remand  to  the  few  the  power  to 
make  laws  for  the  many.     In  the  bright  light  of  this  era,  such  men  are  out  of 


^  Ponnsylranid  al  (iefti/.shiir<f.  517 

place,  if  not  iji  tlie  worlil,  at  least  in  a  republic.  They  must  either  fall  into 
the  Hue  of  march,  or  they  will  surely  be  lost  in  the  wilderness.  That  "  tlie 
voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God,"  may  not  as  yet  have  been  fully  veri- 
fied, but  tliis  much  has  been  irrevocably  learned,  the  rights  of  the  people  are 
.secure!  only  in  the  keeping  of  wise  and  virtuous  freemen.  In  the  frailty  of 
humanity  errors  and  wrongs  will  occur;  but  in  the  practice  ol"  virtue  will  be 
cultivated  tlie  self-respect  of  the  citizen.  He  will  not  licconie  a  cringing  syco- 
phant to  those  in  authority,  because  the  government  is  of  his  own  creation.  He 
cannot  be  a  mendicant,  asking  alms  from  the  public  pur.se,  for  the  rea,son  that 
he  himself  holds  the  strings  of  that  purse.  The  king  can  do  no  wrong.  From 
the  crown  de.scend  all  rights  to  an  abject  vassal.  The  subject  slave  is  taught 
U)  kneel  at  the  foot  of  power  and  crave  its  supiiort,  but  a  republic  arises  by, 
and  exists  in,  the  sacrifices  of  the  people:  is  supported  by  tlie  toil  of  the  people; 
its  majesty  lies  in  the  people. 

In  this  nation  has  been  hung  llie  himj*  ot  liberty  lo  illuininaif  the  whole 
world.  The  .security  of  the  nation  itst;lf  is  in  your  hands.  Outward  foes  will 
not  willingly  assail  us.  While  the  republic  is  the  home  of  peace,  watchful  of 
her  own  rights  and  considerate  of  the  rights  of  others,  yet  have  men  seen  that 
she  wages  war  with  terrible  earnestness.  The  unequaled  bearing  and  dread- 
ful power  of  her  citizen  soldiery  have  taught  a  salutaiy  lesson,  which,  in  itself, 
is  a  sufficient  guarantee  against  aggression.  The  arnij'  of  the  people,  in  a  de- 
fensive war  (and  a  republic  ought  to  engage  in  no  other)  is  absolutely  invinci- 
ble. We  are  thus  happily  relieved  from  the  maintenance  of  large  .standing 
armies  and  powerful  navies.  The.se  are  always  elements  ol'  weakne.ss;  a  men- 
ace to  peace,  an  excessive  burden  uijon  industry,  and  a  source  of  danger  to 
liberty.  Our  great  pre.sent  and  greater  future  lie  not  in  warlike  pageantry  and 
vain  ostentation,  but  rather  in  the  "  more  renowned  victories  of  peace."  P.y 
these  shall  this  domain  be  the  abode  of  contentment  and  happiness.  Dangers, 
from  whatever  source,  must  be  averted.  This  goodly  heritage  is  in  your  kecj)- 
ing.  By  you  must  it  be  handed  down,  unimpaired  to  the  future.  To  tliat 
end,  your  duty  cannot  cease,  else  all  the.se  .sacrifices  wen;  in  vain.  Zealous  in 
war,  you  must,  in  common  with  your  other  felloAv-citizens,  di.splay  the  same 
devotion  in  the  enforcement  of  obedience  to  the  laws;  in  the  restraint  of  license 
and  disorder;  in  the  abatement  of  party  rancor;  and  in  the  promotion  of  every 
good  and  wi.se  measure  conducive  to  the  general  welfare.  Then,  with  har- 
mony and  concord,  will  continue  the  onward  march  of  the  people. 

And  now  !  my  comrades  !  this  may  be  our  last  reunion.  We  are  exceedingly 
fortunate  both  in  the  event  and  place  of  occurrence.  When  last  you  saw  this 
•around,  it  was  the  "  vale  of  death."  Then  the  fury  and  pa.ssion  of  war  rent 
the  earth,  and  the  sulphurous  fumes  of  battle  stifled  the  air.  Now  these  fields 
blossom  in  quiet  happiness,  and  the  air  is  vocal  with  music  of  birds.  As  the 
lights  are  heightened  by  shadows,  as  the  sunshine  glows  more  brightly  after 
the  broken  storm,  .so  do  you,  to-day,  by  the  contrast,  realize  more  clearly  the 
benign  blessing  of  peace.  Some  of  you  bring  ugly  scars,  and  bodies  weary  with 
wounds,  but  even  to  such  this  blessed  scene  is  an  ample  recompense. 

To  us,  the  Ninety-sixth  Kegiment  is  .something  more  than  a  name — far  more 
than  an  integral  part  of  the  army.  It  is  a  brotherhood  of  comrades,  both  liv- 
ing and  dead,  linked  together  with  hooks  of  steel.  It  is  a  talisman,  whose 
power  over  the  heart  time  can  never  impair.  It  means  for  us  not  only  camp 
life,  midnight  picket  watches,  marches,  battles,  campaigns,  toils,  dangers  and 


518  /'ennf>//h'((nia  af  (reftysbmrf. 

death:  hut  tender  sympatliios,  warm  aflections,  and  noble  loves,  which  were 
born  in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  which  live  on  eveu  alter  death.  I  know  you 
are  even  now  thinking  of  Lew,  and  John,  and  Bill,  and  Tom,  and  Charley, 
those  noble  fellows,  whose  guileless  hearts  were  as  an  open  book  to  us,  and  into 
whose  fearless  eyes  you  so  often  looked,  when 

The  noise  of  battle  hurtled  in  the  air. 

We  learned  to  know  them  so  well.  They  were  killed  by  our  side.  The  last 
look  of  the  eye  and  the  quick  hand  pre.ssure,  beyond  the  power  of  speech,  con- 
veyed their  parting  message  to  home  and  us.  We  buried  them  as  best  we 
could  rudely,  but  tenderly.  We  sang  no  requiem,  save  that  in  the  silence  of 
the  heart.  We  followed  no  ritual,  for,  in  that  awful  solemnity,  none  was  per- 
mitted— none  required.  They  are  dead ;  and  yet,  so  vividly,  even  now,  do  we 
see  them,  we  fain  wo\ild  believe  their  good  spirits  are  hovering  about  us. 
With  joy,  and  the  sorrow  close  akin,  dear,  dear,  departed  comrades  !  we  unveil 
this  monument  to  your  glory. 

The  camp  tire  begins  to  smolder  in  the  embers  One  by  one  the  lights  are 
going  out.     The  Ninety-sixth  will  soon,  very  soon,  be  at  rest. 


DEDICATION  OF  MONUMENT 

98™  REGIMENT  INFANTRY 

.September  i  i,  18S9 
ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  JACOB  A.  SCHMIDE 

C^.OMUADES  and  friends: — Through  the  kind  favor  of  Providence  and  the 
patriotic  liberality  of  the  government  of  our  noble  old  Keystone  State 
;  we  are  permitted  to  be  assembled  here  to-day,  on  this  historic  field,  to 
dedicate  this  monument  as  a  memorial  to  the  action  of  the  Ninety- 
eighth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Infantry  in  the  great  battle  fought  on  these 
fields  in  July,  1861^,  for  the  preservation  of  our  country,  for  the  continuation  of 
our  government,  for  the  defense  of  our  homes  anil  our  firesides,  for  the  defense, 
especially  as  Pcnnsylvanians  of  all  and  everytiiing  near  ami  dear  to  us,  against 
the  invading  hosts  of  the  enemy,  who,  fresh  from  <me  victory,  advanced  boldly 
upon  our  own  State  capital,  threatening  our  own  towns,  our  own  cities  our 
very  existence. 

On  behalf  of  the  survivors  of  the  Ninety-eighth  Regiment  PennsyU'ania  In- 
fantry it  behooves  me  now,  1  believe,  in  connection  with  this  occasion,  to  state 
to  you,  that  this  monument  is  erectted  here  by  the  authority  of  our  State  gov- 
ernment, to  mark  a  position  held  by  the  regiment  during  the  battle,  and  to 
commemorate  the  regiment's  action  in  the  great  battle  fought  on  these  fields 
during  those  ever-memorable  days  of  July,  18()l{. 

My  friends,  we  are  glad  to  )>e  enabled  to  inform  you  here,  that  this  monu- 
ment does  indicate  a  position,  as  tlic  in.scription  thereon  truthfully  states.  The 
regiment  held  this  position  from  about  dusk  of  the  evening  of  .luly  2,  to  the 
end  of  the  battle.  Actually  it  was  in  line  along  the  road  in  front,  the  right  wing 
somewhat  refused  to  face  the  woods,  but,  to  conlbrni  to  the  wishes  of  the  Com- 
missioners appointed   by  the  (Governor  to  suj)erinteud  the  erection  of  these 


TIPTON,     GETTYSBURG. 


NT:     THE     F.     GUTEKUNST    CO., 


J*e)ins///vauia  af  Geftyshnry.  519 

Biomunent.s.  and  tlu^  various  good  and  .sufficient  reasons  advanced  hy  them 
the7efor,  our  committee  willingly  accepted  this  location,  although  it  is  some- 
what in  rear  of  the  line  wliich  the  regiment  actually  occupied. 

We  regret  that  we  cannot  .so  heartily  approve  of  the  inscriptions  thereon  al- 
luding to  the  regiment's  action  in  this  memorable  battle,  or,  rather,  we  must 
regret  the  omission  of  any  statement  alluding  to  the  action  of  the  regiment  on 
another  part  of  the  field,  although  in  close  vicinity. 

The  inscriptions  are  as  decided  for  us  by  the  State  Commissioners,  and  state 
trirthfully,  that  the  regiment  led  the  Sixtli  Corps  on  its  march  from  Manches- 
ter, Maryland,  to  the  battle-field  and  held  this  line  from  evening  of  .Inly  2  to 
the  end  of  the  battle,  but  make  no  allusion  to  what  else  it  did. 

Our  lamented  General  Sedgwick,  in  his  report  on  this  battle,  states  that  he 
arrived,  in  fact  reported  his  corps  present,  at  Hock  creek  at  2i)'i-lock  ]>.  m.,  and 
tlie  Ninety-eighth  was  the  leading  regiment  of  it. 

Well,  did  we  stay  at  Rock  creek,  a  full  mile  or  more  in  the  rear? 

Was  the  leading  regiment  of  the  corps  left  at  Rock  creek  to  rest  itself,  while 
others  following,  yes,  while  the  other  following  regiments  of  our  own  brigade 
were  hurried  forward  as  fast  as  possible  and  led  into  action  into  the  fight  on 
this  identical  ground? 

No,  my  friends,  the  Ninety-eighth  was  not  the  kind  of  a  regiment  to  be  left 
in  the  rear  under  anything  like  such  circumstances  as  took  place  here  on  that 
afternoon. 

Although  the  Commissioners  did  not  allow  >is  a  mention  in  the  in.scription  of 
the  action  of  the  regiment  between  the  time  of  its  arrival  at  Rock  creek  and 
the  time,  as  stated,  when  it  was  placed  in  position  on  this  line,  we  were  not 
lying  idle  at  Rock  creek,  or  anywhere  else,  listening  to  the  battle  from  afar, 
yes,  to  the  roar  of  battle  being  fought  that  afternoon  on  these  identical  fields, 
in  this  immediate  vicinity,  those  very  hours,  my  friends,  were,  and  are  to-day, 
and  will  continue  to  be,  as  long  as  Ave  live,  the  hours  most  memorable  to  us 
the  survivors  of  the  Ninety-eighth  in  regard  to  our  action  in  the  l)attle  of 
-Gettysburg.  The  hours  between  4  o'clock  and  sundown  of  that  afternoon  of 
July  2,  1863,  were  full  of  trying  moments  on  this  part  of  the  field,  and  the 
Ninety-eighth  got  here  in  good  time  and  did  its  duty,  yes  fully  did  its  duty, 
and  perhaps  some  of  the  work  of  others,  and  as  the  State  Commissioners  re- 
quest, that  in  the  exercises  connected  with  the  dedication  of  these  monuments 
the  survivors  include  a  true,  and  as  near  as  possible  complete  statement  of  the 
actions  of  their  respective  regiments  in  this  battle,  we  cheerfully  comply  with 
that  request,  to  the  best  of  our  ability;  although  in  the  main  part  it  will  only 
"be  a  reiteration  of  a  statement  of  our  action  as  a  regiment,  in  the  battle  these 
monuments  are  to  commemorate  as  we  have  some  time  ago  transmitted  to 
them. 

Yes,  transmitted  to  them  for  the  very  purpose  of  having  the  truth  of  our 
action  recognized  by  suitable  mention  thereof  in  the  inscription  on  this  monu- 
ment, and  made  over  the  solemn  affidavit  of  a  large  number  of  our  comrades 
who  participated  with  us  in  this  eventful  battle.  Over  the  solemn  affidavit  of 
comrades  who  lost  limbs,  who  became  crippled  for  life  in  that  action  of  the 
regiment,  a  solemn  statement  made  under  oath  and  transmitted  to  them,  .set- 
ting forth  our  action,  especially  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  the  Commissioners 
to  include  a  mention  thereof  m  the  inscriptions,  and  without  a  mention  of 
which  we  can  never  look  upon  or  consider  this  monument  as  giving  to  jx)sterity 


520  Pennsylvania  at  Geffyshuvfj. 

;i  inithtul  liislorv  of  the  part  the  Ninety-eighth  liegiment  Peuusylvania  In- 
fajitry  took  in  the  battle  this  luomiment  is  intended  to  commemorate. 

On  the  evening  of  July  1.  1863,  the  Ninety-eighth  Regiment  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  four  liundred  strong,  under  command  of  i.,ieutenant-Colonel  John 
li.  Kohlerand  Major  J.  W.  lieamisli,  was  in  bivonac  near  Manchester,  Maryland, 
ihirty-eight  miles  from  here,  with  the  rest  of  the  Sixth  Army  Corps,  and 
.shortly  after  dark  was  ordered  <m  the  march  towards  Gettysbnrg,  where  heavy 
righting  had  already  been  going  on  during  the  daj';  the  regiment  was  fortu- 
nate enough  to  have  the  leading  position  of  the  corps  assigned  to  it  for  that 
march,  a  position  which,  in  a  column  on  a  march,  and  especially  on  a  march 
as  that  one  was,  is  very  advantageous,  as  it  enabled  us  to  reach  the  battle-field 
here  in  very  good  order  and  lorm,  after  marching  all  night  and  day  without 
intermission,  until  we  arrived  at  Rock  creek,  at  a  point  about  a  mile  south  of 
where  the  lialtimore  pike  crosses  said  stream,  and  may  fairly  be  included  in 
tlie  area  of  this  battle-field. 

We  arrived  there  shortlj-  after  2  o'ltlock  and  were  halted  and  allowed  to  rest 
for  probably  fully  an  hour,  when  we  were  advanced,  with  our  brigade,  to  the 
})ridge  on  the  Baltimore  pike  over  Rock  creek,  being  placed  in  line  on  the 
s(mth  bank,  on  the  left  of  the  pike,  facing  the  stream.  Hardly  had  the  brigade 
got  in  line  in  that  po.sition  when  we  were  again  ordered  forward,  and  crossed 
the  creek  partly  by  way  of  the  bridge  and  partly  by  fording  the  stream,  doing 
SI)  under  our  lamented  General  Sedgwick's  personal  supervision.  We  were  at 
once  urged  tbrward  as  fast  as  possible  and  soon  lost  sight  of  and  became  de- 
tached from  our  brigade,  being  dire(;ted  by  a  staft'  ofiicer  who  accompanied  us 
towards  the  left,  we  making  a  good  part  of  the  distance  on  the  double-cjuick, 
and  were  brought  onto  Little  Round  Top.  and  by  the  direction  ol"  a  staff  oflicer 
ibrmed  in  line  of  battle  ;  being  right  in  front  necessitated  our  forming  on  the 
right  by  files  into  line. 

Our  right  re.sting  at  a  j)oint  about  four  hundred  feet  south  of  the  road  that 
crosses  Round  Top  ridge,  our  left  extending  well  up  to  what  may  be  called  the- 
rockier  part  of  the  western  .slope  of  the  hill,  facing  the  wheatfield,  with  the 
intervening  ridge  and  mar.sh  directly  in  line  of  our  front.  This  line  of  our 
regiment  was  formed  immediately  in  rear  of  a  line  of  others  of  our  troops,, 
whom  we  soon  foxind  were  some  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  and  who.se  left 
was  somewhat  overlapped  by  our  formation.  Our  other  troops  appeared  at 
that  time  as  Ijeiug  apparently,  driven  from  or  leaving  the  field  in  our  front 
])retty  well  broken  up  and  the  enemy  in  what  seemed  to  us  to  be  also  rather 
disorganized  parties,  following  closely  after  them,  however,  placing  a  couple  of 
guns  that  our  men  were  trying  to  save,  in  apparent  jeopardy  of  being  captured, 
from  I  may  say  almost  under  our  eyes.  Therefore,  before  the  regiment  was 
hardly  formed  in  line  we  were  ordered  to  fix  bayonets  followed  immediately 
])v  the  command  "forward  Ninety-eighth,  charge."  and  forward  we  did  go,  ad- 
vancing tlirough  the  line  of  troops  mentioned  as  lying  directly  in  front  of  us 
while  we  formed,  they  ai)parently  willingly  opening  tlieir  ranks  to  let  us 
through;  we  charged  through  tbe  marsh  of  Plum  run,  advancing  to  the  foot  of 
the  ridge  on  the  west  side  of  the  swamp;  whatever  there  was  in  our  immediate 
sight  of  the  enemy,  in  our  direct  front,  retreating  before  us  with  little  firing; 
we  liowever  received  a  livelier  fire  from  the  left  (Devil's  Den)  while  crossing 
the  swamp,  which,  together  with  the  difficulty  of  crossing  through  the  soft 
slough,  had  the  effect  to  break  <nir   line  up   somewhat,  so  that   the  halt  at  the 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  521 

foot  of  the  ridge,  though  for  a  few  inoiut!nt,s  only,  allowed   tliost-  wlio  became 
delayed  (stuck  in  the  mire)  in  cntssing,  to  catch  up. 

The  troops  through  whom  we  had  passed.  a.s  before  mentioned,  also  started 
to  advance  while  we  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  and  on  their  left  adjoining 
oar  right  they  also  halted  a  few  moments  when  the  whole  extended  line  again 
advanced,  we  up  the  ridge  to,  and  over  the  stone  wall  skirting  the  wheatlield, 
our  left  well  into  the  woods  on  the  left,  driving  back  some  and  making 
prisoners  of  a  number  of  what  looked  to  us  like  disorganized,  straggling 
parties  of  the  enemy,  with  little  extra  effort  on  our  part.  We  were,  however, 
soon  recalled  to  the  stone  wall  on  the  ridge  and  held  that  position  until  near 
dusk,  when  we  were  ordered  to  the  right  and  rejoined  our  brigade  taking  posi- 
tion on  the  right  of  it,  which  brought  us  on  this  line,  having  sustained  in  the 
charge  and  the  other  movements  just  described  the  comparatively  light  loss  of 
(Hilyone  man  killed  and  ten  wounded.  And  in  this  line  and  position  we  were 
kept  to  the  end  of  the  battle  without  actually  any  further  losses  or  becoming 
farther  engaged. 


M" 


ORATION  OF  SERGEANT  F.J.  LOEBLE 

.  President  and  comrades  of  the  Ninety-eightii  Pennsylvania  Kegi- 
meutal  Association,  ladies,  gentlemen  and  friends  :  -  A.ssembled  here 
to-day,  taking  the  allotted  and  average  time  of  the  life  of  mankind 
to  be  thirty-three  years,  a  generation  of  the  human  tamily  has  almost 
passed  away  since  first  the  cause  made  its  appearance,  which  has  led  thousands 
to  assemble  to-day,  on  this  glorious  and  renowned  field  of  Gettysburg.  It  would 
take  entirelj'  too  much  of  your  valuable  time,  and  would,  I  am  afraid,  severely 
tax  your  powers  of  endurance,  were  I  to  undertake  to  fully  discu.ss  the  cause, 
the  political  intrigues  and  machinations  of  the  leading  politicians  and  states- 
men, which  eventually  led  to  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States  from  the 
Union. 

More  eligible  tongues  and  abler  pens  have  discussed  those  questions  time  and 
again,  and  I  am  confident,  that  the  greater  majority  of  those  as.sembled  here 
to-day,  are  (juite  familiar  with  that  subject,  and  it  will,  therefore,  be  sullicient 
for  me  to  say  that  after  a  most  exciting  political  campaign  for  the  election  of  a 
President  of  these  United  States,  in  the  tall  of  1860,  in  wliicli  that  noble  and 
never-to-be-forgotten  man  and  martyr,  Abraham  Lincoln,  was  chosen  as  the 
executive  officer  of  this  federation  of  states,  the  country  was  embroiled,  and 
stood  face-to-face  with  the  most  wicked,  uncalled  for  and  unscrupulous  attempt 
of  traitoi's  and  rebels,  to  overthrow  the  government  and  establi.sh  slavery  on  a 
firm  and  everlasting  foundation.  Although  in  his  inaugural  address,  on  the  4th 
of  March,  1861,  the  President  had  jjiomised  not  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the 
States  where  it  then  existed,  and  assurances  were  given  by  all  the  leading 
statesmen  of  the  then  dominant  party  to  the  .same  etfect,  the  political  leaders 
of  the  South  had  so  worked  upon  the  minds  of  their  con.stituents  the  idea  of  es- 
tablishing a  separate  government,  with  slavery  for  its  corner-stone,  that  State 
after  State  recalled  their  senators  and  representatives  from  Congress  and  passed 
acts  of  secession  in  their  diflerent  legislatures. 

Ck)uld  they  have  foreseen  the  unity  and  devotion  to  the  flag,  as  exhibited  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Northern  States  when   they  were  once  fairly  aroused.  I 


522  Pi-iinsijl r(tni(i  cf  Geffi/shHi(j. 

feel  warrauted  in  saying,  that  they  would  Inivo  cuiisidtifd  and  deliberated  con- 
siderably longer  before  striking  the  blow  agaiu><t  the  Hag  ol"  our  country,  by  tiring 
on  Fort  Sumter  in  theharlior  of  Charleston,  on  the  morning  of  April  12.  1861; 
but  whom  the  gods  wish  to  destroy  they  lirst  strike  with  blindness,  and  as  the 
Almighty  Providence  and  father  of  us  all.  had  determined  to  strike  the  curse 
of  slavery  from  this  fair  land  of  ours,  he  let  them  goon  in  their  mad  career  and 
permitted  them  to  still  fnrthei-  t)lacken  their  treacherous  souls  in  the  blood  of 
their  brothers. 

The  war  of  the  rebellion  was  now  fairly  opened,  a  war  which  in  its  accursed 
course  of  four  years  cost  the  country  hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives,  millions 
upon  millions  of  money,  breaking  down  the  health  of  thousands  of  men,  and 
tilling  the  land  with  widows  and  orphans;  at  the  same  time,  however,  bring- 
ing forth  to  full  development  the  noblest  traits  of  human  character,  unbounded 
charity,  heavenly  love  and  unsurpassed  devotion.  On  April  14,  1861,  the  stars 
and  stripes,  that  beloved  symbol  of  our  country  and  human  liberty,  ceased  to 
float  over  Fort  Sumter,  and  the  President  issued  his  lirst  call  for  7o,0()0  volun- 
teers to  serve  tor  the  period  of  three  months.  The  shots  on  Fort  Sumter  roused 
the  slumbering  lire  of  patriotism  in  the  hearts  of  the  Nation;  stunned  by  this 
blow  the  country  reeled  like  a  man  in  his  cups,  but  almost  immediately  re- 
covered and  exhibited  such  an  intensity  of  leeling  and  readiness  for  sacrifices 
of  all  kind  as  astonished  the  people  themselves  and  the  world  at  large.  Work 
of  all  kind  .seemed  entirelj'  suspended,  the  professional  man  suspended  his  call- 
ing, the  artisan  and  mechanic  stopped  his  machinery,  the  merchant  laid  aside 
his  ledger,  the  laborer  his  pick  and  shovel,  the  farmer  stopped  his  team  in  the 
field,  even  some  of  the  boys  flung  their  books  in  the  corner,  all  vieing  with 
each  other  which  one  would  first  reach  the  recruiting  station,  to  inscribe  his 
name  on  the  roll  of  his  cotintry's  defenders. 

The  quotas  of  the  different  States  were  filled  almost  as  soon  as  the  call  ha<l 
been  issued,  and  you,  my  comrades,  well  remember  how  eager  you  were  to  go 
forth,  and  to  do  and  die,  so  that  our  nation  might  live. 

If  I  am  allowed  to  do  .so,  I  woiald  here  relate  to  yoti  as  an  illustration  of  the 
eagerness  of  the  people  to  enlist,  and  of  the  surplus  of  men  oflering  their  ser- 
vices to  the  government,  a  circumstance  which  happened  to  me  personally.  On 
offering  my  services  the  recruiting  officer  told  me  emphatically,  and  1  thought 
at  the  time,  not  very  politely,  that  he  could  get  by  far  more  men  than  he 
wanted,  and  did  not  propose  to  enlist  boys. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  our  fellow  townsman,  John  F.  Ballier,  a  tried  sol- 
dier of  the  Mexican  war,  a  man  of  sterling  qualities  (who  has  been  prevented 
by  sickness  from  being  with  us  on  this  memorable  day)  con.sidered  it  to  be  his 
duty  toward  the  land  of  his  adoption,  to  again  unsheath  his  sword  in  defense 
of  the  flag  under  whose  folds  millions  of  people  have  found  freedom  from 
tyranny  and  oppression.  His  services  being  accepted,  he  took  the  field  in  a 
very  short  time  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  volunteers  known  as  the  Twenty- 
first  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Infantry.  The  term  of  enlistment  of  this  organ- 
ization expired  on  July  2!».  the  final  discharge  being  August  S.  The  brave  and 
loj'al  commander  had,  however,  taken  time  ))y  the  forelock,  and  secured  the 
issue  of  an  order  from  the  War  Department,  authorizing  him  to  recruit  a  regi- 
ment of  infantry  lor  the  term  of  three  years  or  sooner  shot,  as  the  boys  used  to 
say,  the  sentence,  however,  reading  or  sooner  discharged;  this  again  shows  to 
you  that  even  at  that  time  no  one  liad  any  idea  of  the  gigantic  proi)ortions  this 
unholy  war  was  going  fo  assume 


I'e)tn.s//fvaiii<i  af  (h'ftyslnuuj.  523 

Many  ot'  tlu-  (iiscliaiiit'd  otliccrs  and  nicii  ot  Ili<-  now  extinct  'rwcni y-lirst 
Kej^iment  rallied  aronnd  their  ludnvcd  cuintnaiidiT,  anil  at  once  eoniinenced 
active  recruiting,  so  that  by  the  ITtli  olAiij^ust.  Llic  lirst  company  was  mustered 
into  the  service,  and  was  thereafter  known  as  Company  I,  Ninety-eighth  Penn- 
sylvania Infantry.  By  the  3(Jth  September,  seven  more  companies  had  been 
mustered  in  the  IbUowiug  order,  D,  C,  F.  A,  E,  K  and  B,  and  cncampeil  at 
Cant])  Ballier,  near  Girard  College,  in  Philadelidiia.  With  the  exception  of 
Company  A,  uiuety-tive  ])er  cent,  of  the  enlisted  men  were  of  German  V)irth  or 
parcutiige  ;  Company  A,  or  as  more  familiarly  known  the  Irish  wing  of  tlie 
German  Kegimeut.  is  however  fully  entitled  to  and  proud  of  the  name  of  G(  i" 
man  Kegulars,  by  which  one  of  the  generals  on  the  field  designated  tliem  after 
the  gallant  and  victorious  battle  of  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  as  well  as  those 
others  who  expressed  their  thoughts  in  the  tongue  of  the  Fatherland. 

On  September  30,  the  eight  companies  left  Thiladelphia  for  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  where  they  were  attached  to  the  Fourth  Army  Cor)»s 
xiuder  General  Key es.  During  the  month  of  I)ti-eml)er,  Companies  G  and  If 
joined  the  regiment  in  its  camp  near  Tennallytown,  thereby  completing  the  full 
regimental  organization  often  companies. 

On  arrival  at  this  camp,  early  in  Octol)er,  the  colonel  at  <tnce  commenced  a 
rigid  course  of  instruction  in  the  duties  of  a  soldier,  sucli  as  company  and  bat- 
talion drills,  guard  mount,  picket  duty,  manual  of  arms,  etc.,  as  well  as  estali- 
lishing  a  school  for  officers,  and  with  pride  every  member  of  the  regiment  may 
say  to-day,  that  when  in  the  spring  of  1862,  it  broke  its  camp,  he  belonged  to 
a  well-drilled  and  thoroughly  organized  body  of  volunteer  soldiers,  destined 
to  make  their  mark  in  the  hot  work  before  them.  In  the  beginning  of  JIarch, 
the  regiment  hailed  with  joy  the  order  to  march  on  the  enemj-,  ready  to  do 
battle  in  a  righteous  cause;  it  was,  however,  sorely  disapjMiinted.  w  hen,  after  a 
few  days,  the  army  was  ordered  to  return  across  the  I'otomac  and  encamp  again 
on  its  old  ground.  Meanwhile  the  plan  of  operations  against  the  capital  of 
the  Confederacy,  Richmond,  was  changed,  and  in  the  later  days  of  March  the 
army  was  embarked  and  transported  to  Fortress  Monroe,  to  begin  the  memor- 
able campaign  on  the  Peninsula.  The  regiment  bore  its  share  of  hardships  in 
the  investment  of  Yorktown,  holding  a  position  near  Warwick  Court  irou.se, 
doing  picket  duty,  building  entrenchments  and  corduroy  roads  during  all  of 
April,  and  until  the  evacuation  and  abandonment  of  the  rebel  work.s. 

Following  up  the  enemy  closely  on  the  5th  of  May,  the  long-looked  for  mo- 
ment arrived,  when  the  regiment  was  destined  to  receive  its  baptism  of  fin-, 
in  front  of  the  rebel  Fort  Magruder  near  Williamslntrg,  Virginia.  The  pros- 
pect of  our  valor  and  courage  must  have  been  rather  a  discouraging  one  to 
our  commander,  after  the  severe  march  over  almost  impassable  roads,  and  in  a 
drenching  rain  storm,  and  the  speaker  often  recalls  him  to  his  mind's  eye  march- 
ing down  the  line,  uttering  words  of  encouragement  and  appealing  to  our  sense 
of  honor  and  duty,  to  show  ourselves  as  men  who  could  be  depended  upon  in 
the  hour  of  trial  and  danger.  Bravely  it  followed  its  leader,  and  nobly  did  it 
do  its  duty,  so  well,  that  after  the  battle  was  over,  it  was  taken  from  the  bri- 
gade, and  assigned  to  the  special,  hazardous  and  honorable  duty  of  following 
up  the  retreating  enemy,  as  one  of  the  organizations  composing  the  advance 
guard  under  General  Stouemau  until  we  reached  the  vicinity  of  Kichmond.  It 
would  take  me  too  long,  and  would  jjerhajis  liecome  too  tiresome  to  you,  were 
I  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  its  marches  and  engagements,  through  that  ter- 


524  Pennsy/rania  at  Gettysburg. 

rible  campaign  in  the  suniiner  of  ]S()2,  wIumi,  in  Aii«;iist.  tliis  noble  Army  of 
tlie  Potomac,  found  itself  at  Harrison's  Landing  on  tlie  James  river,  a  shattered, 
bleeding  and  almost  discouraged  remnant  of  its  former  self,  neither  will  I  dis- 
cuss the  reasons  for  the  disastrous  ending  of  this  campaign,  but  will  sim])ly 
s;ij',  that  under  the  severest  trials  and  experience  the  Ninety-eighth  wasahvay.< 
found  ready  and  willing  to  do  its  duty  without  murmuring  or  fault  linding. 

Shortly,  however,  the  line  of  march  was  taken  iip  again,  as  the  rebel  forces^ 
had  turned  their  attention  to  the  army  of  General  Pope,  who  stood  between 
Washington  and  Richmond.  The  division  to  which  the  regiment  was  attached 
was  ordered  to  Alexandria,  and,  after  disembarking,  immediately'  advanced  to 
C'enterville,  where  it  was  assigned  to  the  not  very  pleasant  but  important  duty 
of  covering  the  retreat  of  Pope's  army  which  had  been  defeated  in  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run;  this  was  successfully  accomplished,  and  well  may  the  mem- 
bers of  the  regiment  feel  proud  of  having  had  part  in  insuring  the  .safety  of  the 
Capital  of  the  Nation  at  that  particular  time.  Then  Ibllowed  Lee's  invasion  of 
the  north,  the  battle  of  South  Mountain  and  Autietam,  the  capture  of  Miles  :  t 
Harper's  Ferry,  whom  the  division  was  sent  to  reinforce,  hut  who  had  capit- 
ulated before  it  reached  him,  the  chase  after  a  foraging  detachment  of  rebels, 
and  the  return  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  hear  New  Baltimore,  Yirginia. 

Here  the  division  was  attached  to  the  famous  Sixth  Corps,  whose  fortune  be- 
came hereafter  its  own  until  the  close  of  the  war.  General  Burnside  having 
assumed  command  of  the  army  about  this  time  the  order  was  given  to  advance 
by  way  of  Frederick.sburg,  where,  on  the  13th  of  December,  1862,  a  territic  bat- 
tle was  fought  with  disastrous  results  to  the  Union  arms.  The  army  then 
went  into  winter  quarters  on  the  north  side  of  the  Rappahannock,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Burnside  stuck  in  the  mud  march,  remained  quiet  until 
the  spring  of  1863. 

Meanwhile  the  command  of  the  army  had  been  transferred  to  fighting  .Joe 
Hooker,  who,  on  the  1st  of  May,  crossed  the  river  a  few  miles  above  the  city 
with  the  bulk  of  the  army,  leaving  the  Sixth  Corps  under  command  of  (that 
famous  soldier  and  fatherly  commander)  .John  Sedgwick,  in  front  of  Fredericks- 
burg with  instructions  to  take  the  rebel' intrenchments  in  the  rear  of  the  city. 
This  ta.sk  was  nobly  accomplished  by  the  corps  on  the  3d  of  Maj',  the  regiment 
as  usual  taking  a  conspicuous  part  in  this  action.  The  line  of  march  was  al- 
most immediately  taken  up  again  towards  Chancellorsville,  but  General  Hooker 
having  meanwhile  been  defeated  at  this  point.  General  Lee  sent  heavy  rein- 
forcements against  the  gallant  Sixth,  checking  our  advance  at  Salem  Church. 
Stubbornly  fighting  against  superior  numbers  the  corps  steadily  retraced  its 
steps,  and  reached  the  north  side  of  the  river  on  the  5th  sustaining  a  very 
heavy  loss  in  its  numbers.  This  ended  the  Hooker  campaign  and  brought  the 
regiment  back  to  its  former  quarters  until  June  20,  Avhen  it  became  apparent 
that  the  wily  rebel  leatler,  Lee,  was  planning  another  advance  into  the  loyal 
States,  but  shrouded  his  movements  in  such  im])enetrable  darkness,  that  his 
army  was  well  on  its  way  before  the  Union  coniiiiand(>r  had  any  idea  of  his  in- 
tentions. 

July  1  found  the  regiment  at  Manchester,  Maryland,  while  other  corps  had 
already  opened  the  ball  at  this  renowned  field  of  Gettysburg  where  we  have  as- 
.sembled  to-day,  and  where  the  greatest  struggle  for  mastery  took  place  be- 
tween the  old.  well-tried  opponents,  the  armies  of  the  Potomac  and  Northern 
Virginia. 


Pennsylvania  at  Gettysburg.  525 

In  the  evening  the  corps  was  ordered  to  (Jettysburg,  the  Ninety-eighth  hav- 
ing the  right  ol"  the  line.  No  one  of  the  participunt.s  will  ever  forget  that 
march  of  thirty-eight  miles  with  but  little  rest.  Weary  and  footsore  it  arrived 
on  the  afternoon  of  July  ;>,  and  immediately  went  into  action  from  the  position 
yonder  where  we  have  just  rededicated  one  of  the  monuments.  Notliing 
dannted  by  their  weariness,  or  even  the  retreat  of  their  comrades  of  oilier 
oorps,  who  were  closely  followed  by  the  enemy,  they  went  forward  at  the  wonl 
of  command,  and,  after  having  Ji\ed  bayonets,  with  a  Union  hurrah. 

Here,  again,  at  a  critical  moment,  the  regiment  fully  provoMl  that  it  was  com- 
posed of  no  mean  material,  for  had  it  not  stemmed  the  current  of  the  rebel  ad- 
vance God  knows  what  would  have  been  the  result  if  the  rebels  liad  captured 
yonder  heights,  but  the  timely  arrival  of  the  regiment  proved  to  be  the  turn- 
ing tide  of  the  fortunes  of  war  in  two  distinct  results.  The  retreating  Union 
soldiers,  amazed  by  this  outburst  of  confidence  and  devotion  to  duty,  and  .seeing 
the  line  steadily  advancing,  halted,  faced  about  and  joined  in  the  forward 
movement  of  their  brethren  of  the  Ninety-eighth,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  rebels  received  a  check  to  their  onward  march,  wheeled  about  and  ex- 
changed the  role  of  pursuers  to  the  one  of  pursued.  The  regiment  drove  the 
retreating  foe  beyond  this  stone  wall  into  the  wheatfield,  and  was,  later  in  the 
day,  withdrawn  to  this  position,  which  it  hehl  successfully  until  the  close  of 
the  battle. 

I  have  shown  you  with  pardonable  pride  that  in  .several  imiwrtant  actions 
the  regiment  fulfilled  its  duty  to  the  best  of  its  ability,  and  would  but  casually 
mention  here,  that  about  one  year  later,  it  was  again  its  good  fortune  to  save 
the  capital  of  the  Nation,  being  the  first  regiment  of  the  corps  to  drive  the 
rebels  from  in  front  of  Fort  Stevens,  under  the  eyes  of  the  late  lamented  Lin- 
coln, who  personally  tendered  his  thanks  to  the  commander  for  the  part  taken 
in  defeating  the  rebel  designs,  and  assuring  him  that  his  services  at  that  jiar- 
ticular  critical  time  should  never  be  forgotten.  For  three  long  da3's  the  fate 
of  the  Union  hung  in  the  balance  on  this  Pennsylvania  field,  thousiuids  of  h«»r 
sons  were  engaged  in  this  coutlict,  on  her  own  dear  .soil,  whilst  thousands,  aye 
millions,  were  praying  for  the  success  of  our  arms.  At  last  the  decision  was 
rendered,  the  God  of  battles  crowned  with  victory  the  Union  army,  and  the 
highest  tide  of  treason  and  rebellion  had  been  reached  on  this  very  field. 
Henceforth  the  unhol}^  cause  entered  upon  its  decline,  which,  while  not  as 
rapid  as  we  all  could  have  wished,  at  least  showed  itself  in  their  efforts  l)c- 
coming  weaker,  for  no  offensive  movement  in  force  towards tlu^  northern  states 
■was  again  attempted. 

Well  do  you  remember,  however,  how  stubbornly  almost  every  inch  of 
ground  was  contested,  and  thousands  upon  thousands  of  lives  had  yet  to  b<' 
sacrificed  before  the  death  blow  to  treason  was  struvjk  at  Ai)pomattox  in  '65, 
the  Ninety-eighth  being  no  mean  factor  in  the  struggle  to  the  end. 

But  let  us  now  look  to  the  immediate  cause  of  our  assemblage  here  to-day. 
Shortly  after  peace  was  restored  to  our  bleeding  country,  a  .spontaneous  move- 
ment started  up  to  preserve  to  posterity  the  outlines  of  the  field  of  Gettysburg, 
proclaiming  as  it  does  to-day  the  valor  of  the  citizen  .soldiery  of  the  American 
Kepublic. 

A  commission  was  formed,  subscriptions  solicited,  and  section  after  .section 
acquired  by  purchase  and  donation  until  to-day  nearly  the  whole  field  of  car- 
nage is  owned  by  the  Gi^ttysbur;^-  I'.atlle-lield  Association.      Kegi mental  asso- 


/ 


52G  Pcnthsylvanid,  at  (rctfijsliunj. 

ciations  showed  u  tendency  to  commemorate  the  position  held  l)y  eat^h  of  them 
during  the  terrilie  struggle,  in  marking  the  spots  by  ilie  erection  of  monuments. 

One  alter  another  Avas  raised  upon  the  lield  by  the  survivors,  and  well  may 
you  feel  proud,  my  comrades,  that  a  few  years  ago  you  put  your  shoulders  to 
the  wheel,  and  by  a  united  effort,  and  with  the  assistance  of  your  friends,  you 
placed  yonder  memento  upon  this  Held  in  memory  of  our  fallen  comrades. 

The  elVorts  of  the  survivors  of  the  war  induced  the  representatives  of  our 
beloved  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  give  them  a  helping  hand  in  this  noble  un- 
dertaking by  appropriating  a  certain  sum  of  money  lor  a  monument,  to  be 
erected  upon  the  spot  where  each  I'enn.sylvania  regiment  and  battery  fought 
and  bled  in  those  memorable  days.  To-day  we  have  assembled  to  dedicate 
these  monuments  in  the  presence  of  our  wives  and  children,  our  uncles  and 
aunts  and  our  friends  in  general,  many  a  hand  has  again  grasped  the  hand  of 
comrades  after  an  interval  of  years,  friendships  have  been  renewed,  past  hard- 
.ships  and  privations  have  been  brought  vividly  to  our  mind,  let  us  also  droj)  a 
silent  tear  for  those  near  and  dear  ones  who  freely  gave  their  lives  for  the  land 
they  loved,  as  we  look  upon  this  beautiful  tribute  of  love  to  them,  which  but 
a  I'eAv  moments  ago,  has  been  strip])ed  of  the  Hag  that  hid  its  beauties. 

May  you,  my  comrades,  remember,  that  the  visitors  to  this  spot,  in  the  years 
when  we  too  shall  have  joined  the  great  army  above,  maj'  drop  a  grateful  tear 
to  our  memory,  and  thank  the  Lord,  that,  in  the  hour  of  danger  to  our  l)eloved 
land,  there  were  freemen  enough  to  stand  between  their  loved  homes  and 
those  whose  aim  it  was  to  destroy  the  liberties  of  a  free  people.  But  above  all 
else  may  it  continue  to  preach  to  posterity  for  years  to  come,  that  loyalty  to 
our  country  should  ever  be  second  only  to  loyalty  to  our  creator,  the  heavenly 
I-'ather  of  us  all. 

May  it  serve  as  a  warning  to  future  generations  tliat  the  American  citizen 
will  allow  no  one,  no  matter  who  he  may  be,  to  insult  his  flag  or  attempt  to 
wre^st  one  single  .star  from  its  i)lace.  While  we  welcome  under  its  folds  the  op- 
jiressed  of  all  the  world,  let  it  be  decidedly  understood  that  those  who  bared 
their  brea.st  to  the  murderous  bulletin  defense  of  it,  are  jealously  guarding  its 
interests,  and  will  not  allow  it  to  be  lowered,  dragged  into  tlie  dust,  or  used 
for  any  other  but  the  noblest  purpo.ses  of  mankind. 

May  we  so  direct  the  education  of  our  children,  and  through  them  again  our 
children's  children,  that  when  they  look  upon  these  monuments,  they  may  im- 
bibe that  spirit  of  devotion  to  country  and  flag  which  made  their  ancestors 
ready  and  willing  to  offer  their  lives  in  the  defense  of  the  Star  Spangled  Kan- 
ner,  the  emblem  of  liberty,  equal  rights  and  national  tinity.  O  Lord,  grant 
that  it  may  wave  until  the  end  ol'  time,  over  a  nation  of  freemen  enjoying 
hapi)iness,  ])rosperity  and  unity. 


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